美德照耀成长
幼小的灵魂在成长中缺少了美德熏陶,耻辱将与孩子如影随行,他的生命将埋葬在无尽的罪恶中。要让荣誉和鼓励伴随着孩子成长,将使其光明磊落。育儿之道莫过如此,就像出生三天的幼狮总是在雄狮威慑一切的吼声中,开启沉睡的野性。
This animal(the lion), with his thundering roar, rouses his young the third day after they are born, teaching them the use of all their dormant senses and all the wild things which are in the wood flee away.
This may be compared to the children of Virtue who are roused by the sound of praise and grow up in honourable studies, by which they are more and more elevated; while all that is base flies at the sound, shunning those who are virtuous.
播种美德之人才有收获
年华似水,欺骗了众生,将他们远远抛在后头。荣耀,唯有栽种美德之人,方可拥有。
The age which flies glides by in stealth and deceives others; and nothing is more swift than the years, and he who sows virtue reaps glory.
美德才是终生伴侣
无法失去的才是真财富
真正的财富当永随左右。恰如美德,它是有用的馈赠物,对主人不离不弃,直至生命的尽头。物质财富的主人,总是绷紧神经,小心翼翼地护着财产。一旦失去它们,这些人将变得一文不值,受尽嘲笑。
That which can be lost cannot be deemed riches. Virtue is our true wealth and the true reward of its possessor; it cannot be lost, it never deserts us until life leaves us.
唯美德之名不朽
珍宝名誉永垂不朽,拥有它的富豪,将带着他的名声一起归于尘土。至于美德之名,更甚于珍宝。那些贵族世家,他们期盼千古留名,因此追名逐利,到头来空空如也。相反,有些人安贫乐道,心怀善念。他们的愿望与富人的欲求相比更有效,因为美德优于财富。财富不可赋予他它的主人不朽的生命,但知识却能让人的精神永恒的。财富不过是继女罢了,但知识是创造者的骨肉至亲,她用清亮的声音,大声宣告着其父的荣耀。
The fame of the rich man dies with him; the fame of the treasure, and not of the man who possessed it, remains. Far greater is the glory of the virtue of mortals than that of their riches. How many emperors and how many princes have lived and died and no record of them remains, and they only sought to gain dominions and riches in order that their fame might be ever-lasting. How many were those who lived in scarcity of worldly goods in order to grow rich in virtue; and as far as virtue exceeds wealth, even in the same degree the desire of the poor man proved more fruitful than that of the rich man.
Dost thou not see that wealth in itself confers no honour on him who amasses it, which shall last when he is dead, as does knowledge?--knowledge which shall always bear witness like a clarion to its creator, since knowledge is the daughter of its creator, and not the stepdaughter, like wealth.
欺骗滋生无赖
从不缺以欺骗为生的人,如令其谎言继续,将滋生许多无赖。
And many make a trade deceiving the foolish multitude, and if no one comes to unmask their deceits, they punish it.
人因利背义
从死者身上夺来的东西,被他们紧紧攥在手里。许多人在利益面前,背弃了名望。
There will be many who, forgetting their existence and their name, will lie as dead on the spoils of other dead creatures.
忍耐可抵御侮辱
衣能御寒。当冰雪严寒,披一件大衣,温暖护体。忍可御辱。当骂声汹汹,多一分忍耐,平静安心。
Patience serves against insults as clothes do against the cold; since if you multiply your clothes as the cold increases, the cold cannot hurt you.
Similarly, let thy patience increase under great offences, and they will not be able to hurt your feelings.
忠言总是遭到拒绝
如良药苦口,忠言也是逆耳。越是必须,它越会遭遇拒绝。无知之人,总是对忠言冷漠以待。
Here is a thing which the more it is needed the more it is rejected: and this is advice, which is unwillingly heeded by those who most need it, that is to say, by the ignorant.
不对奉献心生倦意
不厌其烦地奉献,即便身体疲乏。有用之人,行有用之事,即使结局并不完美,也死得其所。如同一条格言:永不松懈。我正是这样,乐于助人,不知疲倦,即使家财万贯,对奉献的执着也从不消减。而且,沉迷于奉献,是因由它的效用,而非因此带来的收益。
Rather privation of limbs than weariness of doing good. The power of using my limbs shall fail me before the power of being useful. Rather death than weariness. I cannot be satiated with serving. I do not weary of giving help. No amount of work is sufficient to weary me.
This is a carnival motto: "Sine lassitudine." Hands in which ducats and precious stones abound like snow never grow weary of serving, but such a service is for its utility only and not for our profit.
Nature has formed me thus.
白日里捻熄烛火即是负义
何为忘恩负义?木助火势,火却将其燃为灰烬。太阳高升,驱逐了黑暗。此时,你捻熄烛火,将这位曾经带给你光明的恩人,弃之如敝履。
This shall be placed in the hand of ingratitude: The wood nourishes the fire that consumes it. When the sun, the scatterer of darkness, shines, you put out the light which for you in particular, and for your need and convenience, expelled the darkness.
人类是极恶的兽
人类,你自诩万物灵长。我觉得,你是最强大的兽王。你看似仁慈,不随意宰杀生灵。其实,你留下它们,只是贪图更多的后代。你流淌鲜血的大口,成了多少动物的葬身之所。我何妨将实情揭露,苦于罄竹难书。那就讲一些关于人类自己的事吧。有一件事令人难堪。在动物中,除了少数愚蠢的食肉动物外,再没有会食亲子的野兽了。而人类,你非但食子,甚至烹杀自己的双亲,爱人与朋友。即使如此,也填不满你的野心。你不惜远航,到其他岛屿捕获土著,先如饲养家禽一般养肥他们,最后将他们塞进你的血盆大口。为何?自然生产的蔬菜种类繁多,却还不能满足你。为何?你不愿意模仿某些作家所写,将多种蔬菜合成一道美味佳肴。
Thou hast described him king of animals, but I would rather say, king of beasts, thou being the greatest--for hast thou not slain them in order that they may give thee their children to glut thy greed with which thou hast striven to make a sepulchre for all animals?
And I would say still more if I might speak the whole truth.
But let us confine ourselves to human matters, relating one supreme infamy, which is not to be found among the animals of the earth; because among these you will not find animals who eat their young, except when they are utterly foolish (and there are few indeed of such among them), and this occurs only among the beasts of prey, such as the lions, and leopards, panthers, lynxes, cats and the like, which sometimes feed on their young; but thou, besides thy children, dost devour thy father, thy mother, thy brother and thy friends; and not satisfied with this, thou goest forth to hunt on the islands of others, seizing other men and these half naked ... thou fattenest and chasest them down thy own throat.