第 22 节
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his poultry…yard。
Washington; also; was an indefatigable man of business。 From his
boyhood he diligently trained himself in habits of application; of
study; and of methodical work。 His manuscript school…books; which
are still preserved; show that; as early as the age of thirteen;
he occupied himself voluntarily in copying out such things as
forms of receipts; notes of hand; bills of exchange; bonds;
indentures; leases; land…warrants; and other dry documents; all
written out with great care。 And the habits which he thus early
acquired were; in a great measure; the foundation of those
admirable business qualities which he afterwards so successfully
brought to bear in the affairs of government。
The man or woman who achieves success in the management of any
great affair of business is entitled to honour;it may be; to as
much as the artist who paints a picture; or the author who writes
a book; or the soldier who wins a battle。 Their success may have
been gained in the face of as great difficulties; and after as
great struggles; and where they have won their battle; it is at
least a peaceful one; and there is no blood on their hands。
The idea has been entertained by some; that business habits are
incompatible with genius。 In the Life of Richard Lovell
Edgeworth; (16) it is observed of a Mr。 Bicknella respectable
but ordinary man; of whom little is known but that he married
Sabrina Sidney; the ELEVE of Thomas Day; author of 'Sandford and
Merton'that 〃he had some of the too usual faults of a man of
genius: he detested the drudgery of business。〃 But there cannot
be a greater mistake。 The greatest geniuses have; without
exception; been the greatest workers; even to the extent of
drudgery。 They have not only worked harder than ordinary men; but
brought to their work higher faculties and a more ardent spirit。
Nothing great and durable was ever improvised。 It is only by
noble patience and noble labour that the masterpieces of genius
have been achieved。
Power belongs only to the workers; the idlers are always
powerless。 It is the laborious and painstaking men who are the
rulers of the world。 There has not been a statesman of eminence
but was a man of industry。 〃It is by toil;〃 said even Louis XIV。;
〃that kings govern。〃 When Clarendon described Hampden; he spoke
of him as 〃of an industry and vigilance not to be tired out or
wearied by the most laborious; and of parts not to be imposed on
by the most subtle and sharp; and of a personal courage equal to
his best parts。〃 While in the midst of his laborious though self…
imposed duties; Hampden; on one occasion; wrote to his mother: 〃My
lyfe is nothing but toyle; and hath been for many yeares; nowe to
the Commonwealth; nowe to the Kinge。。。。 Not so much tyme left as
to doe my dutye to my deare parents; nor to sende to them。〃
Indeed; all the statesmen of the Commonwealth were great toilers;
and Clarendon himself; whether in office or out of it; was a man
of indefatigable application and industry。
The same energetic vitality; as displayed in the power of working;
has distinguished all the eminent men in our own as well as in
past times。 During the Anti…Corn Law movement; Cobden; writing to
a friend; described himself as 〃working like a horse; with not a
moment to spare。〃 Lord Brougham was a remarkable instance of the
indefatigably active and laborious man; and it might be said of
Lord Palmerston; that he worked harder for success in his extreme
old age than he had ever done in the prime of his manhood
preserving his working faculty; his good…humour and BONHOMMIE;
unimpaired to the end。 (17) He himself was accustomed to say; that
being in office; and consequently full of work; was good for his
health。 It rescued him from ENNUI。 Helvetius even held; that it
is man's sense of ENNUI that is the chief cause of his superiority
over the brute;that it is the necessity which he feels for
escaping from its intolerable suffering that forces him to
employ himself actively; and is hence the great stimulus
to human progress。
Indeed; this living principle of constant work; of abundant
occupation; of practical contact with men in the affairs of life;
has in all times been the best ripener of the energetic vitality
of strong natures。 Business habits; cultivated and disciplined;
are found alike useful in every pursuitwhether in politics;
literature; science; or art。 Thus; a great deal of the best
literary work has been done by men systematically trained in
business pursuits。 The same industry; application; economy of
time and labour; which have rendered them useful in the one sphere
of employment; have been found equally available in the other。
Most of the early English writers were men of affairs; trained to
business; for no literary class as yet existed; excepting it might
be the priesthood。 Chaucer; the father of English poetry; was
first a soldier; and afterwards a comptroller of petty customs。
The office was no sinecure either; for he had to write up all the
records with his own hand; and when he had done his 〃reckonings〃
at the custom…house; he returned with delight to his favourite
studies at homeporing over his books until his eyes were
〃dazed〃 and dull。
The great writers in the reign of Elizabeth; during which there
was such a development of robust life in England; were not
literary men according to the modern acceptation of the word; but
men of action trained in business。 Spenser acted as secretary to
the Lord Deputy of Ireland; Raleigh was; by turns; a courtier;
soldier; sailor; and discoverer; Sydney was a politician;
diplomatist; and soldier; Bacon was a laborious lawyer before he
became Lord Keeper and Lord Chancellor; Sir Thomas Browne was a
physician in country practice at Norwich; Hooker was the
hardworking pastor of a country parish; Shakspeare was the manager
of a theatre; in which he was himself but an indifferent actor;
and he seems to have been even more careful of his money
investments than he was of his intellectual offspring。 Yet these;
all men of active business habits; are among the greatest writers
of any age: the period of Elizabeth and James I。 standing out in
the history of England as the era of its greatest literary
activity and splendour。
In the reign of Charles I。; Cowley held various offices of trust
and confidence。 He acted as private secretary to several of the
royalist leaders; and was afterwards engaged as private secretary
to the Queen; in ciphering and deciphering the correspondence
which passed between her and Charles I。; the work occupying all
his days; and often his nights; during several years。 And while
Cowley was thus employed in the royal cause; Milton was employed
by the Commonwealth; of which he was the Latin secretary; and
afterwards secretary to the Lord Protector。 Yet; in the earlier
part of his life; Milton was occupied in the humble vocation of a
teacher。 Dr。 Johnson says; 〃that in his school; as in everything
else which he undertook; he laboured with great diligence; there
is no reason for doubting〃 It was after the Restoration; when his
official employment ceased; that Milton entered upon the principal
literary work of his life; but before he undertook the writing of
his great epic; he deemed it indispensable that to 〃industrious
and select reading〃 he should add 〃steady observation〃 and
〃insight into all seemly and generous arts and affairs。〃 (18)
Locke held office in different reigns: first under Charles II。 as
Secretary to the Board of Trade and afterwards under William III。
as Commissioner of Appeals and of Trade and Plantations。 Many
literary men of eminence held office in Queen Anne's reign。 Thus
Addison was Secretary of State; Steele; Commissioner of Stamps;
Prior; Under…Secretary of State; and afterwards Ambassador to
France; Tickell; Under…Secretary of State; and Secretary to the
Lords Justices of Ireland; Congreve; Secretary of Jamaica;; and
Gay; Secretary of Legation at Hanover。
Indeed; habits of business; instead of unfitting a cultivated mind
for scientific or literary pursuits; are often the best training
for them。 Voltaire insisted with truth that the real spirit of
business and literature are the same; the perfection of each being
the union of energy and thoughtfulness; of cultivated intelligence
and practical wisdom; of the active and contemplative essencea
union commended by Lord Bacon as the concentrated excellence of
man's nature。 It has been said that even the man of genius can
write nothing worth reading in relation to human affairs; unless
he has been in some way or other connected with the serious
everyday business of life。
Hence it has happened that many of the best books; extant have
been written by men of business; with whom literature was a
pastime rather than a profession。 Gifford; the editor of the
'Quarterly;' who knew the drudgery of writ