事业 · 创业者自述
塞缪尔·斯迈尔斯：自助论·摘录 130
塞缪尔·斯迈尔斯《自助论》· Self-Help · 领导
No matter how generous nature has been in bestowing the gift of genius, the pursuit of art is nevertheless a long and continuous labour. Many artists have been precocious, but without diligence their precocity would have come to nothing. The anecdote related of West is well known. When only seven years old, struck with the beauty of the sleeping infant of his eldest sister whilst watching by its cradle, he ran to seek some paper and forthwith drew its portrait in red and black ink. The little incident revealed the artist in him, and it was found impossible to draw him from his bent. West might have been a greater painter, had he not been injured by too early success: his fame, though great, was not purchased by study, trials, and difficulties, and it has not been enduring.
出处：
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/935
定位：Excerpt 130 · 核对日期：2026-10-19 · 核验：短摘录
白话
无论天赋多么慷慨，追求艺术仍然是长期持续的劳动。许多艺术家早慧，但如果没有勤奋，早慧也会一事无成。韦斯特的故事很有名：他七岁时，看到姐姐摇篮里熟睡的婴儿很美，就找来纸，用红黑墨水画下肖像。这件小事显露了他的艺术天赋，人们发现无法让他偏离这条路。但韦斯特如果没被过早的成功所害，可能会成为更伟大的画家；他的名声虽大，却不是通过研究、考验和困难换来的，因此没有持久。
上下文
斯迈尔斯《自助》中以韦斯特为例，说明早慧需勤奋才能持久。
今日一问
你是否有过早的成功，反而让你停止了努力？
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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