天天向上Live Upward（1/2）
奥里森·马登/ Orison Marden
Acethe Hole
Uand these new words before you read this article.
1. proci [pr?uklei] v. 宣告，公布；声明
2. extend [ikstend] v. 延伸；扩大
3. prolong [pr?l??, l?:?] v. 延长
4. aspire [?spai?] v. 渴望；立志；追求
5. desion [di:??n] n. 迷惑，欺骗；错觉；幻想
6. wretess [ret?idnis] n. 可怜；悲惨；不幸
“Alexander, Caesar, Charleagne and yself have founded epires,”said Napoleon to Menthol at St. Helena,“but upon what did we rest the creations of eni? Upon force. Jes Christ alone founded his epire on love, and at this ont illions of n would die for hi. I die before y ti and y body will be given back to wors. Such is the fate of hi who has been called the great Napoleon. What an abyss beeen y deep isery and the eternal kgdo of Christ, which is procid, loved and adored, and which is extended over the whole earth.”
Tradition says that when Soloon reh he only knew how to prepare, one drop of which would prolong life defitely. A dyg crial begged for a drop of the precio fid, but Soloon refed to
prolong a wicked life. When good n asked for it they were refed, or failed to obta it when proised, as the kg would fet or prefer not to open the vase to get but a sgle drop. When at st the kg beca ill, and bade his servants brg the vase, he found that the s had all evaporated. So it is often with our hope, our faith, our abition, our aspiration.
A an ot aspire if he looks down. God has not createdwith aspirations and longgs for heights to which we ot clib. Live uard. The unattaed still bestoward the suit of life’s ountas, to the atosphere where great souls live and breathe and have their beg. Life should be livedear. It is no idle ga, no farce to ae aten. It is a stery, fuller of duties than the sky of stars. You ot have too uch of that yearng which we call aspiration, for, even though you do not atta your ideal, the efforts you ake will brg nothg but blessg.
To all will e a ti when the love of glory will be seen to be but a splendid desion, riches epty, rank va, power depe, and all ouard advantages without eace a re ockery of wretess. The wisest n have taken care to uproot selfish abition fro their breasts. Shakespeare nsidered it so near a vice as to need extenuatg circtao ake it a virtue.
Who has not noticed the power of lovean awkward, crabbed, shiftless, zy an? He bees gentle, chastenguage, eic. Love brgs out the poetryhi. It is only an idea, a sentt, a what agic it has wrought. Nothg wesee has touched the a he is eransford.
But do not strive to reach ipossible goals. It is whollyyour power to develop yourself, but not necessarily so to ake yourself a kg. Horesidents of the Uates or Pri Misters of Engnd are chosen with the w lifeti of a an? What if a thoand young n resolve to bee President or Pri Mister? While such prizes are with your reach, reber that your will t be trendo and your qualifications of the highest order, or you ot hope to secure the. Too any are deded by abition beyond their power of attant, or tortured by aspirations totally disproportioo their capacity for execution. You ay, deed, ly hope to bee eentefulness and power, but only as you build upon a broad foundation of self-culture; while, as a rule, specialistsabition assce are apt to bee narrow and one-sided. Dar was very fond of poetry and ic when young, but after devotg his life to sce, he was surprised to fd Shakespeare tedio. He said that, if he were to live his life aga, he would read poetry and hear ic every day, so as not to lose the power of appreciatg such thgs.
Man never reaches heights above his habitual thought. It is not enough now and then to ount on gs of ee daily do your ears lower the tone of yh abition or check your aspirations. Hope liftsstep by step up the ysterio dder, theof whio eye hath ever seen. Though we do not fd what hope proised, yet we are stronger for the clibg, a a broader outlook upon life which repays the effort. Indeed, if we do not follow where hope bes, we gradually slide down the dderdespair. Strive ever to be at theof your ndition.
在圣赫勒拿，拿破仑曾对蒙托洛说：“亚历山大、恺撒、查理曼还有我自己都曾建立帝国，但我们天赋的创造基于什么之上？是武力。只有耶稣基督在爱的基础上建起了他的帝国，因而此刻有无数的人愿为他而死。我将提早离开人世，而我的躯体也将回归尘埃。这便是那个号称‘伟大的拿破仑’的命运。在我深深的痛苦和耶稣基督永恒的帝国之间，有着怎样的一道深渊啊！那永恒的帝国表明了，爱慕与崇敬可以遍布整个地球。”
传说，所罗门（以色列国王）收到示巴女王所赠的翡翠瓶后，便在瓶内装满了只有他自己才知道配方的长生不老药，而这种药只需一滴便可无限地延长寿命。一个垂死的罪犯曾向他乞求一滴珍贵的灵药，但所罗门拒绝了，他不愿延长一个罪恶的生命。而好人去求灵药时，或被拒绝，或得到允诺却迟迟拿不到药，因为国王总会忘记或根本不愿打开瓶子，哪怕只是一滴药。最终国王病倒了，他吩咐仆人拿来翡翠瓶，发现里面的灵药早已全部蒸发。所以说，所谓的灵药通常都承载着我们的希望、信念、雄心和渴望。
一个垂头丧气的人无法拥有雄心壮志。上帝创造我们时，并没有给我们对于无法攀登的高度所需的热望和期待。乐观向上地生活，因为那些不曾得到的一切依然召唤着我们朝生命的巅峰前进，到伟大灵魂生活、呼吸、存在的地方去。生活就应该满怀热情。它不是懒惰的游戏，也不是可以轻易忘却的搞笑闹剧，它是严肃的现实，满载着比天上繁星更多的责任。你无法拥有太多的渴望，因为即使无法实现自己的理想，你的努力也不会付诸东流，而是会收获祝福。
终有一天，我们都会明白：财富、地位、权势等一切世间的浮华仅仅是过眼云烟，如果无法得到内心的那份宁静，一切外在的优势也不过是其悲惨境遇的笑柄而已。睿智的人会将心中自私的野心斩草除根。莎士比亚认为，应采取措施将这近乎罪恶的野心转变为一种美德。
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