投资 · 创业者自述

塞缪尔·斯迈尔斯:节俭·摘录 488

塞缪尔·斯迈尔斯《节俭》· Thrift · 投资

Appearances must be kept up. Men must _seem_ to be rich. Hypocrites can easily impose upon those who are willing to be convinced. People must now live in a certain style, inhabit handsome houses, give good dinners, drink fine wines, and have a handsome equipage. Perhaps they are only able to accomplish this by overreaching or by dishonesty. Everybody wondered at the generosity and style of Redpath and Robson; but there are hundreds, if not thousands, of Redpaths and Robsons now.

出处: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/14418
定位:Excerpt 488 · 核对日期:2026-10-19 · 核验:短摘录

白话

人们拼命维持“面子”,必须显得有钱。伪君子很容易骗过那些愿意被说服的人。现在的人得住在像样的房子里,请客吃饭、喝好酒、出门有漂亮马车。可他们也许只能靠欺诈或不诚实来撑住这种排场。大家都惊叹雷德帕斯和罗布森多么慷慨气派,可如今这样的人何止成百上千。斯迈尔斯点破的是:当“显得富”变成硬性要求,人就会为了维持假象而越界。要跳出这个陷阱,就得把“别人怎么看”和“我实际能承担什么”分开,宁可承认自己普通,也别用谎言和债务去换一个撑不久的体面。

上下文

斯迈尔斯在《节俭》中批评维多利亚时代中产阶级的炫耀性消费,雷德帕斯和罗布森是当时因挥霍而破产的商界人物。

今日一问

你有没有为了维持某个“人设”而花过不该花的钱?

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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