投资 · 创业者自述
塞缪尔·斯迈尔斯：节俭·摘录 446
塞缪尔·斯迈尔斯《节俭》· Thrift · 投资
John Crossley, the founder of the Crossley firm, and the husband of Martha Turner, was originally a carpet-weaver. One night, when working at the loom, he was taking his "drinking," and on laying down his black bottle it fell and broke. In trying to catch the bottle, he cut his arm so severely that it was thought he would have bled to death. He could not work at the loom any longer, and he was going about with his arm in a sling, when his employer, Mr. Currer, said to him, "John, do you think you could tie up a loom, as you cannot now weave?" John replied that he thought he could. He tried, and proved so expert that his master would not allow him to go back to the loom. John Crossley used to regard the accident to his arm as the turning-point in his life.
出处：
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/14418
定位：Excerpt 446 · 核对日期：2026-10-19 · 核验：短摘录
白话
克罗斯利公司的创始人约翰·克罗斯利原本是个地毯织工。一天夜里他在织机旁喝酒，黑瓶子掉地上摔碎了，他伸手去抓，结果手臂被割得很深，差点流血而死。伤好后他没法再织布，只好吊着胳膊四处走动。雇主问他：既然不能织了，能不能试着给织机接线？他试了试，干得特别出色，雇主就不让他回织机了。约翰后来一直把这次受伤看作人生的转折点。这说明意外有时会逼人离开老路，关键是在不能做原工作时，主动尝试新技能，把危机变成转机。
上下文
斯迈尔斯《节俭》中讲述的英国实业家约翰·克罗斯利的早年经历，反映工业革命时期工匠的上升路径。
今日一问
如果你突然不能做现在的工作，你会像约翰那样主动学一门新技能，还是只等着回到老路？
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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