Dinner was announced， and many of the most noted merchants， princes， and noble－men of Venice were ushered into the dining room. Among them were skilled critics of artwork. When their eyes fell upon the butter lion， they forgot the purpose for which they had come in their wonder at such a work of genius. They looked at the lion long and carefully， and asked Signor Faliero what great sculptor had been persuaded to waste his skill upon such a temporary material. Feliero could not tell， so he asked the head servant， who brought Antonio before the company.
When the distinguished guests learned that the lion had been made in a short time by a scullion， the dinner was turned into a feast in his honor. The rich host declared that he would pay the boy’s expenses under the best masters， and he kept his word. Antonio was not spoiled by his good fortune， but remained at heart the same simple， earnest， faithful boy who had tried so hard to become a good stone-cutter in the shop of Pisano. Some may not have heard how the boy Antonio took advantage of this first great opportunity； but all know of Canova， one of the greatest sculptors of all time.
Weak men wait for opportunities， strong men make them.
法里罗先生邀请了一大群人来他的宅邸参加宴会。可就在宴会开始前不久，负责做桌面大件装饰品的糖果师传话说他把东西搞砸了。这时候一个在法里罗先生家里做勤杂工的男孩站了出来，说道：“如果你让我试试的话，我能做出些有用的东西来。”“你？”服务生领班诧异地喊道，“你是谁？”“我是安东尼奥·卡诺瓦，是凿石匠皮撒诺的孙子。”这个脸色苍白的小家伙答道。
“那请告诉我，你能做些什么？”管家问道。“如果你让我试试的话，我可以帮你做些东西来装饰一下这桌子。”管家实在没有别的办法，只好让安东尼奥试一试，看看他能搞出些什么名堂。这个小工要了些黄油，迅速雕成了一头蹲伏的大狮子，管家对这个塑像备加赞赏，把它摆在了桌子当中。
晚宴开始了，许多威尼斯著名的商人、王室成员和贵族被招待员带进了宴会厅，他们中很多人都擅长艺术品鉴赏。当他们的目光落在那头黄油制成的狮子上时，都被这件天才的作品所震惊了，忘了享用食品。他们长时间地认真观赏着这头狮子，然后才想起来问法里罗先生是怎样说服大师级的雕刻家，让他在这样一种只能维持一时的小东西上浪费自己的技艺的。法里罗也说不上来，他就去问管家，于是安东尼奥被带到了大家面前。
这些尊贵的客人得知这只狮子是这个小工用很短的时间雕出来时，宴会立刻变成了为这个男孩举办的盛会。富有的主人当众宣布自己将出资让这个孩子去跟最好的大师学习，事实证明他的确遵守了这个诺言。安东尼奥没有恃才自傲，他一直保持着单纯、渴望和真诚的心态——仍然是那个想在皮萨诺店里做一个好石匠的男孩。许多人也许没有听说过这个叫安东尼奥的男孩是如何利用自己的第一次机会的，但所有的人都知道卡诺瓦，一个伟大的雕塑家。
弱者等待机会，强者创造机会。
Today I begin a new life.
今天，我天始新的生活．
Today I begin a new life.
Today I shed my old skin which hath， too long， suffered the bruises of failure and the wounds of mediority.
Today I am born anew and my birthplace is a vineyard where there is fruit for all.
Today I will pluck grapes of wisdom from the tallest and fullest vines in the vineyard，for these were planted by the wisest of my profession who have come before me，generation upon generation.
Today I will savor the taste of grapes from these vines and verily I will swallow the seed of success buried in each and new life will sprout within me.
The career I have chosen is laden with opportunity yet it is fraught with heartbreak and despair and the bodies of those who have failed， were they piled one atop another， would cast a shadow down upon all the pyramids of the earth.
Yet I will not fail， as the others， for in my hands I now hold the charts which will guide through perilous waters to shores which only yesterday seemed but a dream.
Failure no longer will be my payment for struggle. Just as nature made no provision for my body to tolerate pain neither has it made any provision for my life to suffer failure. Failure， like pain， is alien to my life. In the past I accepted it as I accepted pain. Now I reject it and I am prepared for wisdom and principles which will guide me out of the shadows into the sunlight of wealth， position， and happiness far beyond my most extravagant dreams until even the golden apples in the Garden of Hesperides will seem no more than my just reward.
Time teaches all things to him who lives forever but I have not the luxury of eternity. Yet within my allotted time I must practice the art of patience for nature acts never in haste. To create the olive， king of all trees， a hundred years is required. An onion plant is old in nine weeks. I have lived as an onion plant. It has not pleased me. Now I would become the greatest of olive trees and， in truth， the greatest of salesman.
And how will this be accomplished？For I have neither the knowledge nor the experience to achieve the greatness and already I have stumbled in ignorance and fallen into pools of self-pity. The answer is simple. I will commence my journey unencumbered with either the weight of unnecessary knowledge or the handicap of meaningless experience. Nature already has supplied me with knowledge and instinct far greater than any beast in the forest and the value of experience is overrated， usually by old men who nod wisely and speak stupidly.
In truth， experience teaches thoroughly yet her course of instruction devours men"s years so the value of her lessons diminishes with the time necessary to acquire her special wisdom. The end finds it wasted on dead men. Furthermore， experience is comparable to fashion； an action that proved successful today will be unworkable and impractical tomorrow.
Only principles endure and these I now possess， for the laws that will lead me to greatness are contained in the words of these scrolls. What they will teach me is more to prevent failure than to gain success， for what is success other than a state of mind？ Which two， among a thouand wise men， will define success in the same words； yet failure is always described but one way. Failure is man"s inability to reach his goals in life， whatever they may be.
In truth， the only difference between those who have failed and those who have successed lies in the difference of their habits. Good habits are the key to all success. Bad habits are the unlocked door to failure. Thus， the first law I will obey， which precedeth all others is --I will form good habits and become their slave.
As a child I was slave to my impulses； now I am slave to my habits， as are all grown men. I have surrendered my free will to the years of accumulated habits and the past deeds of my life have already marked out a path which threatens to imprison my future. My actions are ruled by appetite， passion， prejudice， greed， love， fear， environment， habit， and the worst of these tyrants is habit. Therefore， if I must be a slave to habit let me be a slave to good habits. My bad habits must be destroyed and new furrows prepared for good seed.
I will form good habits and become their slave.