塞繆爾·約翰遜/Samuel Johnson
Many moralists have remarked,that Pride has of all human vices the widest dominion,appears in the greatest multiplicity of forms,and lies hid under the greatest variety of disguises;of disguises,which,like t he moon's veil of brightness,are both its luster and its shade,and be tray it to others,though they hide it from ourselves.
It is not my intention to degrade Pride from this preeminence of mis chief,yet I know not whether Idleness may not maintain a very doubtful and obstinate competition.
There are some that profess Idleness in its full dignity,who call t hemselves the Idle,as Busiris in the play Calls himself the Proud;who boast that they do nothing,and thank their stars that they have nothing to do;who sleep every night till they can sleep no longer,and rise onl y that exercise may enable them to sleep again;who prolong the reign of darkness by double curtains,and never see the sun but to tell him how t hey hate his beams;whose whole labor is to vary the postures of indulge nce,and whose day differs from their night but as a couch or chair diff ers from a bed.
These are the true and open votaries of Idleness,for whom she weave s the garlands of poppies,and into whose cup she pours the waters of ob livion;who exist in a state of unruffled stupidity,forgetting and forg otten;who have long ceased to live,and at whose death the survivors ca n only say,that they have ceased to breathe.
But Idleness predominates in many lives where it is not suspected;f or being a vice which terminates in itself,it may be enjoyed without in jury to others;and is therefore not watched like Fraud,which endangers property,or like Pride,which naturally seeks its gratifications in ano ther's inferiority.Idleness is a silent and peaceful quality,that nei ther raises envy by ostentation,nor hatred by opposition;and therefore nobody is busy to censure or detect it.
As Pride sometimes is hid under humility,Idleness is often covered by turbulence and hurry.He that neglects his known duty and real employ ment,naturally endeavors to crowd his mind with something that may bar out the remembrance of his own folly,and does any thing but what he oug ht to do with eager diligence,that he may keep himself in his own favor.
Some are always in a state of preparation,occupied in previous meas ures,forming plans,accumulating materials,and providing for the main affair.These are certainly under the secret power of Idleness.Nothing is to be expected from the workman whose tools are forever to be sought.I was once told by a great master,that no man ever excelled in painting,who was eminently curious about pencils and colors.
There are others to whom Idleness dictates another expedient,by whi ch life may be passed unprofitably away without the tediousness of many vacant hours.The art is,to fill the day with petty business,to have al ways something in hand which may raise curiosity,but not solicitude,an d keep the mind in a state of action,but not of labor.
This art has for many years been practiced by my old friend Sober,w ith wonderful success.Sober is a man of strong desires and quick imagin ation,so exactly balanced by the love of ease,that they can seldom sti mulate him to any difficult undertaking;they have,however,so much pow er,that they will not suffer him to lie quite at rest,and though they do not make him sufficiently useful to others,they make him at least we ary of himself.
Mr.Sober's chief pleasure is conversation;there is no end of his talk or his attention;to speak or to hear is equally pleasing;for he s till fancies that he is teaching or learning something,and is free for the time from his own reproaches.
But there is one time at night when he must go home,that his friend s may sleep;and another time in the morning,when all the world agrees to shut out interruption.These are the moments of which poor Sober trem bles at the thought.But the misery of these tiresome intervals,he has many means of alleviating.He has persuaded himself that the manual arts are undeservedly overlooked;he has observed in many trades the effects of close thought,and just ratiocination.From speculation he proceeded to practice,and supplied himself with the tools of a carpenter,with wh ich he mended his coalbox very successfully,and which he still continue s to employ,as he finds occasion.
He has attempted at other times the crafts of the shoemaker,tinman,plumber,and potter;in all these arts he has failed,and resolves to qu alify himself for them by better information.But his daily amusement is chemistry.He has a small furnace,which he employs in distillation,and which has long been the solace of his life.He draws oils and waters,an d essences and spirits,which he knows to be of no use;sits and counts the drops as they come from his retort,and forgets that,whilst a drop is falling,a moment flies away.
Poor Sober!I have often teased him with reproof,and he has often p romised reformation;for no man is so much open to conviction as the Idl er,but there is none on whom it operates so little.What will be the ef fect of this paper I know not;perhaps he will read it and laugh,and li ght the fire in his furnace;but my hope is that he will quit his trifle s,and betake himself to rational and useful diligence.
很多道德學者都指出，驕傲是在人類所有惡習中影響力最為廣泛的。它的表現形式繁雜多樣，隱藏方式也有許多種。就如同天邊月兒晶瑩透明的麵紗，偽裝既有光彩之處又有隱晦之所，雖然遮蓋但亦可一眼望穿。
誠然，我無意降低驕傲的危害程度，但不知道懶散是否會成為它的強敵。
然而有些人高聲讚歎懶散是高雅之事，以“閑散之士”自居，正如布西裏斯在劇中自稱為“驕傲之士”一樣。他們炫耀自己無需做事，感謝命運之神沒有給他們安排事情。他們每天睡覺睡到自然醒，起床活動活動也隻是為了以後更好地入睡。為了延長黑夜的主宰，他們拉起厚厚的雙層窗簾，終日不見陽光，除了“告訴它，他們十分憎惡它的光芒”。不斷地變換享受的姿勢就是他們所有的勞動。對他們而言，晝夜的分別就在於長沙發、椅子與床的不同。
他們是一群真正的並且公開的懶散女神崇拜者。女神為他們編織罌粟花環，把遺忘之水倒進他們骨子裏。他們生活在平靜的愚蠢狀態中，忘記了別人，別人也忘記了他們。他們的生活早就停止了，等到他們死時，生者隻能說，他們停止了呼吸。
但是懶散在不經意間控製著大多數人的生活。因為這種惡習僅限於懶散者自身，不會危及他人。所以人們不會將它等同於欺詐和驕傲：欺詐危及財產安全，驕傲自然也會傷害他人的自尊。懶散具有一種平和靜默的本質，不會因為炫耀而招來嫉妒，也不會因抗衡遭受怨恨。所以沒有人忙於理會或刺探它。
正如驕傲有時藏在謙恭之下一樣，懶散通常為紊亂和匆忙所遮掩。一個人疏忽了自己明明知道的職責和真正的工作，自然會盡力去想一些讓自己忘卻自己愚蠢的事，然後努力地去做一些不是他職責範圍內的事，隻有這樣才能保持自我欣賞。
有些人總是時刻忙於事前的準備，例如擬定計劃、收集材料、為大事做準備等。這些人肯定受到了懶散女神神秘力量的控製。隻是，一味地忙於找工具的工匠是無法做出什麽成績的。一位繪畫大師曾告誡過我，隻是對鉛筆和顏料充滿好奇的人，是不能將其畫好的。
另外有些人將懶散看成一種權宜之計，他們認為懶散可能使人一生碌碌無為，但它可以使生活不是那麽百無聊賴，因沒有空閑時間而沉悶。懶散的藝術就在於用瑣事充斥每一天，手頭總有一些讓人好奇但又不勞神的活兒可做，大腦保持處於一種活動但不是勞動的狀態。
我的老朋友索伯已經使用這種藝術方法多年，而且卓有成效。索伯是一個欲望強烈、思維敏銳的人，但他又酷愛閑散。為了保持這種平衡，他很少強迫自己去做難做的事情。但是欲望和思維的力量太大了，以至於他無法安然地睡覺。雖然欲望和思維的力量對別人可能沒什麽用，但卻使他厭倦了自己。
交談是索伯先生的主要興趣所在。他可以永無休止地說或者聽，自己說或者聽別人說，同樣令他開心。因為他幻想這是在教別人或自己學東西，暫時忘記自身的恥辱。
但是有一個時間段使索伯先生想起來就發抖。那就是晚上他必須回家好讓朋友們睡覺，而另一個時間是早上，因為這時全世界的人都拒絕被打攪。不過他有許多辦法去緩解這段無聊時刻的痛苦。他安慰自己，手工藝受到了不應有的忽視，他發現周密的思考在很多方麵都有影響力——即推理的效應。經過仔細地觀察思索之後，他開始實踐。首先為自己購置了木工家具，並且成功地修好自家的煤箱。相信隻要有機會，他就會繼續這個實踐。
除了幹木匠活，他還試圖學習鞋匠、錫匠、管道工和陶工的技藝。雖然這些他都沒學成，但他決心去更好地學習來操縱這些。但是他的日常娛樂是化學。他有個用來蒸餾的小爐子，這是他長期以來生活的慰藉。他提取油、水，各種物質精華，盡管他也知道這些毫無用處，當他坐在曲頸瓶前數著一滴一滴的**，看著它們滴答而落時，時光就飛逝而過。
哎，可憐的索伯！我經常用責備的口氣去取笑他，而他也常答應悔過自新。沒有人像懶人那樣：輕易地認錯，但很少做出半點實際的改動。本文會有何效果我不明了，可能他會一笑了之，繼續生爐子，但是我真的希望他別再做瑣事，能夠理智勤奮地做一些有用之事。