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塞缪尔·斯迈尔斯:节俭·摘录 121

塞缪尔·斯迈尔斯《节俭》· Thrift · 投资

It is difficult to account for the waste and extravagance of working people. It must be the hereditary remnant of the original savage. It must be a survival. The savage feasts and drinks until everything is gone; and then he hunts or goes to war. Or it may be the survival of slavery in the State. Slavery was one of the first of human institutions. The strong man made the weak man work for him. The warlike race subdued the less warlike race, and made them their slaves. Thus slavery existed from the earliest times. In Greece and Rome the righting was done by freemen, the labour by helots and bondsmen. But slavery also existed in the family. The wife was the slave of her husband as much as the slave whom he bought in the public market.

出处: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/14418
定位:Excerpt 121 · 核对日期:2026-10-19 · 核验:短摘录

白话

斯迈尔斯认为,劳动阶层的浪费和奢侈很难解释,他猜测这可能是原始野蛮人的遗传残余,或者奴隶制的遗留。野蛮人有了就吃光喝光,然后再去打猎或打仗;奴隶制下,强者让弱者为自己干活,好战的种族征服其他种族并奴役他们。在希腊罗马,自由人打仗,奴隶干活;家庭里也有奴隶制,妻子就像丈夫从市场买来的奴隶一样。斯迈尔斯想说的是,浪费习惯有历史根源,但今天的人应该摆脱这种遗留,学会节俭和自我控制。

上下文

塞缪尔·斯迈尔斯是19世纪英国作家,他在《节俭》一书中讨论劳动阶层的浪费习惯及其历史根源。

今日一问

我有哪些消费习惯其实是“历史遗留”的浪费,今天可以怎样改掉?

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

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