午夜的一课

詹姆斯·Q.杜邦

Ever since one midnight in 1909， when I first heard my mother crying， I have been groping for beliefs to help me through the rough going and confusions of life. My dads voice was low and troubled as he tried to comfort Mother. And in their anguish， they both forgot the nearness of my bedroom. I overheard them. I was only seven then， and while their problem of that time has long been solved and forgotten， the big discovery I made that night is still right with me： life is not all hearts and flowers; its hard and cruel for most of us much of the time. We all have troubles—they just differ in nature—thats all. And that leads to my first belief.

I believe the human race is very， very tough—almost impossible to discourage. If it wasnt， then why do we have such words as “laugh” and “sing” and “music” and “dance”—in the language of all mankind since the beginning of recorded time？ This belief makes me downright proud to be a human being.

Next， I believe there is good and evil in all of us. Thomas Mann comes close to expressing what Im trying to say with his carefully worded sentence about the “frightfully radical duality” between the brain and the beast in man—in all of us.

This belief helps me because so long as I remember that there are certain forces of evil ever present in me—and never forget that there is also a divine spark of goodness in me， too—then I find the “score” of my bad mistakes at the end of each day is greatly reduced. “Forewarned of evil， is half the battle against it.” I believe in trying to be charitable， in trying to understand and forgive people， especially in trying to forgive very keen or brilliant people. A man may be a genius， but he can still do things that practically break your heart.

I believe most if not all of our very finest thoughts and many of our finest deeds must be kept to ourselves alone—at least until after we die. This used to confuse me. But now I realize that by their very nature， these finest things we do and cannot talk about are a sort of secret preview of a better life to come. I believe there is no escape from the rule that we must do many， many little things to accomplish even just one big thing. This gives me patience when I need it most.

And then I believe in having the courage to be myself. Or perhaps I should say， to be honest with myself. Sometimes this is practically impossible， but Im sure I should always try.

自1909年的一個午夜第一次听到母亲哭泣以来，我一直寻找信念帮我度过生活中的艰辛与困惑。父亲安慰母亲时，声音低沉而忧郁。极度的痛苦让他们忘记我的卧室就在附近。我无意中听到了他们的谈话，那时我只有七岁。尽管他们当时的问题早已得到解决并被遗忘，但那一晚的重大发现仍然教导我：生活并不总是充满鲜花和爱情。许多时候生活对于我们大多数人来说艰辛而残酷。我们都有烦恼，只是烦恼的性质不同，仅此而已。这就是我的第一个信念。

我相信人类十分坚强，几乎不可能感到灰心沮丧。如若不然，为何有史以来人类所有的语言中都有“欢笑”“歌唱”“音乐”和“舞蹈”这样的词呢？这一信念让我无比自豪，因为我是一个人。

其次，我相信我们都有善恶两面。托马斯·曼字斟句酌地阐述了人类（我们所有人）身上存在的理智与兽性这一“极基本的双重性”时，几乎道出了我的观点。

这种信念让我受益，因为只要记住自己身上一直存在着某些邪恶的力量——但也从未忘记自己身上也有上帝赐予的善良火花——我就会发现每天结束时，错误和悔恨的“得分”大大降低。可见“事先警惕恶行是与之斗争成功的一半”。我相信人要尽量乐善好施，要尽量理解和宽恕别人，尤其要宽恕特别敏锐和聪慧的人。一个人或许是天才，但他也会做出让你伤心的事情。

我相信，即使不是全部，大多数我们提出的最富创意的思想，大多数我们实施的最富成果的行为，都不应让人知道是我们提出和实施的——至少要到我们去世之后才能让人知道。这一点过去常常让我感到困惑，但如今我明白，我们完成这些最美妙的事情却秘而不宣，实质上是在暗地里预见未来更美好的生活。我相信我们必须做许许多多小事才能成就大事，哪怕只有一件大事。这一规律无法逃避。这种信念使我在最需要办大事的时候很耐心。

还有，我相信要有勇气还自己本色。或许我应该说，要对自己实事求是。有时这几乎不可能，但我确信我应该永远努力为之。

Word Study

anguish /'??gw??/ n. 剧痛;极度痛苦;苦恼

downright /'da?nra?t/ adv. 彻头彻尾地，十足地，完全地

Its not just stupid—its downright dangerous.

charitable /'t??r?t?bl/ adj. 慈善的;行善的;布施的

His later years were devoted largely to charitable work.