[美]奥里森.马登/Orison Marden
一天，在詹姆士？罗斯查尔德爵士家的宴会上，法国著名画家欧仁？德拉克罗瓦当场透露：在过去的一段时间里，他一直发愁为正在创作中的画寻找一位乞丐模特。当他的目光停留在爵士脸上时，灵感突然闪现在脑中——他梦寐以求的模特就在眼前。作为一名忠实的艺术爱好者，罗斯查尔德高兴地答应扮演一名乞丐。第二天，在德拉克罗瓦的画室里，他将一件束腰外衣围在爵士肩上，让爵士手握一根短棍，并摆出一个造型，如同正在一座古罗马神庙前的阶梯上休息一样。德拉克罗瓦离开画室后，他最得意的一名学生进来看到了罗斯查尔德的乞丐造型。年轻人自然而然地认为这个乞丐是刚刚被带进画室，便带着同情的表情一声不吭地将一些钱塞在他手里。罗斯查尔德只是道了声谢，便把钱放进兜里，那个学生走出了画
室。后来，罗斯查尔德从画家那里得知，那个年轻人很有绘画天分，只是缺乏处世经验。没过多久，那个年轻人便收到了一封信。信中大意是，因为他的善良本性，将钱给了一个他认为是乞丐的人，而作为答谢，他将得到一万法郎，可以随时到罗斯查尔德的办公室领取。这件事充分地说明了艺术的魅力，即使富有的人也不例外——画家的灵感，假扮的乞丐，以及一个可敬学生的善举。德国教育家威廉？冯？洪堡说过：“尤其值得注意的是，当我们不过度担忧自己是否快乐，而是全身心地严格履行职责时，快乐自然就会来临。
”快乐的感觉不正像波光粼粼的水流吗？英国前首相格莱斯顿曾说：“我最大的快乐是在工作中得到的。我从小就养成了勤奋的习惯，并因此受益匪浅。年轻人很容易认为休息就是停止一切努力，可我觉得最佳的休息就是转变为另一种形式的努力。如果看书、学习太多而感到头昏脑涨，就出去晒一下温暖的阳光，呼吸一下新鲜的空气，让身心得到彻底的放松。大脑不久就会恢复平静并得到休息。天性中的努力成分是永不枯竭的，甚至在我们睡觉的时候，心脏也还在不停地跳动着。我试着将自己的生活方式顺应天性，并在劳动中尽力模仿；而最终的结果是甜美的睡眠、健康的消化能力，以及旺盛的精力。我所得到的这些皆源于勤奋的酬劳。”只有那些把精力集中到一些目标而不是自身幸福的人，才能获得真正的快乐。“最美好、最显著的快乐是同他人共同分享快乐。”法国教育家拉？布吕耶尔评价道。美国小说家霍桑也曾说过，相互分享的快乐才是内心所有快乐的巅峰。
从前有一个国王，他十分溺爱自己的小儿子，并想尽办法让小儿子开心。因此，国王买来小马给他骑，建造漂亮的房子让他住，当然少不了图画、书、玩具、老师、伙伴以及一切用钱能买到或没法做到的事情。虽然小王子什么都有，可他还是闷闷不乐。无论走到哪里，他总是一副愁眉苦脸的样子，并一直期待拥有他所没有的东西。直到一位魔术师来到宫廷才改变了一切。魔术师看到愁容满面的小男孩后，便对国王说：“只要我告诉你儿子一个秘密，我就能让他快乐起来，将他的苦脸变为笑脸，可你必须为这个秘密给我一大笔钱。”“好吧，”国王说，“不管你要什么，我都会答应的。”小男孩被带到一个单独的房间，魔术师用一个白色的东西在一张纸上写了些字，并递给小男孩一支蜡烛，叫他点燃后，把纸放在蜡烛的上方，然后看可以读到什么。吩咐完了后，魔术师就走出了屋子。小男孩按照魔术师的话去做，这时，白色的字母变成了美丽的蓝色，并组成了这样一句话：“每天做一件好事。”王子接受了这个建议，成为王国里最快乐的人。
Dining one day with Baron James Rothschild，Eugene Delacroix，the famous French artist，confessed that，during some time past，he had vainly sought for a head to serve as a model for that of a beggar in a picture which he was painting；and that，as he gazed at his host’s features，the idea suddenly occurred to him that the very head he desired was before him.Rothschild，being a great lover of art，readily consented to sit as the beggar.The next day，at the studio，Delacroix placed a tunic around the baron’s shoulders，put a stoutstaff in his hand，and made him pose as if he were resting on the steps of an ancient Roman temple.In this attitude he was found by one of the artist’s favorite pupils，in a brief absence of the master from the room.The youth naturally concluded that the beggar had just been brought in，and with a sympathetic look quietly slipped a piece of money into his hand.Rothschild thanked him simply，pocketed the money，and the student passed out.Rothschild then inquired of the master，and found that the young man had talent，but very slender means.Soon after，the youth received a letter stating that charity bears interest，and that the accumulated interest on the amount he had given to one he supposed to be a beggar was represented by the sum of ten thousand francs，which was awaiting his claim at the Rothschild office.This illustrates well the art to cheerful amusement even if one has great business cares—the entertainment of the artist，the personation of a beggar，and an act of beneficence toward a worthy student.It was said by Wilhelm von Humboldt，that“it is worthy of special remark that when we are not too anxious about happiness and unhappiness，but devote ourselves to the strict and unsparing performance of duty，then happiness comes of itself.”
Are not buoyant spirits like water sparkling when it runs？“I have found my greatest happiness in labor，”said Gladstone，“I early formed a habit of industry，and it has been its own reward.The young are apt to think that rest means a cessation from all effort，but I have found the most perfect rest in changing effort.If brainweary over books and study，go out into the blessed sunlight and the pure air，and give heartfelt exercise to the body.The brain will soon become calm and rested.The efforts of nature are ceaseless.Even in our sleep the heart throbs on.I try to live close to nature，and to imitate her in my labors.The compensation is sound sleep，a wholesome digestion，and powers that are kept at their best；and this，I take it，is the chief reward of industry.”
Those only are happy who have their minds fixed on some object other than their own happiness.“The most delicate，the most sensible of all pleasures，”says La Bruyre，“consists in promoting the pleasures of others.”
And Hawthorne has said that the inward pleasure of imparting pleasure is the choicest of all.There was once a king who loved his little boy very much，and took a great deal of pains to please him.
So he gave him a pony to ride，beautiful rooms to live in，pictures，books，toys without number，teachers，
companions，and everything that money could buy or ingenuity devise；but for all this，the young prince was unhappy.He wore a frown wherever he went，and was always wishing for something he did not have.At length a magician came to the court.He saw the scowl on the boy’s face，and said to the king：“I can make your son happy，and turn his frowns into smiles，but you must pay me a great price for telling him this secret.”“All right，”said the king，“whatever you ask I will give.”The magician took the boy into a private room.He wrote something with a white substance on a piece of paper.He gave the boy a candle，and told him to light it and hold it under the paper，and then see what he could read.Then the magician went away.The boy did as he had been told，and the white letters turned into a beautiful blue.They formed these words：“Do a kindness to some one every day.”The prince followed the advice，and became the happiest boy in the realm.