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塞缪尔·斯迈尔斯:节俭·摘录 490

塞缪尔·斯迈尔斯《节俭》· Thrift · 投资

But they must not _seem_ poor! They must hide their poverty by every effort. They spend their money before it is earned,--run into debt at the grocer's, the baker's, the milliner's, and the butcher's. They must entertain their fashionable "friends," at the expense of the shopkeepers. And yet, when misfortunes overtake them, and when their debts have become overwhelming, what becomes of the "friends"? They fly away, and shun the man who is up to his ears in debt!

出处: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/14418
定位:Excerpt 490 · 核对日期:2026-10-19 · 核验:短摘录

白话

但他们绝不能显得穷!必须千方百计藏起贫穷。钱还没挣到手就先花出去,在杂货店、面包店、女帽店、肉铺赊账。他们拿店主的钱去招待那些时髦“朋友”。可等霉运来了、债务压得喘不过气,那些“朋友”呢?他们一哄而散,躲着这个债台高筑的人。斯迈尔斯戳破的是:靠赊账撑起来的社交关系,本质是交易,不是情谊。要避免这种结局,就得在还有选择时承认“我负担不起”,砍掉为面子而设的应酬,先还债、再谈排场;真正的朋友不会因为你少请一顿饭就走掉。

上下文

维多利亚时代零售业普遍允许赊账,中产阶级常靠赊欠维持社交排场,斯迈尔斯在《节俭》中警告这种做法的风险。

今日一问

你身边有多少“朋友”是只在你请客时出现的?

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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