21 Work and Pleasure

Winston Churchill

To be really happy and really safe, one ought to have at least two or three hobbies, and they must all be real. It is no use starting late in life to say: “I will take an interest in this or that.” Such an attempt only aggravates the strain of mental effort. A man may acquire great knowledge of topics unconnected with his daily work, and yet hardly get any benefit or relief. It is no use doing what you like; you have got to like what you do. Broadly speaking, human being may be divided into three classes: those who are toiled to death, those who are worried to death, and those who are bored to death. It is no use offering the manual laborer, tired out with a hard week's sweat and effort, the chance of playing a game of football or baseball on Saturday afternoon. It is no use inviting the politician or the professional or business man, who has been working or worrying about serious things for six days, to work or worry about trifling things at the weekend.

It may also be said that rational, industrious, useful human beings are divided into two classes: first, those whose work is work and whose pleasure is pleasure; and secondly, those whose work and pleasure are one. Of these the former are the majority. They have their compensations. The long hours in the office or the factory bring with them as their reward, not only the means of sustenance , but a keen appetite for pleasure even in its simplest and most modest forms. But fortune's favored children belong to the second class. Their life is a natural harmony. For them the working hours are never long enough. Each day is a holiday, and ordinary holidays when they come are grudged as enforced interruptions in an absorbing vacation. Yet to both classes the need of an alternative outlook, of a change of atmosphere, of a diversion of effort, is essential. Indeed, it may well be that those whose work is their pleasure are those who most need the means of banishing it at intervals from their minds.

难词释义

aggravate [ˈæɡrəveɪt] v. 使严重；使恶化

toil [tɔɪl] v. （长时间）苦干，辛勤劳作

trifling [ˈtraɪflɪŋ] adj. 琐碎的；微不足道的

sustenance [ˈsʌstənəns] n. 食物；营养；生计

grudge [ɡrʌdʒ] v. 认为……不应得到

banish [ˈbænɪʃ] v. 摆脱；驱逐

工作和娱乐

温斯顿·丘吉尔

要想真正活得开心和平安，一个人至少应该有两三个爱好，而且必须是真正的爱好。在晚年的时候开始说“我要培养这个或那个兴趣”已经毫无意义。这种尝试只会加重精神负担。一个人可以在与自己日常工作无关的领域内获取广博的知识，但很难有收益或倍感放松。做喜欢的事没有什么用，要喜欢所做的事。从广义上说，人可以分为三类：过劳致死之人，忧虑致死之人和无聊致死之人。对于那些体力劳动者来说，一周的汗水与辛劳已经让他们筋疲力尽，所以为他们提供星期六下午踢足球或打棒球的机会毫无意义。对于那些政治家、专业人士或商业人士来说，在已经为一些重要的事情操劳了六天后，让他们在周末再为一些琐碎之事劳烦伤神也是毫无意义。

也可以这样说，理智、勤奋、有用的人可以分为两类：对第一类人而言，工作是工作，娱乐是娱乐；对第二类人而言，工作就是娱乐。其中，第一类人占绝大多数。他们得到了相应的补偿。在办公室或工厂长时间的工作，带给他们的不仅是维持生计的薪酬，还有对娱乐的强烈渴望，即便这种娱乐很简单、很普通。但第二类人才是命运眷顾之人。他们的生活自然而和谐。对他们来说，工作时间永远不够长，每一天都是假期。但当正常的假期到来时，他们会抱怨自己正享受其中的假期被强行打断。然而，对这两类人来说，转变一下视角，改变一下氛围，尝试一些不同的事物都非常有必要。事实上，那些把工作视为成娱乐的人最应该偶尔以某种方式将工作赶出大脑。