雙語閱讀：從最簡單的事物裏汲取快樂
以下是小編整理的哲理類英語美文欣賞：從最簡單的事物裏汲取快樂， 希望對你有所啓發。
R. Duncan
Observe a child; any one will do. You will see thatnot a day passes in which he does not findsomething or other to make him happy, though hemay be in tears the next moment. Then look at aman; any one of us will do. You will notice that weeksand months can pass in which day is greeted withnothing more than resignation1, and endure withevery polite indifference. Indeed, most men are asmiserable as sinners though they are too bored tosin-perhaps their sin is their indifference. But it istrue that they so seldom smile that when they do we do not recognize their face, so distortedis it from the fixed mask we take for granted. And even then a man can not smile like a child,for a child smiles with his eyes, whereas a man smiles with his lips alone. It is not a smile; but agrin; something to do with humor, but little to do with happiness. And then, as anyone cansee, there is a point (but who can define that point?) when a man becomes an old man, andthen he will smile again.
It would seem that happiness is something to do with simplicity, and that it is the ability toextract pleasure form the simplest things-such as a peach stone, for instance.
It is obvious that it is nothing to do with success. For Sir Henry Stewart was certainlysuccessful. It is twenty years ago since he came down to our village from London, and bought acouple of old cottages, which he had knocked into one. He used his house as weekend was a barrister. And the village followed his brilliant career with something almostamounting to paternal pride.
I remember some ten years ago when he was made a King’s Counsel, Amos and I, seeinghim get off the London train, went to congratulate him. We grinned with pleasure; he merelylooked as miserable as though he’d received a penal sentence. It was the same when he wasknighted; he never smiled a bit, he didn’t even bother to celebrate with a round of drinks atthe "Blue Fox". He took his success as a child does his medicine. And not one of hisachievements brought even a ghost of a smile to his tired eyes.
I asked him one day, soon after he’d retired to potter about his garden, what it was like toachieve all one’s ambitions. He looked down at his roses and went on watering them. Then hesaid, "The only value in achieving one’s ambition is that you then realize that they are notworth achieving." Quickly he moved the conversation on to a more practical level, and within amoment we were back to a safe discussion on the weather. That was two years ago.
I recall this incident, for yesterday, I was passing his house, and had drawn up my cartjust outside his garden wall. I had pulled in from the road for no other reason than to let a buspass me. As I set there filling my pipe, I suddenly heard a shout of sheer joy come from theother side of the wall.
I peered over. There stood Sir Henry doing nothing less than a tribal war dance of sheerunashamed ecstasy. Even when he observed my bewildered face staring over the wall he didnot seem put out or embarrassed, but shouted for me to climb over.
"Come and see, Jan. Look! I have done it at last! I have done it at last!"
There he was, holding a small box of earth in his had. I observed three tiny shoots out of it.
"And there were only three!" he said, his eyes laughing to heaven.
"Three what?" I asked.
"Peach stones", he replied. "I’ve always wanted to make peach stones grow, even since Iwas a child, when I used to take them home after a party, or as a man after a banquet. And Iused to plant them, and then forgot where I planted them. But now at last I have done it, and,what’s more, I had only three stones, and there you are, one, two, three shoots," he counted.
And Sir Henry ran off, calling for his wife to come and see his achievement-hisachievement of simplicity.
仔細觀察一個小孩，隨便哪個小孩都行。你會發現，他每天都會發現一兩件令他快樂的事情，儘管過一會兒他可能會哭哭啼啼。再看看一個大人，我們中間任何人都行。你會發現，一週復一週，一月又一月，他總是以無可奈何的心情迎接新的一天的到來，以溫文爾雅、滿不在乎的心情忍受這一天的消逝。確實，大多數人都跟罪人一樣苦惱難受，儘管他們太百無聊賴，連罪惡都不犯---也許他們的冷漠就是他們的罪孽。真的， 他們難得一笑。如果他們偶爾笑了，我們會認不出他們的容貌，他們的臉會扭曲走樣，不再是我們習以爲常的固定不變的面具。即使在笑的時候，大人也不會像小孩兒那樣，小孩兒用眼睛表示笑意，大人只用嘴脣。這實際上不是笑，只是咧咧嘴，表示一種心情，但跟快樂無關。然而，人人都能發現，人到了一定地步(但又有誰能解釋這是什麼地步呢?)，成了老人，他又會笑了。
看起來，幸福同純真的赤子之心有關係，幸福是一種能從最簡單的事物裏---譬如說，核桃---汲取快樂的能力。
幸福顯然同成功毫不相干。因爲亨利·斯圖亞特爵士當然是個十分成功的人。20年前，他從倫敦來到我們的村子，買了好幾座舊房屋，推倒後建了一所大房子。他把這所房子當作度週末的場所。他是位律師。我們村裏的人帶着一種幾近父輩的驕傲心情追隨他那輝煌的業績。
我記得，大約十年前他被任命爲王室法律顧問，阿莫斯和我看見他走下倫敦開來的火車便上前去表示祝賀。我們高興的笑着;而他的表情卻跟接到判刑通知書一樣悲慘。他受封當爵士時也是如此，他沒有一絲笑容，他甚至不屑於在藍狐狸酒館請我們大家喝杯酒。他對待成功就像小孩吃藥一樣，任何一項成就都未能使他疲憊的眼睛裏露出一絲笑意。
他退休以後可以在花園裏隨便走走，幹些輕鬆的閒活。有一天，我問他一個問題：一個人實現了一切雄心壯志是什麼滋味?他低頭看這玫瑰花，澆他的水。過了一會兒，他說："實現雄心壯志的唯一價值是你發現他們都不值得追求。"他立刻改變話題討論有實際意義的事情，我們很快談論起萬無一失的天氣問題。這是兩年前的事。
我想起這件事情，因爲昨天我經過他的家，把我的大車停在他花園的院牆外邊。我從大路把車趕到他花園外邊是爲了給一輛公共汽車讓路。我坐在車上裝菸斗時忽然聽見院牆裏面傳來一聲欣喜欲狂的歡呼。
我向牆內張望。裏面是亨利爵士，他歡蹦亂跳像在跳部落出征的舞蹈，表現出毫無顧忌的真正的快樂。他發現了我在牆頭張望的迷惑不解的面孔，他似乎毫不生氣，也不感到窘迫，而是大聲呼喊叫我爬過牆去。
"快來看，傑。看呀!我終於成功了!我終於成功了!"
他站在那裏，手裏拿着一小盒土。我發現土裏有三顆小芽。
"就只有這三個!"他眉開眼笑地說。
"三個什麼東西?"我問。
"核桃。"他回答道，"我一直想種核桃，從小就想，當時我參加晚會後老是把核桃帶回家，後來長大成人蔘加宴會後也這樣。我以前常常種核桃，可是過後就忘了我種在什麼地方。現在，我總算成功了。還有，我只有三個核桃。你瞧，一、二、三棵芽。"他數着說。
亨利爵士跑了起來，叫他的妻子來看他的成功之作--他的單純純樸的成功之作。
