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塞缪尔·斯迈尔斯:节俭·摘录 473

塞缪尔·斯迈尔斯《节俭》· Thrift · 投资

A hundred years ago, literature was at a very low ebb. The press was in a miserable state. William Whitehead was Poet Laureate! Who knows of him now? Gibbon had not written his "Decline and Fall." _Junius_ was the popular writer. Political corruption was scarified in his letters. The upper classes were coarse, drunken, and ill-mannered. Bribery and corruption on the grossest scale were the principal means for getting into Parliament. Mr. Dowdeswell, M.P. for Worcestershire, said to the Commons, "You have turned out a member for impiety and obscenity. What halfdozen members of this House ever meet over a convivial bottle, that their discourse is entirely free from obscenity, impiety, or abuse of Government?"

出处: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/14418
定位:Excerpt 473 · 核对日期:2026-10-19 · 核验:短摘录

白话

一百年前,文学和出版业很低迷,桂冠诗人如今无人知晓,吉本还没写《衰亡史》,流行的是政治讽刺信。上层阶级粗俗、酗酒、无礼,贿赂腐败是进议会的主要手段。议员道兹韦尔甚至在下院说,议员们聚在一起喝酒时,谈话免不了猥亵、亵渎或攻击政府。

上下文

斯迈尔斯描述18世纪英国文学、政治和上层社会的腐化风气,与当时社会进步形成对比。

今日一问

今天你认为哪些“习以为常”的公共言行,百年后可能被后人视为粗鄙?

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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