书城励志沉思录
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第16章 拥抱你自己的生活吧(1)

56.要懂得人必有一死,也许不久生命就要终结,那么就在余生中,随心所欲地生活吧。

57.就去拥抱你自己的生活吧,就去热爱用你自己的命运纺线编织成的生命吧,因为还有什么更值得你去热爱呢?

58.面对发生在你身上的所有事情之时,不妨想一想那些一样经历过这些事的人们,当时的他们是多么苦恼啊,他们对遇到的这些事手足无措,他们认为这些都是不应该发生的事那如今这些人又去了哪里呢?到处也找不到他们的身影。那么为什么你还要选择要以和他们一样的态度去面对这些事呢?为什么你还要在意那些与你的本质不相干的引诱煽动呢?把这些引诱都给那些制造它们和那些经不住诱惑的人们吧。为什么不下决心以正确的方式利用你的这些经历呢?你能很好地利用它们,因为这些经历为你提供了很好的素材。仅需关注你自己,决心要成为一个有用的人,并为此付出努力。一定要铭记……

59.洞悉心灵。心灵是所有善的源泉,只要你潜心挖掘,善就在你身边。

60.应该强健体质。无论是行为还是态度都不可没有规律。因为内心的感受必须要以明智妥当的方式表现出来,而整个身体也需要以同样的方式表达它的感受。但所有的表达都不得矫揉造作。

61.生活的艺术与其说是舞者的艺术,不若说是摔跤手的技艺,要站得稳,勇敢地迎接打击,即使这种打击是突如其来的。

62.如果你想要得到某人的认可,那你就仔细观察那人的一举一动,观察他们的原则。因为如果你留意到他们是怎样形成自己独特看法和品味的,你就既不会责备那些无心冒犯你的人,也不会再想得到他们的认可了。

63.哲人们说,每一个灵魂都会不知不觉地远离了真理,每个灵魂最终都会以相同的方式远离公正、节制、仁爱以及其他一切善的品质。将这一点铭记于心是很有必要的,因为这样你才会更友善地对待他人。

64.每一次在遭遇痛苦的时候,都要铭记住一点,那就是遭受痛苦并不是什么耻辱,也不会折损你的智慧,因为智慧是理性的也是社会性的,痛苦无从损害它。在遭遇极大的痛苦时,可以让伊壁鸠鲁(Epicurus)的这句话激励你:痛苦既不是不可忍受的也不是无休止的,只要你记住痛苦是有终点的,只要你不添油加醋地肆意扩大你的痛苦:也要铭记这一点,我们不要把那些不合我们意的事物也视为痛苦,比如嗜睡,比如被炎热炙烤,比如没有食欲。当你对这些事感到不满就告诉你自己,痛苦已经在支配你了。

65.当心,对那些冷漠无情的人,不要采取和他们一样冷漠的待人方式。

66.我们如何知道格劳修斯(Telauges)在品格上不如苏格拉底呢?因为苏格拉底仅仅因其更高尚的离去、更高妙的雄辩术,更能忍受黑夜的寒冷是不能证明他在品质上超越了格劳修斯的。当他受命不得不去逮捕萨拉米斯的里昂(Leon of Salamis)时,他认为拒绝是更高尚的做法,故此他昂首阔步地行走在街道上时——尽管有人可能深表怀疑此事的真实性。但是我们理应询问,苏格拉底究竟拥有怎样的灵魂,假如他能只是满足于公正地对待他人还有虔诚地信奉神灵,既不因人类的罪恶而感到苦恼,也不屈服于任何人的愚昧无知,同时不将天地指派给他的职责视为奇怪的责任,也不把天降于斯的苦难视为是无法忍受的,也不允许自己的理性同情可悲的肉体所产生的情感。

67.大自然并未将智慧混杂于身体的构成之中,并没有赐予你限定自己的能量,也未赐予你征服你所拥有的一切的力量;因为你既很有可能成为一个伟人,也很有可能成为伟人后却得不到他人的认可。不仅要将这一点牢牢记在心里,还要铭记另一点:即使是再微不足道的细节,它对你的幸福生活来说也是十分必要的。因为如若你已不可能成为一位雄辨家或是已不可能对大自然的知识了若指掌,那么你也不要因此而放弃成为一个自由、谦逊、善于交际以及顺从上帝旨意的人的希望。

68.人类是有能力远离冲动的,只要心中拥有一片宁静,即使全世界都竭力叫嚣着反对你,即使野兽将你的皮囊撕成碎片。因为这些都妨碍了心灵宁静,妨碍了心灵对周围事物做出公正的判断,妨碍了心灵很好地利用内心世界的产物,以至于在观察后会做出这样的判断:你是物质的存在(真正的存在),只是在别人眼中,你也许是个异类而在获得内心世界的产物后,会这样对它说:你就是我一直在寻找的,因为对我而言,那些自发显露出来的总是理性,并且带有政治色彩的道德素材,一言以蔽之,它们是只属于人类和上帝的技艺的操练。因为无论发生了什么,要么和上帝有关,要么就与人类有关,这些发生了的事并不是陌生的而是司空见惯了的,也绝不是难以处理的而是能够应付自如的。

69.完美的道德品质是这样的:把每一天都当作是生命的最后一天充实地度过,既不极端亢奋,也不懒散无力,更不要虚伪狡诈。

70.永生不朽的神灵从不会庸人自扰,因为他们在漫长的时间中必须要不断容忍人类的行为,虽然人类行为往往是如此的罪恶;不仅如此,神灵们却还要在各个方面照顾人类。而你,注定难逃一死,可你是不是已经厌烦了容忍恶行,而当你也做了坏事,是不是也无法容忍自己呢?

71.人假若无法摆脱潜藏在自身的罪恶,那真是荒诞之极,因为于自己,放下屠刀立地成佛是可能的,而妄想摆脱别人的罪恶却是不可能办到的。

72.理性和政治方面(社会性的)的才能若被证实是非理性或是非社会性的,那么就能做出这样正确的判断:这种才能是低劣的。

73.当你做了善事,而别人也接受了你的好意,那你为什么还要像傻瓜似的要得到更多呢?是想要得到行善的好名声,还是想要谋求别人的回报?

74.不会有人已经厌倦了得到更多有用的东西。不过,不违背本性也是很有用的。为此,就不要厌倦为他人多做有用的事,这样才能得到更多有用的东西。

75.蕴含着万物的自然界不断改变,于是创造出了宇宙。但现在一切事物要么作为结果发生,要么就连续不断地发生,甚至就连宇宙间最强大的力量统治着的最重要的事物也不再遵从理性原则了。如果能记住这一点,那么你在面对许多事时便能更为镇定了。

1. What is badness? It is that which thou hast often seen. And on the occasion of everything which happens keep this in mind, that it is that which thou hast often seen. Everywhere up and down thou wilt find the same things, with which the old histories are filled, those of the middle ages and those of our own day; with which cities and houses are filled now. There is nothing new; all things are both familiar and short-lived.

2. How can our principles become dead, unless the impressions [thoughts] which correspond to them are extinguished? But it is in thy power continuously to fan these thoughts into a flame. I can have that opinion about anything, which I ought to have. If I can, why am I disturbed? The things which are external to my mind have no relation at all to my mind. Let this be the state of thy affects, and thou standest erect. To recover thy life is in thy power. Look at things again as thou didst use to look at them; for in this consists the recovery of thy life.

3. The idle business of show, plays on the stage, flocks of sheep, herds, exercises with spears, a bone to cast to little dogs, a bit of bread into fish-ponds, labourings of ants and burden-carrying, runnings about of frightened little mice, puppets pulled by strings—[all alike]. It is thy duty then in the midst of such things to show good humour and not a proud air; to understand, however, that every man is worth just so much as the things are worth about which he busies himself.

4. In discourse thou must attend to what is said, and in every movement thou must observe what is doing. And in the one thou shouldst see immediately to what end it refers, but in the other watch carefully what is the thing signified.

5. Is my understanding sufficient for this or not? If it is sufficient I use it for the work as an instrument given by the universal nature. But if it is not sufficient, then either I retire from the work and give way to him who is able to do it better, unless there be some reason why I ought not to do so; or I do it as well as I can, taking to help me the man who with the aid of my ruling principle can do what is now fit and useful for the general good. For whatsoever either by myself or with another I can do, ought to be directed to this only, to that which is useful and well suited to society.

6. How many after being celebrated by fame have been given up to oblivion; and how many who have celebrated the fame of others have long been dead.

7. Be not ashamed to be helped; for it is thy business to do thy duty like a soldier in the assault on a town. How then, if being lame thou canst not mount up on the battlements alone, but with the help of another it is possible?

8. Let not future things disturb thee, for thou wilt come to them, if it shall be necessary, having with thee the same reason which now thou usest for present things.

9. All things are implicated with one another, and the bond is holy; and there is hardly anything unconnected with any other thing. For things have been co-ordinated, and they combine to form the same universe [order]. For there is one universe made up of all things, and one god who pervades all things, and one substance, and one law, [one] common reason in all intelligent animals, and one truth; if indeed there is also one perfection for all animals which are of the same stock and participate in the same reason.

10. Everything material soon disappears in the substance of the whole; and everything formal [causal] is very soon taken back into the universal reason; and the memory of everything is very soon overwhelmed in time.