out shade; all pleasure without pain—is not life at all。 Take the lot of the happiest—it is a tangled yarn2。 Bereavements and blessings; one following another; make us sad and blessed by turns。 Even death itself makes life more loving。 Men e closest to their true selves in the sober3 moments of life; under the shadows of sorrow and loss。
In the affairs of life or of business; it is not intellect that tells so much as character; not brains so much as heart; not genius so much as self…control; patience; and discipline; regulated by judgment。
I have always believed that the man who has begun to live more seriously within begins to live more simply without。 In an age of extravagance and waste; I wish I could show to the world how few the real wants of humanity are。
To regret one’s errors to the point of not repeating them is true repentance。
There is nothing noble in being superior to some other man。 The true nobility is in being superior to your previous self。
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快樂谷
'英國'塞繆爾·約翰遜
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塞繆爾·約翰遜 (1709—1784);英國詞典編纂家、散文家和文學評論家。他一生窮困潦倒,直到歷時九載編纂完成《英語詞典》,才聲名大振。他才學廣博,言談睿智。詩歌代表作《人類慾望的虛妄》反映了他對人生的獨到見解,傳記《英國詩人傳》堅持以事實作傳,把英語傳記文學推向更高的水平。
他說:“人和其他動物的區別在哪裡?在我身旁遊走的每個野獸,和我一樣都有肉體上的需要:餓了吃草,渴了喝溪水,充飢解渴後將滿足地睡去;醒來又餓了,再吃飽休息。我和他一樣也會飢渴,但不渴也不餓時,我不休息;我也像他一樣因需求匱乏而痛苦,但不像他因需求豐裕而滿足。中間這個階段,冗長而又乏味;我又開始渴望飢餓,好再次加大自己的注意力。鳥兒啄食著漿果或穀物,好像非常快樂地飛到樹叢中,停靠在樹枝上,並且百無聊賴地吟唱著一成不變的曲調。同樣地,我也能叫來琵琶手和歌手,但昨天還能使我愉悅的樂章,今天卻令我厭煩,明天變得更令人厭倦。我從自身發現,沒有一種感受力不是被適度愉悅充滿的,但是我不