​海明威《真正的高贵》

海明威《真正的高贵》

2008年时候有幸读到海明威写的小散文《真正的高贵》，写的真挚朴实，前边是英文原版，后边是中文翻译版，跟朋友们共勉。

英文原版:

《True Nobility》

In a calm sea every man is a pilot.

But all sunshine without shade, all pleasure without pain, is not life at all. Take the lot of the happiest—it is a tangled yarn. Bereavements and blessings, one following another, make us sad and blessed by turns. Even death itself makes life more loving. Men come closest to their true selves in the sober moments of life, under the shadows of sorrow and loss.

In the affairs of life or of business, it is not intellect that tells so much as character, not brains so much as heart, not genius so much as self-control, patience, and discipline, regulated by judgment.

I have always believed that the man who has begun to live more seriously within begins to live more simply without. In an age of extravagance and waste, I wish I could show to the world how few the real wants of humanity are.

To regret one’s errors to the point of not repeating them is true repentance. There is nothing noble in being superior to some other man. The true nobility is in being superior to your previous self.

中文翻译版:

《真正的高贵》

风平浪静的大海，每个人都是领航员。

但是，只有阳光无阴影，只有欢乐无痛苦，那就不是人生。以最幸福的人的生活为例，它是一团纠缠在一起的麻线。痛苦和幸福交替出现，使我们有时悲伤，有时快乐，甚至逝去本身也会使生命更加可亲可爱。在人生的清醒的时刻，在哀痛和伤心的阴影之下，人们最接近真实的自己。

在人生或者职业的各种事务中，性格的作用比智力大得多，头脑的作用不如内心，天资不如由判断力管理的自制，耐心和纪律。

我始终相信，开始在内心变得更认真严谨的人，也会在外表变得更朴素。

在一个奢华浪费的年代，我希望能向世界表明，人类真正需要的东西是非常少的。

悔恨自己的错误，最重要的是不重蹈覆辙，这才是真正的悔悟。优于别人，并不高贵，真正的高贵是优于过去的自己。

注:图片拍摄于北京市怀柔区怀柔水库。