True Nobility
In a calm sea every man is a pilot
But all sunshine without shade
all pleasure without pain
is not life at all
Take the lot of the happiest
-it is a tangled yarn
Bereavements and blessings
one following another
make us sad and blessed by turns
Even death itself makes life more loving
Men come closest to their true seives in the sober moments of life
under the shadows of sorrow and loss
In the affairs of life or of business
it is not intellect that tells so much as character
not brains so much as heart
not genius so much as self-control
patience
and discipline
regulated by judgment
I have always believed that the man who has begun to live more serio
-usly within begins to live more simply without
In an age of extravagance and waste
I wish I could show to the world how few the real wants of humanity are
To regret one's errors to the point of not repeating them is true repentance
There is nothing noble in being superior to some other man
The true nobility is in being superior to your previous self
参考译文
真正的高贵(海明威)
在风平浪静的海面上
每一个人都可以成为领航员
但是假如只有阳光而没有阴影
只有欢乐而没有痛苦
那就全然不是人生
就拿最幸福的人来说吧
——他们的命运是一团纠缠的纱线
丧亲之痛和神恩赐福此起彼伏
让我们悲欢交替
甚至连死亡本身都让人生更为可爱
人们在生命的庄严时刻
在哀伤和丧亲的阴影之下
最接近真实的自我
在生活或事业的各种事务之中
才智的效用远不如性格
头脑的效用远不如心性
天资远不如由判断力所约束的自制、耐心与教养
我一向认为
内心开始生活得更为严谨的人
他外在的生活会开始变得更为简朴
在一个奢侈浪费的时代
但愿我能够向世人表明：
人类真正的需求是多么的稀少
反思自己的过错
以至于不重蹈覆辙才是真正的悔悟
比他人优越并无任何高贵之处
真正的高贵在于超越过去的自我
