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P.T. 巴纳姆:奋斗与胜利·补录 493

P.T. 巴纳姆《奋斗与胜利》· Struggles and Triumphs · 领导

My good woman you will not get ahead in the world, if your vanity and envy thus take the lead. In this country, where we believe the majority ought to rule, we ignore that principle in regard to fashion, and let a handful of people, calling themselves the aristocracy, run up a false standard of perfection, and in endeavoring to rise to that standard, we constantly keep ourselves poor; all the time digging away for the sake of outside appearances. How much wiser to be a “law unto ourselves” and say, “we will regulate our out-go by our income, and lay up something for a rainy day.” People ought to be as sensible on the subject of money-getting as on any other subject. Like causes produce like effects. You cannot accumulate a fortune by taking the road that leads to poverty. It needs no prophet to tell us that those who live fully up to their means, without any thought of a reverse in this life, can never attain a pecuniary independence.

出处: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/50115
定位:Additional excerpt 493 · 核对日期:2026-10-19 · 核验:短摘录

白话

巴纳姆对好攀比的女性说:如果虚荣和嫉妒领头,你在世上就难有起色。美国相信多数人统治,但在时尚上却让一小撮自称贵族的人定下虚假的完美标准,大家拼命往上够,结果一直穷,全是为了外表。更聪明的做法是“自己做自己的法律”:按收入定支出,存点钱以备不时之需。赚钱和别的事一样要讲道理,同样的原因产生同样的结果;走通往贫穷的路,不可能积累财富。不用先知也能告诉你:挣多少花多少、从不考虑人生变故的人,永远达不到经济独立。核心是:别让别人的标准支配你的钱包。做法是:设定自己的消费上限,强制储蓄,不追虚假的体面。

上下文

巴纳姆在自传中劝告读者理性理财,反对盲目追随所谓上流社会的消费标准。这段话针对当时美国社会模仿欧洲贵族的风气。

今日一问

你现在的消费标准,有多少是别人定的,而不是你按收入定的?

公版传记;原文逐字取自 Project Gutenberg,仅摘录段落并附全书链接。

本文本为公版;底本与原文链接见上。 版权

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