詹姆斯·艾倫/James Allen
Men do not attract that which they want,but that which they are.Th eir whims,fancies and ambitions are thwarted at every step,but their i nmost thoughts and desires are fed with their own food,be it foul or cl ean.The "divinity that shapes our ends" is in ourselves;it is our ve ry self.Only himself manacles man:thought and action are the gaolers o f fate-they imprison,being base;they are also the angels of freedom-they liberate,being noble.Not what he wishes and prays for does a man get,but what he justly earns.His wishes and prayers are only gratified and answered when they harmonize with his thoughts and actions.
In the light of this truth,what,then,is the meaning of "fighting against circumstances"?It means that a man is continually revolting ag ainst an effect without,while all the time he is nourishing and preserv ing its cause in his heart.That cause may take the form of a conscious vice or an unconscious weakness;but whatever it is,it stubbornly retar ds the efforts of its possessor,and thus calls aloud for remedy.
Men are anxious to improve their circumstances,but are unwilling to improve themselves;they therefore remain bound.The man who does not sh rink from self-crucifixion can never fail to accomplish the object upon which his heart is set.This is as true of earthly as of heavenly things.Even the man whose sole object is to acquire wealth must be prepared t o make great personal sacrifices before he can accomplish his object;an d how much more so he who would realize a strong and well-poised life?
Here is a man who is wretchedly poor.He is extremely anxious that h is surroundings and home comforts should be improved,yet all the time h e shirks his work,and considers he is justified in trying to deceive hi s employer on the ground of the insufficiency of his wages.Such a man d oes not understand the simplest rudiments of those principles which are the basis of true prosperity,and is not only totally unfitted to rise o ut of his wretchedness,but is actually attracting to himself a still de eper wretchedness by dwelling in,and acting out,indolent,deceptive,a nd unmanly thoughts.
Here is a rich man who is the victim of a painful and persistent dis ease as the result of gluttony.He is willing to give large sums of mone y to get rid of it,but he will not sacrifice his gluttonous desires.He wants to gratify his taste for rich and unnatural viands and have his he alth as well.Such a man is totally unfit to have health,because he has not yet learned the first principles of a healthy life.
Here is an employer of labor who adopts crooked measures to avoid pa ying the regulation wage,and,in the hope of making larger profits,red uces the wages of his workpeople.Such a man is altogether unfitted for prosperity.and when he finds himself bankrupt,both as regards reputati on and riches,he blames circumstances,not knowing that he is the sole author of his condition.
I have introduced these three cases merely as illustrative of the tr uth that man is the causer though nearly always is unconsciously of his circumstances.
人們感興趣的並不是他們想要什麽東西，而是他們想要成為什麽樣的人。在任何時刻，他們的胡思亂想、心血**和野心勃勃都可能遭遇打擊，然而不管肮髒還是純潔，他們內心的思想和欲望都會自然而然地滋長起來。“命運之神”就藏在我們心裏，它其實就是我們自己。能約束人類的隻有人類自己：思想和行為是命運的獄卒——囚禁那些思想卑賤的人；與此同時，它們也是自由的天使——解放那些品德高尚的人。一個人所期盼和祈求的東西並不能如願，他所得到的隻是應得的。唯有與思想和行為和諧一致時，他的期盼和祈求才會得到回應和滿足。
既然事實如此，那麽“與環境抗爭”又有什麽意義呢？它是指在一個人不斷對抗外來壓力時，心中卻又一直滋長並留存著產生這種壓力的思想。這種思想要麽有意識地墮落，要麽無意地被削弱。但不管是哪一種，它總是頑固地妨礙著一個人的發展，因此需要提醒他去矯正。
人們總是迫切希望改善環境，卻從不肯改變自己。所以，他們做什麽事都是麻煩不斷。一個勇於自我反省的人在實現理想目標的道路上永遠不會失敗。這是一個恒久不變的真理。即使一個人唯一的目標就是獲得財富，他也要在實現目標之前隨時做好付出巨大犧牲的準備。那麽，一個人要實現幸福、美滿的人生，又要付出多大的代價呢？
假如有一個非常貧困的人，他迫不及待地想改善他的環境、享受舒適的生活，卻又總是逃避工作，以薪水太低為借口欺騙老板。這樣的人連真正致富的最簡單的基本原則都不懂。他不但不能擺脫自己的悲慘處境，相反，因為沉迷於懶惰、欺騙和懦弱的思想中，他隻會陷入更加悲慘的境地。
假如有一個富人，他因為暴飲暴食而長期飽受痛苦、疾病的折磨，他願意付出大筆金錢來消除這種痛苦，卻不肯放棄自己貪吃的欲望，他不但想滿足自己的口腹之欲，又想保持健康。像這樣的人，完全不可能擁有健康，因為他不懂得健康生活的最基本原則。
假如有一個老板以欺騙的手段來逃避支付正常的薪水，更有甚者，為了牟取更大的利潤而克扣工人的薪水，像這樣的人是絕對不會發財的。當他發現自己既損毀了名譽又喪失了錢財的時候，他會抱怨環境，卻不知道困境完全是自己造成的。
我在這裏講了三個例子，僅僅是為了證明一個真理：人就是自己環境的創造者（盡管幾乎總是在無意識的狀態下）。
1.____what he wishes and prays for does a man____,but wha t he justly earns.His wishes and prayers are____gratified and answ ered when they harmonize____his thoughts and actions.
2.Even the man____sole object is to acquire wealth____be prepared to make great personal sacrifices____he can accomplish his object;and how much____so he who would realize a____and well-poised life?
3.Here is an employer of____who adopts crooked measures to____paying the regulation wage,and,in the____of making larger p rofits,reduces the wages of____workpeople.
1.人們感興趣的並不是他們想要什麽東西，而是他們想要成為什麽樣的人。
2.一個人所期盼和祈求的東西並不能如願，他所得到的隻是應得的。
3.人就是自己環境的創造者。
1.That cause may take the form of a conscious vice or an unconsciou s weakness...
take the form of：以……樣的形式顯現；表現為……的形式；形成……的性質
2....he is justified in trying to deceive his employer on the groun d of the insufficiency of his wages.
on the ground of：以……為理由；理由；根據……