以下的內容一樣質樸而淡然，但真的令人感慨，也讓人感受到許多對於家庭教育很重要的、但我們真的關注較少的東西。

1、我們很少懂得“平淡”以及“低谷”對於我們自己、對於孩子的重要性，但如果換一個角度來談，或者大家會更容易感受。

比如江南園林，一定會有彼此的俯仰交錯和相互襯托；比如大海，一定會有潮起潮落——暗影是為了襯托陽光，遮蔽是為了更好地展現；潮落是為了下一次浪潮的出擊；山谷深幽也是為了山峰更加聳立；而今天的平淡也一定是為了他日一鳴驚人，所以，平淡的堅守很重要，對枯燥單調和挫折的承受很重要。

所以，我們需要讓孩子懂得平淡日子的重要，懂得堅持的重要，並幫助孩子從平淡中發掘樂趣，獲取一天天、一點一滴的小的成就，讓量變最終變成質變。

2、看到文中那個兩歲的小男孩，我腦海裡滿是他跪在陰冷而泥濘的草地上，將自己的臉蛋兒緊貼著青草，又抬起頭歡快地叫著的景象。

我想說，這種快樂真的令人嚮往，我也真的相信這樣的快樂，與大地生命、與我們生命的本能相聯絡的快樂才是真的快樂。

3、最後一點，我不曾注意到，或許許多家長們也沒有注意到吧——孩子們，甚至我們自己的快樂其實也有不同的品質，真正高品質的快樂，其實應該是從努力和創造性中獲取的快樂，從成就感中獲得的快樂。

讀一本好書是一件快樂的事，而許多經典、名著真的是不會過時的，不知道大家是不是有同樣的感受。

以下繼續——

All great books contain boring portions， and all great lives have contained uninteresting stretches。 Imagine a modern American publisher confronted with the Old Testament as a new manuscript submitted to him for the first time。 It is not difficult to think what his comments would be， for example， on the genealogies。

所有偉大的著作都有枯燥的部分，所有偉大的人生也都有無趣的片段。

試想一下，一個現代的美國出版商第一次面對著提交給他的手寫的《舊約全書》的情形，比如，我們不難想象當他面對著書中宗譜表相關內容時他滿肚子的碎碎念。

“My dear sir，” he would say， “this chapter lacks pep； you can‘t expect your reader to be interested in a mere string of proper names of persons about whom you tell him so little。 You have begun your story， I will admit， in fine style， and at first I was very favourably impressed， but you have altogether too much wish to tell it all。 Pick out the highlights， take out the superfluous matter， and bring me back your manuscript when you have reduced it to a reasonable length。”

“我親愛的先生，”他會這麼說：“這一章有點缺乏吸引力，你不能指望讀者對一大串人名感興趣，更何況你幾乎沒對這些人做過什麼介紹。”

“我得承認，你的故事開頭很棒，在開始給我留下了很好的印象，不過你想說的東西太多了。我建議你留下精華的部分，去掉多餘的那些內容，然後把縮減到合理長度的手稿返回給我。”

So the modern publisher would speak， knowing the modern reader’s fear of boredom。 He would say the same sort of thing about the Confucian classics， the Koran， Marx‘s Capital， and all the other sacred books which have proved to be bestsellers。 Nor does this apply only to sacred books。 All the best novels contain boring passages。 A novel which sparkles from the first page to the last is pretty sure not to be a great book。 Nor have the lives of great men been exciting except at a few great moments。 Socrates could enjoy a banquet now and again， and must have derived considerable satisfaction from his conversations while the hemlock was taking effect， but most of his life he lived quietly with Xanthippe， taking a constitutional in the afternoon， and perhaps meeting a few friends by the way。 Kant is said never to have been more than ten miles from Konigsberg in all his life。 Darwin， after going round the world， spent the whole of the rest of his life in his own house。 Marx， after stirring up a few revolutions， decided to spend the remainder of his days in the British Museum。 Altogether it will be found that a quiet life is characteristic of great men， and that their pleasures have not been of the sort that would look exciting to the outward eye。 No great achievement is possible without persistent work， so absorbing and so difficult that little energy is left over for the more strenuous kinds of amusement， except such as serve to recuperate physical energy during holidays， of which Alpine climbing may serve as the best example。

出版商之所以這樣說，是因為他們知道現代讀者很害怕那些令人厭倦的東西。但你要知道他說的是中國的儒家經典、伊斯蘭教的《古蘭經》，馬克思的《資本論》，以及所有那些聖賢之書，而這些樹都早已被證明是真正的暢銷書。

這不僅適用於聖賢之書，所有最好的小說都有令人厭倦的章節。一本從第一頁到最後一頁都閃閃發光、扣人心絃的小說絕不會是一本偉大的作品；而一位偉人的一生也總會有高峰低谷，只有那麼幾個光彩奪目的巔峰時刻。

蘇格拉底會不時地享受一場宴會，即使在毒芹開始起作用的時候，他也必然會從交談中獲得極大的滿足。但在蘇格拉底一生大部分的時光裡，他只是安靜地和妻子冉蒂佩生活在一起，在下午出去散散步，也可能順便會會朋友。

據說，康德在自己的一生中，從來沒有去過超過柯尼斯堡十英里的地方。

達爾文，在周遊世界之後，他整個餘生都在自己的家裡度過。

馬克思，在掀起幾次革命之後，他決定將所有剩下的日子都花在大英博物館。

總之，我們可以發現，平靜的生活正是偉人們的特點之一，而他們的快樂也並不是旁觀者眼裡的那種興奮刺激。沒有堅持不懈的努力，就不會有任何偉大的成就，而這努力既令人神往又極端困難，讓人根本沒有餘力去享受各種費神費力的娛樂。所以，除了假日裡有利於恢復精力的活動，比如攀登阿爾卑斯山之外，他們不會參與什麼娛樂活動。

The capacity to endure a more or less monotonous life is one which should be acquired in childhood。 Modern parents are greatly to blame in this respect； they provide their children with far too many passive amusements， such as shows and good things to eat， and they do not realise the importance to a child of having one day like another， except， of course， for somewhat rare occasions。

千篇一律的單調生活不可避免，因此，我們需要具備一定的承受能力，而這種能力應該在孩提時代就已經培養出來。

現代的父母在這方面應負很大責任，因為他們給孩子們提供了太多消極的或者說反面的消遣娛樂，比如觀看演出、精美的食物等等。他們並沒有意識到過著一天又一天相同的生活（當然，特殊情況下例外）對於孩子的重要性。

The pleasures of childhood should in the main be such as the child extracts from his environment by means of some effort and inventiveness。 Pleasures which are exciting and at the same time involve no physical exertion， such， for example， as the theatre， should occur very rarely。 The excitement is in the nature of a drug， of which more and more will come to be required， and the physical passivity during the excitement is contrary to instinct。 A child develops best when， like a young plant， he is left undisturbed in the same soil。 Too much travel， too much variety of impressions， are not good for the young， and cause them as they grow up to become incapable of enduring fruitful monotony。

童年時期的快樂，主要應該是孩子們透過努力和創造性從周圍環境中獲取的快樂，而那種令人興奮，但同時又不需要付出太多體力的娛樂活動，比如觀看演出等等應該越少越好。

從根本上說，興奮有毒品的特性，你獲得的愈多，你就愈加渴望；但是，在興奮的時候我們身體的被動性與我們的天性是相違背的。

一個孩子的成長就像一顆幼苗的生長一樣，需要讓他不受干擾地，一直在那塊土地上生長才會發育得最好。太多的旅行，太多各種各樣、形形色色的外部影響並不利於孩子，並且會使得他們在長大的時候無法承受單調的生活，而經歷這單調寂寞其實能夠使他們收穫很多。

I do not mean that monotony has any merits of its own； I mean only that certain good things are not possible except where there is a certain degree of monotony。 Take， say， Wordsworth’s Prelude。 It will be obvious to every reader that whatever had any value in Wordsworth‘s thoughts and feelings would have been impossible to a sophisticated urban youth。 A boy or young man who has some serious constructive purpose will endure voluntarily a great deal of boredom if he finds that it is necessary by the way。 But constructive purposes do not easily form themselves in a boy’s mind if he is living a life of distractions and dissipations， for in that case his thoughts will always be directed towards the next pleasure rather than towards the distant achievement。 For all these reasons a generation that cannot endure boredom will be a generation of little men， of men unduly divorced from the slow processes of nature， of men in whom every vital impulse slowly withers， as though they were cut flowers in a vase。

我並不是說枯燥單調的生活本身有什麼好處，我的意思是如果不忍耐一時的枯燥單調，想要獲得那些美好的事物就幾乎不可能。

以威廉·華茲華斯的詩歌《序曲》為例，相信任何一個讀者都能瞭解，很明顯，一個老於世故的城市青年根本無法領會華茲華斯的思想和感情中所蘊含的價值。而一個孩子或者年輕人，如果在他的心裡有那麼一個嚴肅而富有建設性的目標，那麼，如果需要，他就能為此心甘情願地忍受許許多多的煩惱厭倦。但是，如果這男孩整天過著放恣無羈、奢靡無度的享樂生活，那麼，他的腦袋裡每一個想法都必然指向下一個享受和娛樂，而不是獲得那遙不可及的成就，所以，他的腦袋裡也很難萌發什麼有建設性的目標。

也正因此，不能忍受寂寞煩惱的一代終究是幼稚的一代；是過分遠離了符合自然的緩慢過程和節奏的一代；也是每一個至關重要的生命脈動都慢慢消亡的一代，這樣的人就如同花瓶裡那折去了根莖的花朵，終將漸漸凋零。

I do not like mystical language， and yet I hardly know how to express what I mean without employing phrases that sound poetic rather than scientific。 Whatever we may wish to think， we are creatures of Earth； our life is part of the life of the Earth， and we draw our nourishment from it just as the plants and animals do。 The rhythm of Earth life is slow； autumn and winter are as essential to it as spring and summer， the rest is as essential as motion。 To the child， even more than to the man， it is necessary to preserve some contact with the ebb and flow of terrestrial life。 The human body has been adapted through the ages to this rhythm， and religion has embodied something of it in the festival of Easter。

我不喜歡神秘玄奧的語言，但倘若不使用那種聽起來充滿詩意，但實則不夠科學的語言，我就幾乎不知道如何表達自己的想法。

無論我們怎麼想，我們終究是這大地的創造物，而我們的生命也是這大地上所有生命的一部分，並且，我們就像大地上所有的植物和動物所做的一樣，從這大地汲取營養。

這大地的生命節奏是緩慢的，無論秋冬還是春夏，無論靜止還是運動，對它來說都同樣重要。比之成人，孩子們更需要與大地生命的潮起潮落保持一定的聯絡。古往今來，經過無數世紀更替，人類的身體早已適應了這節奏，而基督教的復活節就很好地體現了這一點。

I have seen a boy of two years old， who had been kept in London， taken out for the first time to walk in green country。 The season was winter， and everything was wet and muddy。 To the adult eye there was nothing to cause delight， but in the boy there sprang up a strange ecstasy； he kneeled in the wet ground and put his face in the grass， and gave utterance to half-articulate cries of delight。 The joy that he was experiencing was primitive， simple and massive。 The organic need that was being satisfied is so profound that those in whom it is starved are seldom completely sane。

我曾經見到一個兩歲的孩子，他一直生活在倫敦，是頭一次被帶到了綠意盎然的鄉村。

這時正值冬季，到處溼滑泥濘，道路難行。在成年人看來，那裡沒有任何令人高興的地方，但是孩子的身上卻綻放出令人奇怪的驚喜——他跪在在潮溼的土地上，把臉埋在草叢裡，嘴裡發出含糊不清的歡叫聲。

他正在感受的歡樂是如此原始、質樸，卻又如此厚重。這種得到滿足的、發自靈魂和身體深處的需求竟如此深刻，對此，我們甚至可以說那些未能得到這樣滿足的人很少是完全健全的。

Many pleasures， of which we may take gambling as a good example， have in them no element of this contact with Earth。 Such pleasures， in the instant when they cease， leave a man feeling dusty and dissatisfied， hungry for he knows not what。 Such pleasures bring nothing that can be called joy。 Those， on the other hand， that bring us into contact with the life of the Earth have something in them profoundly satisfying； when they cease， the happiness that they brought remains， although their intensity while they existed may have been less than that of more exciting dissipations。

有許多快樂，其核心中其實並沒有與大地的生命相關聯的元素，比如賭博就是個很好的例子。這樣的娛樂一旦停止，人就會沉浸於沉悶和不滿之中，明知道自己的內心有著渴望，卻又不知道到到底想要些什麼，這樣的娛樂無法帶給我們真正的快樂。

另一方面，雖然比起那些令人感到興奮刺激的活動來說快樂的強度要低一些，但那些把我們與大地的生命緊緊連在一起的快樂中卻蘊含著些什麼，可以令我們得到更深刻的滿足，即使娛樂停止，它所帶來的幸福感卻更加雋永，會久久地徜徉在我們心中。

The destination that I have in mind runs through the whole gamut from the simplest to the most civilised occupations。 The two-year-old boy whom I spoke of a moment ago displayed the most primitive possible form of union with the life of Earth。 But in a higher form the same thing is to be found in poetry。 What makes Shakespeare‘s lyrics supreme is that they are filled with this same joy that made the two-year-old embrace the grass。 Consider “Hark， hark， the lark”， or “Come unto these yellow sands”； you will find in these poems the civilised expression of the same emotion that in our two-year-old could only find utterance in inarticulate cries。 Or， again， consider the difference between love and mere sex attraction。 Love is an experience in which our whole being is renewed and refreshed as is that of plants by rain after drought。 In sex intercourse without love there is nothing of this。 When the momentary pleasure is ended， there is fatigue， disgust， and a sense that life is hollow。 Love is part of the life of Earth； sex without love is not。

在我看來，上面所提到的差別適用於我所想到的、從最原始的到最文明的、所有的消遣娛樂。

我想，我剛才提到的那個兩歲的孩子，他發自靈魂和身體最深處的快樂體現出我們與大地生命最本源、最純粹、最可能的結合方式。但如果說到更高的形式，我們可以在詩歌中發現答案。

到底是什麼令莎士比亞的抒情詩站在人類頂峰？我想，有那麼一種發自本能深處的快樂使得那兩歲的孩子擁抱草地，歡撥出聲，而答案就在於莎士比亞的詩歌中充滿了同樣的歡樂。想一想那詩句：“聽，你聽，雲雀！”或者“來到這金黃的沙灘上”，這些詩句用更高階的方式表達出那兩歲孩子口齒不清的呢喃和歡叫中同樣的感情。

或者，我們可以再比較一下愛情與純粹的性吸引之間的差別。愛情會令我們像久旱之後的植物沐浴在雨水之中一樣，整個人恍若重獲新生，煥然一新，而簡單的性交往則不會有這樣的感受。當短暫的享受終結之後，隨之而來的就是疲憊、厭惡，以及空虛的感覺。愛情是大地生命的一部分，無愛的性則不是。

The special kind of boredom from which modern urban populations suffer is intimately bound up with their separation from the life of Earth。 It makes life hot and dusty and thirsty， like a pilgrimage in the desert。 Among those who are rich enough to choose their way of life， the particular brand of unendurable boredom from which they suffer is due， paradoxical as this may seem， to their fear of boredom。 In flying from the fructifying kind of boredom， they fall a prey to the other far worse kind。 A happy life must be to a great extent a quiet life， for it is only in an atmosphere of quiet that true joy can live。

現代城市居民所承受的這種特別的厭倦感受，其實是與我們遠離了大地生命息息相關的。這使得我們的生命如同行進在沙漠之中，空氣燥熱，灰塵瀰漫，又幹又渴。

儘管下面的說法可能顯得有點荒謬，但對於那些富裕的，足以自主選擇自己的生活方式的人來說，他們所承受的那些難以忍受的厭倦正來自於他們對厭倦的恐懼。他們夢想飛一樣遠離各種各樣的厭倦，卻淪為更嚴重的厭煩的獵物。

真正幸福的生活在很大程度上是一種寧靜的生活，因為，只有在寧靜的氛圍裡，快樂得以存在。

幸福之路

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