事业 · 创业者自述
塞缪尔·斯迈尔斯：自助论·摘录 31
塞缪尔·斯迈尔斯《自助论》· Self-Help · 领导
The career of Mr. William Jackson, of Birkenhead, the present member for North Derbyshire, bears considerable resemblance to that of Mr. Lindsay. His father, a surgeon at Lancaster, died, leaving a family of eleven children, of whom William Jackson was the seventh son. The elder boys had been well educated while the father lived, but at his death the younger members had to shift for themselves. William, when under twelve years old, was taken from school, and put to hard work at a ship’s side from six in the morning till nine at night. His master falling ill, the boy was taken into the counting-house, where he had more leisure. This gave him an opportunity of reading, and having obtained access to a set of the ‘Encyclopædia Britannica,’ he read the volumes through from A to Z, partly by day, but chiefly at night. He afterwards put himself to a trade, was diligent, and succeeded in it. Now he has ships sailing on almost every sea, and holds commercial relations with nearly every country on the globe.
出处：
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/935
定位：Excerpt 31 · 核对日期：2026-10-19 · 核验：短摘录
白话
威廉·杰克逊的故事说明：逆境可以逼出人的潜力。他父亲是外科医生，去世后留下十一个孩子，他排行第七，不到十二岁就被迫辍学，在船边干苦力，每天从早六点干到晚九点。后来老板生病，他进了账房，有了空闲时间，便借来《大英百科全书》，从A读到Z，主要靠晚上读。之后他学了一门手艺，勤勉经营，最终成功，商船遍布各大洋，与全球各国做生意。核心是：即使起点低、时间少，只要抓住机会自学并坚持实干，也能改变命运。
上下文
斯迈尔斯《自助》中的案例，19世纪英国工业时代，许多成功者出身贫寒，靠自学和勤奋起家。
今日一问
如果每天只有零碎时间，你愿意像他一样坚持自学吗？
公版作品；原文逐字取自 Project Gutenberg，仅摘录段落并附全书链接。
你的邮箱
只用于发送原典。不发广告，不卖名单。
本文本为公版；底本与原文链接见上。 版权