15 Have Faith in Others

Faith Baldwin

Belief is a happier state of mind than doubt and suspicion. By this I live, for if I don't have faith in others, who will believe in me? I would rather believe in a thousand people, friends and strangers, and have 999 fail me than not believe. If many fail me, I remember how many I failed. This is not to say that the blind belief of sentimentality , the so-called “tolerance” of the dishonest and vicious, is sensible or rewarding. There are some dark corners which do not react to sweetness and light. Belief in people should be accomplished with open eyes and clarity of judgment. But when your judgment proves bad rather than good, it's no reason to walk thereafter with suspicion as a companion. None knows another's heart, his grief, his struggle, his despair and motivation. Not all our geese become swans, but one swan atones for many flocks of geese. All men share pain and mortality; some bear these better than others. And multitudes have perished spiritually for the lack of another's belief in them. So, I would rather be disappointed than afraid of disappointment.

难词释义

sentimentality [ˌsentɪmenˈtæləti] n. 感伤情调；多愁善感

atone [əˈtəʊn] v. 弥补（过错）

multitude [ˈmʌltɪtuːd] n. 众多；大量；人群

相信别人

费丝·鲍德温

相信乃是一种比怀疑与猜忌更快乐的心态。我就是本着这个信念做人处事的，因为我若不相信他人，谁又会信任我呢？我宁可信任一千个人，不管是朋友或陌生人，且我宁可有九百九十九个人辜负我，也不愿对人不信任。如果众多人辜负我，我会记得自己曾辜负了多少人。这并非是说，感情用事的盲目相信，也就是对不诚实及邪恶的人所谓的“容忍”，是理性而又值得做的。总有一些黑暗的角落，在这里任何善意与光明都是不起作用的。相信别人应该要擦亮双眼并有明确的判断力。但你的判断若证明是错的而非对的，那也没有理由就此便一直心存怀疑。别人有什么样的心地、所悲为何、为什么奋斗、为什么绝望、有什么动机，这些都是我们无法了解的。我们周围的芸芸众生中只要一个成大器就够了。所有的人都会遭遇痛苦与死亡，只不过有些人更善于承受罢了。而许多人因为无法获得别人的信任而在精神上形同死亡。因此，我宁可因他人负我而失望也不愿因害怕失望而不信任别人。