论快乐

     乐于我们乃至善且自然之追求，正因为此，我们并不选择每一种快乐，而是偶尔放弃多种快乐，因为这些快乐会带来更大的不安；同样，我们认为许多痛苦优于快乐，因为当我们长期忍受痛苦之后，更大的快乐便随之而来。就其与我们之自然联系而言，每一种快乐都是善的，然而并非每一种快乐都是可取的；同理，虽然每一种痛苦都是恶的，但并非每一种痛苦从本质上都应当加以躲避。不过，我们必须依据某种鉴别的尺度，通过权衡利弊来形成对一切事物的判断。因此我们有时将好事视为坏事，反之则将坏事视为好事。

　　必须看到，有些欲望是自然的，而另一些欲望则是无益的；在自然的欲望之中，有些是必需的，而另一些纯属自然而已；在必需的欲望之中，有些是幸福之所需，有些是身体安康之所需，而另一些则旨在维持生计。……

　　苦恼或源于恐惧，或源于无益的毫无节制的欲望。然而，倘若一个人能克制欲望，他便为自己赢得了彻悟人生的至福。……在种种欲望之中，所有那些即使无法满足也并不导致痛苦者，均属不必需之列；而当其所求之目标难以实现或似乎有可能带来危害时，此类欲望随即烟消云散。……有些自然的欲望即使无法实现也并不带来痛苦之感，而人们却求之不舍，此类快乐均源于无聊的想象，其所以未能驱散，并非本质使然，实乃根因于人之幻想。……

　　无论是拥有巨额财富，还是荣誉，还是纭纭众生的仰慕，或任何其他导致无穷欲望的身外之物，都无法了结心灵的烦扰，更不能带来真正的快乐。……我们不可悖逆天性，而应顺性而为；而所谓顺性，乃是去满足必需的欲望，以及自然的欲望，如果后者并不带来危害，反之则应严加抵御。……顺性而不为妄言蛊惑者，可独立于天地之间。凡满足天性者，一点一滴便足以使人富有；而若是填补欲壑，纵然是万贯家财，所带来的也不是富有，而是贫困。

　　你之所以困难重重，乃因为忘却天性；是你为自己设置了无穷的恐惧与欲望。与其锦衣玉食却忧心忡忡，不如粗茶淡饭却无忧无虑。

     Since pleasure is the first good and natural to us, for this very reason we do not choose every pleasure, but sometimes we pass over many pleasures, when greater discomfort accrues to us as the result of them: and similarly we think many pains better than pleasures, since a greater pleasure comes to us when we have endured pains for a long time. Every pleasure then because of its natural kinship to us is good, yet not every pleasure is to be chosen; even as every pain also is an evil, yet not all are always of a nature to be avoided. Yet by a scale of comparison and by the consideration of advantages and disadvantages we must form our judgment on all these matters. For the good on certain occasions we treat as bad, and conversely the bad as good.
　　We must consider that of desires some are natural, others vain, and of the natural some are necessary and others merely natural; and of the necessary some are necessary for happiness, others for the repose of the body, and others for very life....

　　Unhappiness comes either through fear or through vain and unbridled desire; but if a man curbs these, he can win for himself the blessedness of understanding.... Of desires, all that do not lead to a sense of pain, if they are not satisfied, are not necessary, but involve a craving which is easily dispelled, when the object is hard to procure or they seem likely to produce harm. . . . Wherever in the case of desires which are natural, but do not lead to a sense of pain, if they are not fulfilled, the effort is intense, such pleasures are due to idle imagination, and it is not owing to their own nature that they fail to be dispelled, but owing to the empty imaginings of the man....

　　The disturbance of the soul cannot be ended nor true joy created either by the possession of the greatest wealth or by honor and respect in the eyes of the mob or by anything else that is associated with causes of unlimited desires.... We must not violate nature, but obey her; and we shall obey her if we fulfill the necessary desires and also the natural, if they bring no harm to us, but sternly reject the harmful.... The man who follows nature and not vain opinions is independent in all things. For in reference to what is enough for nature every possession is riches, but in reference to unlimited desires even the greatest wealth is not riches but poverty.

　　Insofar as you are in difficulties, it is because you forget nature; for you create for yourself unlimited fears and desires. It is better for you to be free of fear lying upon a pallet, than to have a golden couch and a rich table and be full of trouble.

去认识大自然之美

　　爱美是整个健全人性不可或缺的一部分。它是一种道德品质。缺乏这种品质并不能作为受到责难的充分理由，但是拥有这种品质则是心灵美好的永恒标志。品德的高尚与美好所达到的程度可能与对美的感受程度成正比。

　　大自然的美无处不在，整个宇宙就是美的殿堂。美，在春日百花中绽放;美，在绿叶嫩枝间摇曳;美，在深海幽谷里游弋;美，在奇石与贝壳的缤纷色彩中闪烁。不只是这些细微之物，还有海洋，山川，云彩，繁星，日升日落，一切都是洋溢着美。这样的美是如此珍贵，与我们最温柔，最高尚的情愫是如此相宜。然而，想到很多人置身于美之中，却几乎对它熟视无睹，真是令人痛心不已。

　　所有的人都应该去认识大自然之美。没有一条我们踩过的小虫，没有一片在秋风拂掠之际飞舞的树叶不值得我们研究与赞赏。欣赏美的能力不仅增加了我们快乐的来源，也加强了我们德性的修养。美使我们不安的心平静下来，也驱散了我们的忧虑。到田野或森林去，在夏日的海边或山上呆上一天，那么你所有微不足道的困惑与焦虑都会烟消云散。倾听悦耳的音乐，你那愚蠢的恐惧与狭隘的嫉妒都会过去。世界之美将有助于我们找到为善之美。

   　The love of beauty is an essential part of all healthy human nature. It is a moral quality. The absence of it is not an assured ground of condemnation, but the presence of it is an invariable sign of goodness of heart. In proportion to the degree in which it is felt will probably be the degree in which nobleness and beauty of character will be attained.

　　Natural beauty is an all-pervading presence. The universe is its temple. It unfolds into the numberless flowers of spring. It waves in the branches of trees and the green blades of grass. It haunts the depths of the earth and the sea. It gleams from the hues of the shell and the precious stone. And not only these minute objects but the oceans, the mountains, the clouds, the stars, the rising and the setting sun---all overflow with beauty. This beauty is so precious, and so congenial to our tenderest and noblest feelings, that it is painful to think of the multitude of people living in the midst of it and yet remaining almost blind to it.

　  All persons should seek to become acquainted with the beauty in nature. There is not a worm we tread upon, nor a leaf that dances merrily as it falls before the autumn winds, but calls for our study and admiration. The power to appreciate beauty not merely increases our sources of happiness--it enlarges our moral nature, too. Beauty calms our restlessness and dispels our cares. Go into the fields or the woods, spend a summer day by the sea or the mountains, and all your little perplexities and anxieties will vanish. Listen to sweet music, and your foolish fears and petty jealousies will pass away. The beauty of the world helps us to seek and find the beauty of goodness.