他们没有好奇心，也不能自我挑战。他们不能享受发挥自己才能的纯粹乐趣，除非用棍子抽打着，否则他们会呆站着。与这样的人多说也无益，他们无法让自己悠然自得，他们的本性就不够慷慨，不利用时间拼命工作，只会浑浑噩噩地打发时间。当无须工作，既不饥饿又不口渴时，对他来说，这个充满生命的世界只是一片空白。如果不得不需要个把小时来等火车，他们就会双目圆睁、神情呆滞。看着他们，你就会猜想那里没有可看的风景，也没有可以交谈的人；也可能会觉得他们被吓呆或被疏离了。然而，他们极有可能是在工作中兢兢业业的人，对契约中的瑕疵或市场的变动有着敏锐洞察力的人。
他们上过中学，受过高等教育，但是却总是把目光放在奖章上；他们游历各国，与智者结交，但是总考虑一己之私。似乎是嫌自己起初的灵魂还不够渺小似的，他们一生只是拼命工作，从不娱乐，以此来压缩自己的灵魂世界。直到40岁，还是在那里无精打采地等火车，不想去与他人攀谈，对娱乐也没有一点儿兴趣。在他还是孩童时，还可以在箱子上爬上爬下；到了20岁的时候，他可以盯着姑娘看；但是到了现在，烟斗抽完了，鼻烟盒也空了的时候，我们这位先生却直挺挺地坐在长椅上，目光忧郁。这样的生活，我并不认为是成功的。但是，他本人并不是唯一受到这种习惯折磨的人，还包括他的妻子、孩子、朋友和亲人，甚至还有与他同乘一车的人。
一个人始终如一地献身于其所谓的事业，就会永远忽略许多其他事物。而且，一个人的事业是否是他要做的最重要的事情，是不能用任何形式来确定的。要公正地判定的话，其中一点是显而易见的，那就是在人生的戏剧里，最聪明、最善良、最仁慈的角色都是由无偿的演员来扮演的。在世人看来，那是悠闲的状态。因为在这出戏剧里，不仅有散步的绅士、歌唱的侍女，还有乐队里勤勉的小提琴手，而且有坐在长凳上鼓掌的观众，他们都真正扮演着一个角色，并对整体效果发挥着重要的作用。毋庸置疑，你依赖于律师和股票经纪人的关照，列车员和信号员使你快速地转移，街道上警察队对你的佑护，但是对于那些路上偶遇的，使你开怀一笑的人，难道你一点儿也不心存感激吗？纽科姆上校的帮忙，却使他的朋友破了财；弗雷德·贝哈姆向人借衬衣，却是一个诡计。但是比起巴恩斯先生， 他们两位倒是更值得结交。虽然福斯塔夫既不庄重又不诚实，但是我想我能说出一两个沮丧的巴拉巴，我想如果没有他们，这个世界会更好。哈兹里特曾提到：与那些懂得卖弄的朋友相比，他对诺思科特的责任感更强，尽管诺思科特对他并未有任何所谓的恩惠之举，因为他坚持认为，一个好的同伴就是最大的施恩者。
我知道世界上有一些人，除非以痛苦和苦难为代价赐予他们恩惠，否则他们便不会有感恩之心。这真是一种无礼的性情。一个人可能会给你写一封六页的信，同你漫无边际地闲谈，或者你开心地用半个小时读他的一篇文章，还有所收获。如果这篇手稿是他用心血写成的，就像魔鬼的契约一样，是否你会觉得更有恩于你？如果你的来信者诅咒你的刁难，你真的觉得你就会对他更加感激吗？乐趣比责任更能令人受益，就像仁慈的品质一样，由于没有任何矫饰，能给人加倍的福祉。
忙中偷闲是一种能力，暗示的是一种广泛的爱好和强烈的个性。
catholic ['k鎙ik] adj. 天主教的；宽宏大量的
Catholic priests brought him up.
他是由天主教的牧师带大的。
furious ['fju:ris] adj. 狂怒的；激烈的；热烈兴奋的；喧闹的
Facing such furious competitions, they can't win at all.
面对那样激烈的竞争，他们根本不可能赢。
paralysed ['p鎟laizd] adj. 瘫痪的；惊呆的；麻痹的
His left arm is paralysed.
他的左臂麻痹了。
perpetual [p'petul] adj. 永久的；四季开花的；不断的；无期限的
I can still hear your perpetual calling for me.
我仍旧听得见你那永恒的召唤。
不管是在中学还是大学，是在教会还是市场，极度的忙碌都是缺乏活力的象征。
他们一生只是拼命工作，从不娱乐，以此来压缩自己的灵魂世界。
一个人始终如一地献身于其所谓的事业，就会永远忽略许多其他事物。
If they have to wait an hour or so for a train, they fall into a stupid trance with their eyes open.
fall into：落入；分成
Do you really fancy you should be more beholden to your correspondent, if he had been damning you all the while for your importunity?
all the while：一直；始终
13快乐自己做主
Are We Having Fun Yet
佚名 / Anonymous
We've all been brainwashed! We were all taught the work ethic!
"Work (and suffer) till you die, or if you're lucky retire. We don't have time to waste on frivolities. We have responsibilities to fulfill. We have to be serious, work hard, rise in our career, make lots of money, and make earning money and advancing in our career a priority."
I wish to change that programming in my life. I know that when I do the things I enjoy doing, things work out better for me. I know that when I do something against my will, against my heart, it doesn't work out well. I know that stressing myself out to try to get a job done usually takes twice as long as taking time out and doing that same task at some other time in a relaxed manner.
We can change the criteria by which we decide what to do in our lives. Instead of "Will it bring in lots of money or advance my career", we need to ask ourselves, "Will I enjoy doing this? Will this be fun? Am I looking forward to getting started on this?"
If you can't answer "yes" to these questions, then quite possibly this is not the task for you!
If it is something that must be done, i.e. taxes, dishes, etc., the solution is to find someone else to do them for you. There are some people who will enjoy and love to do what you prefer not to do. Really! For example, I am not the world's best housekeeper. I do not really enjoy cleaning, washing floors, windows, etc. Yet there are some people who enjoy the meditative aspect of this work and who really get satisfaction from a job well done. It is to my benefit to pay someone to do this work so I can take that time earning money doing things that I enjoy.
We are all very different and different things appeal to each one of us. Just because someone else enjoys a particular thing does not mean that you must. We can trust what I call the "fun index" to assist us in knowing if a particular action is the one for us. We can break away from the rule of thumb that judges things by whether they bring money or career advancement. We can change that to making our decisions based on whether an action will bring us pleasure and personal satisfaction. Does the work you do leave you feeling proud and pleased with yourself? Are you following the voice of "should" or the one of "want to"?
Yet, the programming is strong. I find myself struggling over a task and it ends up dragging itself out. Have you noticed that the things that you dislike doing are the ones that seem to take forever to get done? As for the opposite viewpoint, well as the saying goes, "Time flies when you're having fun!"
Learning to go against that old programming and trusting the "fun index" is an ongoing project. Every small step is, at the same time, a big leap. Each step will move you away from dissatisfaction with your life and closer to self-love, self-acceptance, self-esteem and joy in your everyday existence.
Anytime you ignore that inner prompting, you accumulate self-loathing and disappointment in your being. Your inner child once again feels letdown and unimportant. Each letdown reinforce the inner child's belief that everybody else's wishes are more important than its own. Once again its desires are relegated to the lowest priority on the list.