事业 · 创业者自述
塞缪尔·斯迈尔斯：自助论·摘录 211
塞缪尔·斯迈尔斯《自助论》· Self-Help · 领导
It is not then how much a man may know, that is of importance, but the end and purpose for which he knows it. The object of knowledge should be to mature wisdom and improve character, to render us better, happier, and more useful; more benevolent, more energetic, and more efficient in the pursuit of every high purpose in life. “When people once fall into the habit of admiring and encouraging ability as such, without reference to moral character—and religious and political opinions are the concrete form of moral character—they are on the highway to all sorts of degradation.” {329} We must ourselves _be_ and _do_, and not rest satisfied merely with reading and meditating over what other men have been and done. Our best light must be made life, and our best thought action. At least we ought to be able to say, as Richter did, “I have made as much out of myself as could be made of the stuff, and no man should require more;” for it is every man’s duty to discipline and guide himself, with God’s help, according to his responsibilities and the faculties with which he has been endowed.
出处：
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/935
定位：Excerpt 211 · 核对日期：2026-10-19 · 核验：短摘录
白话
重要的不是一个人知道多少，而是他为何知道、用知识做什么。知识应培养智慧、改善品格，让我们更好、更快乐、更有用，更仁慈、更有活力，在追求人生高尚目标时更高效。人们一旦只欣赏能力而不问道德品格（宗教和政治观点是道德品格的具体形式），就会走上堕落之路。我们必须自己去做、去成为，不能只满足于阅读和冥想别人的事迹。最好的光要化为生命，最好的思想要化为行动。至少应像里克特那样说：“我已尽力从自身材料中造就自己，没人能要求更多。”因为每个人都有责任在上帝帮助下，按自己的责任和天赋来训练和引导自己。
上下文
斯迈尔斯《自助》中讨论知识的目的，强调品格与行动，反对为知识而知识。
今日一问
你学到的知识，有多少真正转化成了行动和品格？
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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