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托马斯·马尔萨斯:人口论·摘录 171

托马斯·马尔萨斯《人口论》· An Essay on the Principle of Population · 投资

The view of human life which results from the contemplation of the constant pressure of distress on man from the difficulty of subsistence, by shewing the little expectation that he can reasonably entertain of perfectibility on earth, seems strongly to point his hopes to the future. And the temptations to which he must necessarily be exposed, from the operation of those laws of nature which we have been examining, would seem to represent the world in the light in which it has been frequently considered, as a state of trial and school of virtue preparatory to a superior state of happiness. But I hope I shall be pardoned if I attempt to give a view in some degree different of the situation of man on earth, which appears to me to be more consistent with the various phenomena of nature which we observe around us and more consonant to our ideas of the power, goodness, and foreknowledge of the Deity.

出处: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/4239
定位:Excerpt 171 · 核对日期:2026-10-19 · 核验:短摘录

白话

马尔萨斯说,看到人口原理造成的生活困难持续压迫人,人很难指望在尘世达到完美,这自然把希望推向未来。按通常说法,世界是考验人的地方、培养德行的学校,为更高幸福做准备。但他想提出一个略有不同的看法:把世界看作考验,跟上帝的全知、全善、全能不太协调。他更愿意把世界和今生看作上帝创造和形成心灵的宏大过程,而不是一场考试。这样看,人间的种种现象更容易理解,也更符合我们对神的观念。

上下文

马尔萨斯在《人口论》第二版中修正传统神义论,把“考验”改为“心灵形成过程”。

今日一问

如果把生活中的难关看作塑造你的过程,而不是一场打分考试,你的心态会有什么不同?

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