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塞缪尔·斯迈尔斯：自助论·摘录 37
塞缪尔·斯迈尔斯《自助论》· Self-Help · 领导
ONE of the most strongly-marked features of the English people is their spirit of industry, standing out prominent and distinct in their past history, and as strikingly characteristic of them now as at any former period. It is this spirit, displayed by the commons of England, which has laid the foundations and built up the industrial greatness of the empire. This vigorous growth of the nation has been mainly the result of the free energy of individuals, and it has been contingent upon the number of hands and minds from time to time actively employed within it, whether as cultivators of the soil, producers of articles of utility, contrivers of tools and machines, writers of books, or creators of works of art. And while this spirit of active industry has been the vital principle of the nation, it has also been its saving and remedial one, counteracting from time to time the effects of errors in our laws and imperfections in our constitution.
出处：
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/935
定位：Excerpt 37 · 核对日期：2026-10-19 · 核验：短摘录
白话
核心是：英国强大的根基，是普通人身上那股勤勉实干的劲头。斯迈尔斯认为，英国最鲜明的民族特征就是勤劳，这种精神从过去到现在一脉相承。正是平民百姓的这股劲，奠定了帝国的工业基础。国家的成长主要靠个人自由发挥的能量，取决于有多少人实实在在去耕种、生产、发明工具、写书、搞艺术。而且，这种实干精神不仅是国家的活力来源，还能不断抵消法律和制度上的错误与缺陷。换句话说，制度不完美时，靠人们勤恳做事来补救。今天我们可以做的，是别只等制度完善，先从自己手头的事认真干起，用行动弥补环境的不足。
上下文
斯迈尔斯《自助》开篇论英国人的勤劳精神，19世纪维多利亚时代。
今日一问
当周围环境不完美时，你是抱怨等待，还是先把手头的事做出样子？
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