比金錢更重要

It is physically impossible for a well-educated intellectual1 or brave man to make money the chief object of his thoughts; as physically impossible as it is for him to make his dinner the principal2 object of them. All healthy people like their dinner， but their dinner is not the main object of their lives. So all healthy-minded people like making money -- ought to like it and to enjoy the sensation3 of winning; but the main object of their lives is not money; it is something better than money.

A good soldier， for instance， mainly wishes to do his fighting well. He is glad of his pay -- very properly so -- and justly grumbles4 when you keep him ten months without it; still， his main notion5 of life is to win battles， not to be paid for winning them.

So too of doctors. They like fees no doubt -- ought to like them; yet the entire object of their lives is not fees. They on the whole desire to cure the sick， would rather cure their patients and lose their fee than kill them and get it. And so with all other brave and rightly trained man: their work is first; their fee is second， very important always， but still second.

But in every nation， there is a vast class of people who are cowardly6， and more or less stupid. And with these people， just as certainly the fee is first and the work second， as with brave people the work is first and the fee second.

And this is no small distinction. It is the whole distinction in a man. You cannot serve two masters; you must serve one or the other. If your work is first with you and your fee is second， work is your master.

Observe， then， all wise work is mainly threefold7 in character. It is honest， useful， and cheerful. I hardly know anything more strange than that you recognize honesty in play， and do not in work. In your lightest games you have always someone to see what you call \"fair play\". In boxing you must hit fair; in racing， start fair. Your watchword8 is fair play; your hatred， foul9 play. Did it ever strike you that you wanted another watchword also， fair work， and another hatred10 also foul work?

一個受過良好教育或有膽識的人完全不可能把金錢當作他關心的首要對象，正如他完全不可能把美餐當作他關心的首要對象一樣。所有健康的人都喜歡享用美餐，但美餐并不是他們生活的首要目標。同樣道理，所有思想健全的人都喜歡掙錢——也應當喜歡錢以及掙到錢的成就感;然而，他們生活的首要目標并不是金錢，而是比金錢更珍貴的東西。

例如，一位優(yōu)秀士兵的主要愿望是打好仗。他為自己的軍餉感到高興——這完全合乎情理——而且如果10個月都拿不到軍餉，他理所應當要發(fā)牢騷。不過，他人生的主要目標仍然是打勝仗，并非通過打勝仗而掙錢。

醫(yī)生也是如此。毫無疑問，他們都喜歡出診費——本應如此;然而他們整個人生的目標并不是出診費。總的說來，他們都想把病人治好，他們寧愿把病人治好而得不到出診費，也不愿為了得到出診費而把病人治死。所有其他有膽識的和受過適當培訓的人也是如此:他們總是工作第一、報酬第二，盡管報酬對他們來說始終很重要，但還是排在第二位。

可是，在每個國家，都有一大批怯懦的、多少有點愚蠢的人。對于這些人而言，無疑是報酬第一、工作第二，正如對于有膽識的人無疑是工作第一、報酬第二一樣。

這絕非細微差異，這是人和人之間的根本性差異。你不能同時侍奉兩個主人，你必須侍奉其中一個，非此即彼。假如你是工作第一、報酬第二，那么工作就是你的主人。

請注意，一切明智的工作本質上都具有三重特征:誠實、有用和愉悅。人們在娛樂中講究誠實，而在工作中卻不講誠實——我覺得沒有比這更奇怪的事情了。在最不重要的比賽中，你總是請人做裁判，確保所謂的公平競賽。拳擊中，出拳必須公正;賽跑時，起跑必須公正。你的口號就是公平比賽，你所深惡痛絕的就是不公平比賽。那么，你可曾想過，你還需要另一個口號，那就是老老實實地工作;你還應該深惡痛絕另一種行為:投機取巧地工作。

注釋

①intellectual n.知識分子

②principal adj.最重要的，首要的

③sensation n.感覺，感情

④grumble v.發(fā)牢騷

⑤notion n.打算，目標

⑥cowardly adv.怯懦地

⑦threefold adv.三倍

⑧watchword n.口號，格言

⑨foul adj.犯規(guī)的，不正當的

⑩hatred n.憎恨，憎惡，厭惡的事