悠游度過一天的24小時：第六章 牢記人的天性

CHAPTER VI Remember Human Nature

第六章 牢記人的天性

I have incidentally mentioned the vast expanse of forty-four hours between leaving business at 2 p.m. on Saturday and returning to business at 10 a.m. on Monday. And here I must touch on the point whether the week should consist of six days or of seven. For many years—in fact, until I was approaching forty—my own week consisted of seven days. I was constantly being informed by older and wiser people that more work, more genuine living, could be got out of six days than out of seven.

我已順帶提及了從周六下午2點(diǎn)下班到周一早上10點(diǎn)上班之間有一大段時間長達(dá)44小時。此刻我須談?wù)勔恢軕?yīng)該是六天還是七天。多年來——實(shí)際上，直到我快要四十歲時——我的一周是七天。一直以來，年長睿智的人不斷告訴我一周工作六天比七天更有效率，生活得更好。

And it is certainly true that now, with one day in seven in which I follow no programme and make no effort save what the caprice of the moment dictates, I appreciate intensely the moral value of a weekly rest. Nevertheless, had I my life to arrange over again, I would do again as I have done. Only those who have lived at the full stretch seven days a week for a long time can appreciate the full beauty of a regular recurring idleness. Moreover, I am ageing. And it is a question of age. In cases of abounding youth and exceptional energy and desire for effort I should say unhesitatingly: Keep going, day in, day out.

確實(shí)，如今七天里有一天我不安排任何計劃，除了一時興起，并不費(fèi)心做什么，我十分理解每周放松一次的道德價值。然而，如果讓我重新安排我的生活，我將依然故我。只有那些長期以來一周七天都全力以赴的人才能體會到擁有固定假期是多么美妙的事情。更何況，我正漸漸老去，這也是個年齡的問題。如果遇見朝氣蓬勃、精力格外旺盛并渴望做更多事的年輕人，我會毫不猶豫地說：請不舍晝夜，努力拼搏。

But in the average case I should say: Confine your formal programme (super-programme, I mean) to six days a week. If you find yourself wishing to extend it, extend it, but only in proportion to your wish; and count the time extra as a windfall, not as regular income, so that you can return to a six-day programme without the sensation of being poorer, of being a backslider.

但一般情況下，我會說：一周限定六天執(zhí)行你的正式計劃（我指超級計劃）。如果你想延長也可以延長，但要與你的企望成比例；把額外的時間當(dāng)成意外之財，而不是穩(wěn)定收入，這樣你恢復(fù)六天的日程安排時，就不會覺得自己“收入”減少了，也不會感覺自己在退步。

Let us now see where we stand. So far we have marked for saving out of the waste of days, half an hour at least on six mornings a week, and one hour and a half on three evenings a week. Total, seven hours and a half a week.

現(xiàn)在看看我們了解了什么。目前我們明確了怎樣從每天浪費(fèi)的時間中節(jié)約出時間：每周六天，每天早上至少半小時；加上每周三個晚上，每晚各一個半小時，每周總共有七個半小時。

I propose to be content with that seven hours and a half for the present. "What?" you cry. "You pretend to show us how to live, and you only deal with seven hours and a half out of a hundred and sixtyeight! Are you going to perform a miracle with your seven hours and a half?" Well, not to mince the matter, I am—if you will kindly let me! That is to say, I am going to ask you to attempt an experience which, while perfectly natural and explicable, has all the air of a miracle. My contention is that the full use of those seven-and-a-half hours will quicken the whole life of the week, add zest to it, and increase the interest which you feel in even the most banal occupations. You practise physical exercises for a mere ten minutes morning and evening, and yet you are not astonished when your physical health and strength are beneficially affected every hour of the day, and your whole physical outlook changed. Why should you be astonished that an average of over an hour a day given to the mind should permanently and completely enliven the whole activity of the mind?

我提議現(xiàn)在我們應(yīng)該滿足于這節(jié)省出的七個半小時?！笆裁?？”你叫道，“你聲稱教我們怎樣生活，可你卻不過在168個小時中抽出七個半小時做文章！用這七個半小時，你準(zhǔn)備上演什么奇跡嗎？”噢，毋庸諱言，我是要上演奇跡——如果你好心應(yīng)允的話！換句話說，我想請你嘗試體驗(yàn)一下，雖然這種體驗(yàn)極其自然，說得清道得明，但它跟奇跡并無二致。我認(rèn)為充分利用那七個半小時會使你這一周過得更快，生活變得更有激情，連你一向覺得乏味至極的工作都能喚起你的興趣。一早一晚你花區(qū)區(qū)十分鐘鍛煉身體，就會全天受益，體格改善、體力增強(qiáng)，你整個身體狀況都有所改觀，對此你并不驚訝。同理，平均一天花一個多小時來陶冶性情，也應(yīng)能長久地使所有精神活動充滿生機(jī)，對此你又何須驚異呢？

More time might assuredly be given to the cultivation of one's self. And in proportion as the time was longer the results would be greater. But I prefer to begin with what looks like a trifling effort.

或許應(yīng)該投入更多時間提高自身素質(zhì)。付出的時間越多，收獲就越大。但我傾向于從看似微不足道的努力開始。

It is not really a trif ling effort, as those will discover who have yet to essay it. To "clear" even seven hours and a half from the jungle is passably difficult. For some sacrifice has to be made. One may have spent one's time badly, but one did spend it; one did do something with it, however ill-advised that something may have been. To do something else means a change of habits.

其實(shí)也不是微不足道的努力，那些尚未有所嘗試的人今后會發(fā)現(xiàn)這一點(diǎn)。即使從時間叢林中“清理出”七個半小時都有些困難，因?yàn)榈米髂撤N犧牲。也許一個人的確花了那些時間，不管過得多么糟糕；也許一個人也的確利用那時間做了些事，不管那些事做得多么不妥。但想要做其他事就意味著習(xí)慣的改變。

And habits are the very dickens to change! Further, any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts. If you imagine that you will be able to devote seven hours and a half a week to serious, continuous effort, and still live your old life, you are mistaken. I repeat that some sacrifice, and an immense deal of volition, will be necessary. And it is because I know the difficulty, it is because I know the almost disastrous effect of failure in such an enterprise, that I earnestly advise a very humble beginning. You must safeguard your self-respect. Self-respect is at the root of all purposefulness, and a failure in an enterprise deliberately planned deals a desperate wound at one's self-respect. Hence I iterate and reiterate: Start quietly, unostentatiously.

要改變習(xí)慣相當(dāng)困難！況且，任何改變，哪怕是往好的方面改變總伴隨著缺憾和不適。如果你想象自己每周都能利用那七個半小時堅持不懈地認(rèn)真努力，卻同時還能過著以前的生活，那你就錯了。我重復(fù)一遍，某種犧牲以及過人的毅力是必需的。因?yàn)槲抑酪龅侥菢邮嵌嗝蠢щy，并且在這件事情上一旦失敗會造成幾乎是災(zāi)難性的后果，所以我誠懇地建議要非常緩和地開始。你必須維護(hù)你的自尊，自尊是一切動機(jī)的根本，在精心思量的事情上失敗往往會給人的自尊帶來致命的打擊。因此我重申，再重申：要低調(diào)謙抑地開始。

When you have conscientiously given seven hours and a half a week to the cultivation of your vitality for three months—then you may begin to sing louder and tell yourself what wondrous things you are capable of doing.

如果你每周花七個半小時認(rèn)真提升自己的精力，三個月下來，你就可以開始高聲歌唱，可以告訴自己能做多么神奇的事。

Before coming to the method of using the indicated hours, I have one final suggestion to make. That is, as regards the evenings, to allow much more than an hour and a half in which to do the work of an hour and a half. Remember the chance of accidents. Remember human nature. And give yourself, say, from 9 to 11.30 for your task of ninety minutes.

在講到利用那些時間的方法之前，我還有最后一個建議。就晚間活動安排而言，可以花超過一個半小時的時間做一個半小時的工作，因?yàn)橐紤]到可能發(fā)生的意外，要想到人的天性。比如，讓自己從晚上9點(diǎn)到11點(diǎn)半做本來計劃90分鐘內(nèi)做完的事情。