人性的弱点Man Is the Causer of His Circumstances（1/2）

詹姆斯·艾伦/ Jas Allen

Practicg for Better Learng

First listen and then ahe questions.

1. What is the ang offightg agast circes?

2. What are the three cases the author has ntiohe passage?What is their life like?

Men do not attract that which they want, but that which they are. Their whis, fancies and abitions are thwarted at every step, but their ost thoughts and desires are fed with their own food, be it foul or . The“divity that shapes our ends”isourselves; it is our very self. Only hiself anacles an: thought and a are the gaolers of fate—they iprison, beg base; they are also the angels of freedo—they liberate, beg noble. Not what he wishes and prays for does a a, but what he jtly earns. His wishes and prayers are only gratified and answered when they haroh his thoughts and as.

In the light of this truth, what, then, is the ang of“fightg agast circes?”It ans that a an is ntually revoltg agast an effect without, while all the ti he is n and preservg its caehis heart. That cae ay take the for of a nscio vice or an unnscio weakness; but whatever it is, it stubbornly retards the efforts of its possessor, and th calls aloud for redy.

Men are anxio to iprove their h his heart is set. This is as true of earthly as of heavenly thgs. Even the an whose sole object is to acquire wealth t be prepared to ake great personal sacrifices before heaoplish his object; and how uch ore so he who would realize a strong and well-poised life?

Here is a an who is wretchedly poor. He is extrely anxio that his surroundgs and ho forts should be iproved, yet all the ti he shirks his work, and nsiders he is jtifiedtryg to deceive his eployer on the ground of the sufficy of his wages. Such a an does not uand the siplest rudts of those prciples which are the basis of true prosperity, and is not only totally unfitted to rise out of his wretess, but is actually attractg to hiself a still deeper wretess by dwellg , and actg out, dolent, deceptive, and unanly thoughts.

Here is a ri who is the victi of a paful and persistent disease as the result of gttony. He is willg to give rge s of oo get rid of it, but he will not sacrifice his gttono desires. He wants to gratify his taste for rid unnatural viands and have his health as well. Such a an is totally unfit to have health, becae he has not yet learhe first prciples of a healthy life.

Here is an eployer of bor ts crooked asures to avoid payg the regution wage, and,the hope of akg rger profits, reduces the wages of his workpeople. Such a an is altogether unfitted for prosperity. and when he fds hiself bankrupt, both as regards reputation and riches, he bs circes, not knog that he is the sole author of his ndition.

I have troduced these three cases rely as ilstrative of the truth that an is the caer（though nearly always is unnscioly）of his circes.

人们感兴趣的并不是他们想要什么东西，而是他们想要成为什么样的人。在任何时刻，他们的胡思乱想、心血**和野心勃勃都可能遭遇打击，然而不管肮脏还是纯洁，他们内心的思想和欲望都会自然而然地滋长起来。“命运之神”就藏在我们心里，它其实就是我们自己。能约束人类的只有人类自己：思想和行为是命运的狱卒——囚禁那些思想卑贱的人；与此同时，它们也是自由的天使——解放那些品德高尚的人。一个人所期盼和祈求的东西并不能如愿，他所得到的只是应得的。唯有与思想和行为和谐一致时，他的期盼和祈求才会得到回应和满足。

既然事实如此，那么“与环境抗争”又有什么意义呢？它是指在一个人不断对抗外来压力时，心中却又一直滋长并留存着产生这种压力的思想。这种思想要么有意识地堕落，要么无意地被削弱。但不管是哪一种，它总是顽固地妨碍着一个人的发展，因此需要提醒他去矫正。

人们总是迫切希望改善环境，却从不肯改变自己。所以，他们做什么事都是麻烦不断。一个勇于自我反省的人在实现理想目标的道路上永远不会失败。这是一个恒久不变的真理。即使一个人唯一的目标就是获得财富，他也要在实现目标之前随时作好付出巨大牺牲的准备。那么，一个人要实现幸福、美满的人生，又要付出多大的代价呢？

假如有一个非常贫困的人，他迫不及待地想改善他的环境、享受舒适的生活，却又总是逃避工作，以薪水太低为借口欺骗老板。这样的人连真正致富的最简单基本原则都不懂。他不但不能摆脱自己的悲惨处境，相反，因为沉迷于懒惰、欺骗和懦弱的思想中，他只会陷入更加悲惨的境地。

假如有一个富人，他因为暴饮暴食而长期饱受痛苦、疾病的折磨，他愿意付出大笔金钱来消除这种痛苦，却不肯放弃自己贪吃的欲望，他不但想满足自己的口腹之欲，又想保持健康。像这样的人，完全不可能拥有健康，因为他不懂得健康生活的最基本原则。

假如有一个老板以欺骗的手段来逃避支付正常的薪水，更有甚者，为了牟取更大的利润而克扣工人的薪水，像这样的人是绝对不会发财的。当他发现自己既损毁了名誉又丧失了钱财的时候，他会抱怨环境，却不知道困境完全是自己造成的。

我在这里讲了三个例子，仅仅是为了证明一个真理：人就是自己环境的创造者（尽管几乎总是在无意识的状态下）。

Acethe Hole

Keywords and expressions

1. shrk

作动词：收缩；畏缩

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