Understand these new words before you read this article.
1. disguise[dis'ɡaiz]n. 偽裝
2. degrade[di'ɡreid]v. 貶低
3. obstinate['?bst?n?t]adj. 頑固的
4. predominate[pr?'d?m?,ne?t]v. 支配
5. turbulence['t?:bj?l?ns]n. 騷亂，動**
5. eminently[?emin?ntli]adv. 突出地，顯著地
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 the moon’s veil of brightness, are both its luster and its shade, and betray it to others, though they hide it from ourselves.
It is not my intention to degrade Pride from this preeminence of mischief, 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 themselves 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 only 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 they hate his beams”; whose whole labor is to vary the postures of indulgence, and whose day differs from their night but as a couch or chair differs from a bed.
These are the true and open votaries of Idleness, for whom she weaves the garlands of poppies, and into whose cup she pours the waters of oblivion; who exist in a state of unruffled stupidity, forgetting and forgotten; who have long ceased to live, and at whose death the survivors can only say, that they have ceased to breathe.
But Idleness predominates in many lives where it is not suspected; for being a vice which terminates in itself, it may be enjoyed without injury to others; and is therefore not watched like Fraud, which endangers property, or like Pride, which naturally seeks its gratifications in another’s inferiority. Idleness is a silent and peaceful quality, that neither 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 turbulence4 and hurry. He that neglects his known duty and real employment, naturally endeavors to crowd his mind with something that may bar out the remembrance of his own folly, and does anything but what he ought 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 measures, 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 which 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 always something in hand which may raise curiosity, but not solicitude, and 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, with wonderful success. Sober is a man of strong desires and quick imagination, so exactly balanced by the love of ease, that they can seldom stimulate him to any difficult undertaking; they have, however, so much power, 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 weary 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 still 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 friends 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 trembles 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 which he mended his coalbox very successfully, and which he still continues 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 qualify 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, and 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 promised reformation; for no man is so much open to conviction as the Idler, but there is none on whom it operates so little. What will be the effect of this paper I know not; perhaps he will read it and laugh, and light the fire in his furnace; but my hope is that he will quit his trifles, and betake himself to rational and useful diligence.
很多德育家指出,驕傲是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,隱藏方式也多種多樣。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，亦可一眼望穿。
誠然，我無意降低驕傲的危害程度，但不知道閑散是否會成為它的勁敵。
然而有些人高聲讚歎閑散是高雅之事，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。他們每晚睡覺睡到自然醒，起床活動活動也隻是為了更好地入睡。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“告訴他，他們十分憎惡他的光芒”。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、椅子和床的不同。
他們是一群真正的並且公開的閑散女神崇拜者。女神為其編織美麗的罌粟花環,把遺忘水倒入他們的杯中。他們生活在平靜的愚蠢狀態中，長久沒有生命的氣息。而死去時，生者隻會說，他們停止了呼吸。
然而，不經意間，閑散主宰著多數人的生命。這種惡習僅限於散漫者自身，不會危及他人，因而就不同於欺詐和傲慢。前者危及財產安全；後者在他人的自卑中尋求滿足。閑散是一種靜默平和，既不會因他人之誇耀而心存妒忌,也不會因抗衡而產生敵意。正因為如此，他們不會慘遭責難。
就像傲慢時而藏於謙卑，閑散常掩於絮亂和匆忙。一個人疏於本職工作，自然就可能極力想
些其他的事情，從而忘卻自己曾經的蠢事；同時，他會把那些非職責範圍內且需勤奮努力之事拋之腦後，這樣他就能隨心所欲，恣意而行了。
有些人時刻處於準備狀態，致力於事前準備，擬計劃，收集材料等。這些人必然受閑散女神某種神秘力量的控製。一味忙於找工具的工匠是無法有所成就的。一位繪畫大師曾對我說，隻對鉛筆和色彩好奇之人，是不會精於繪畫的。
也有另外一些人，他們把散漫看成權宜之計，認為生命會在閑散中碌碌而逝，而生活卻不會在沉悶單調中了卻。閑散之藝術就在於，用瑣事填塞每一天，手頭總有一些讓人好奇但不傷腦筋的事可做。同時，大腦保持在活動狀態，而非勞動狀態。
我的老朋友叟博就是一個閑散主義者，他的閑散藝術還卓有成效。他欲望強烈，思維敏銳，同時又熱衷閑散，為在兩者間尋求平衡，他很少難為自己。然而，欲望和思維的力量之強，令他無法安然入睡。即使如此，他也不會充分利用自身的特質，反倒愈對它們感到厭倦。
與人交談是叟博的主要興趣。他能無休止地交談下去，並總能幻想自己是在教授或學習東西，遠離了他人的指指點點，因而對他而言，講話和聆聽都是愉快的。
然而，有時候，為讓朋友好好睡覺，他晚上必須回家；為不打擾他人，早上他必須躡手躡腳。他一想到這些便會顫抖不已。不過他自有辦法來緩解這些無聊時刻帶來的痛苦。他常聊以**道，手工藝遭受了不應有的忽視。在很多方麵，叟博發現了縝密思考，即推理的效應。周密的觀察後，他開始購置工匠用具，並成功地修好了自家的煤箱。並且，一有機會，便繼續做。
在其他時候，他還努力學習鞋匠、錫匠、管道工和陶工的技藝。盡管這些都沒學成，他還是下定決心用知識武裝自己，以勝任這些工藝。化學是他的日常消遣對象。他有個用於蒸餾的小爐子，長久以來，這就是他的撫慰品。他會在這個爐子上提取油、水、香精和烈酒。盡管他明白這些毫無用處，他還是坐下來，細數曲頸瓶裏的水滴，忘卻了——每滴的降落,意味著每一時刻的逝去。
可憐的叟博！我常用責備的口氣取笑他，而他也常保證悔過自新。沒有人會如閑散者般承認錯誤，更沒有人真正拿出點行動。我不知道這篇文章會帶來何種效應，或許叟博看後會付之一笑，然後繼續燒爐子。但是，我很希望他能停下瑣事，理智勤奮地做些有用之事。
機遇來臨，我們可曾集中精力好好把握？做事情時，是否全神貫注？閱讀書籍時，注意力是否集中？當我們抱怨得到與付出不成正比時，問問自己是否做到了以上幾點。如果我們學習或做事時，注意力不集中，總是閑散麵對，那就無法學到任何知識的精髓，也就無法做好人和事。而當閑散成為一種習慣時，必然會影響未來的人生。
Seize Your Time
According to the speech, match each of the following words with its meaning.
(1) disguisea. stubbornly persistent in wrongdoing
(2) turbulenceb. reduce in worth
(3) obstinatec. instability
(4) degraded. an outward semblance that misrepresents the true nature
Practicing for Better Learning
Please fill in the blanks with the proper words according to the given sentences.
1. We can _______ the incidence rate of hospital infection effectually in this way.
隻有這樣才能有效地降低醫院感染的發病率。
2. Knowledge will always _______ over ignorance.
知識總是會勝過無知。
3. It is_______sustainable as long as the world economy continues to grow.
隻要世界經濟持續增長，德國的經濟複蘇肯定能持續下去。
Now a Try
What’s your feeling after reading the passage?
鳥兒向往廣闊的天空，魚兒眷戀浩瀚的海洋。然而，隻有迎風而上或是破浪前行，鳥兒才能自由飛翔，魚兒才能盡情遊暢。人生亦是如此，隻有經曆過艱難坎坷，才能獲得向往的生活。