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塞缪尔·斯迈尔斯:节俭·摘录 174

塞缪尔·斯迈尔斯《节俭》· Thrift · 投资

Samuel Richardson, while writing his novels, stuck to his trade of a bookseller. He sold his books in the front shop, while he wrote them in the back. He would not give himself up to authorship, because he loved his independence. "You know," he said to his friend Defreval, "how my business engages me. You know by what snatches of time I write, that I may not neglect that, and that I may preserve that independency which is the comfort of my life. I never sought out of myself for patrons. My own industry and God's providence have been my whole reliance. The great are not great to me unless they are good, and it is a glorious privilege that a middling man enjoys, who has preserved his independency, and can occasionally (though not stoically) tell the world what he thinks of that world, in hopes to contribute, though by his mite, to mend it."

出处: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/14418
定位:Excerpt 174 · 核对日期:2026-10-19 · 核验:短摘录

白话

小说家塞缪尔·理查森写小说时仍守着书商本行:前面店铺卖书,后面写书。他不肯全职写作,因为珍视独立。他对朋友说,生意占去时间,只能挤时间写,这样才不耽误生意,保住生活的独立。他从不向外找靠山,只靠自己的勤劳和天意。权贵若不善良,在他眼里就不伟大;一个普通人能保持独立,偶尔坦率说出对世界的看法,哪怕贡献微小,也是光荣的特权。核心是:保持经济独立,才能保持人格独立。

上下文

塞缪尔·理查森,18世纪英国小说家,本职是书商和印刷商,以《帕梅拉》等闻名。斯迈尔斯引他说明独立的可贵。

今日一问

你是否有足够的经济独立,让你能坚持自己的判断而不必依附他人?

公版作品;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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