事业 · 创业者自述
奥里森·斯威特·马登：向前进·摘录 100
奥里森·斯威特·马登《向前进》· Pushing to the Front · 领导
"The proudest moment of my life," said Elihu Burritt, "was when I had first gained the full meaning of the first fifteen lines of Homer's Iliad." Elihu Burritt's father died when he was sixteen, and Elihu was apprenticed to a blacksmith in his native village of New Britain, Conn. He had to work at the forge for ten or twelve hours a day; but while blowing the bellows, he would solve mentally difficult problems in arithmetic. In a diary kept at Worcester, whither he went some ten years later to enjoy its library privileges, are such entries as these,--"Monday, June 18, headache, 40 pages Cuvier's 'Theory of the Earth,' 64 pages French, 11 hours' forging. Tuesday, June 19, 60 lines Hebrew, 30 Danish, 10 lines Bohemian, 9 lines Polish, 15 names of stars, 10 hours' forging. Wednesday, June 20, 25 lines Hebrew, 8 lines Syriac, 11 hours' forging." He mastered 18 languages and 32 dialects. He became eminent as the "Learned Blacksmith," and for his noble work in the service of humanity. Edward Everett said of the manner in which this boy with no chance acquired great learning: "It is enough to make one who has good opportunities for education hang his head in shame."
出处：
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/21291
定位：Excerpt 100 · 核对日期：2026-10-19 · 核验：短摘录
白话
伊莱休·伯里特说：“我一生中最自豪的时刻，是第一次完全弄懂《伊利亚特》前十五行的意思。”他十六岁时父亲去世，被送到家乡康涅狄格州新不列颠村的铁匠铺当学徒。他每天要在锻炉前干十到十二个小时，但拉风箱时会在心里解算术难题。大约十年后，他到伍斯特享受图书馆资源，留下的日记有这样的记录：“6月18日星期一，头痛，读居维叶《地球理论》40页，法文64页，打铁11小时。星期二，希伯来文60行，丹麦文30行，波希米亚文10行，波兰文9行，星名15个，打铁10小时。星期三，希伯来文25行，叙利亚文8行，打铁11小时。”他掌握了18种语言和32种方言，成为著名的“博学铁匠”，并因服务人类的崇高工作而闻名。爱德华·埃弗里特谈到这个毫无机会的男孩如何获得大学问时说：“这足以让那些拥有良好教育机会的人羞愧地低下头。”
上下文
马登在《奋力向前》中讲述“博学铁匠”伊莱休·伯里特边打铁边自学多门语言的故事，引用其日记为证。
今日一问
你每天重复性的劳动或通勤时间，能不能用来练习一项你想掌握的技能？
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