Of Adversity

Of Adversity Author：Francis Bacon

It was an high speech of Seneca , that the good things, which belong to prosperity, are to be wished; but the good things, that belong to adversity, are to be admired.  Certainly if miracles be the command over nature, they appear most in adversity. It is yet a higher speech of his, than the other . It is true greatness, to have in one the frailty of a man, and the security of a God.  This would have done better in poesy, where transcendences are more allowed.

The virtue of prosperity, is temperance; the virtue of adversity, is fortitude; which in morals is the more heroical virtue.

Prosperity is not without many fears and distastes; and adversity is not without comforts and hopes.

We see in needle-works and embroideries, it is more pleasing to have a lively work, upon a sad and solemn ground, than to have a dark and melancholy work, upon a lightsome ground: judge therefore of the pleasure of the heart, by the pleasure of the eye.

Certainly virtue is like precious odors, most fragrant when they are incensed, or crushed: for prosperity doth best discover vice, but adversity doth best discover virtue.

論逆境 作者：培根 翻譯：何新

“一帆風順固然令人羨慕，但逆水行舟則更令人欽佩。” 這是塞涅卡效仿斯多派哲學講出的一句名言。確實如此。如果奇跡就是超乎尋常，那麽它常常是在對逆境的征服中顯現的。塞涅卡還說過一句更深刻的格言：“真正的偉大，即在於以脆弱的凡人之軀而具有神性的不可戰勝。” 這是宛如詩句的妙語，其境界意味深長。

麵幸運所需要的美德是節製，而麵對逆境所需要的美德是堅韌，從道德修養而論，後者比前者更為難能。

一切幸福都絕非沒有憂慮和煩惱，而一切逆境也都絕非沒有慰藉與希望。

最美好的刺繡，是以暗淡的背景襯托明麗的圖案，而絕不是以暗淡的花朵鑲嵌於明麗的背景上。讓我們從這種美景中去汲取啟示吧。

人的美德猶如名貴的檀木，隻有在烈火的焚燒中才會散發出最濃鬱的芳香。正如惡劣的品質會在幸福而無節製中被顯露一樣，最美好的品質也正是逆境中而灼放出光輝的。

Rebecca Lin 2008 Summer In USA

[林貝卡]

回複苗青青的評論:

培根寫的好，何新譯的好。

[苗青青]

說的簡潔，譯得也好。 美貼箴言。
問好！

[林貝卡]

Francis Bacon

Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626) was an English philosopher, statesman, and essayist. He is also known as a proponent of the scientific revolution.

His works established and popularized an inductive methodology for scientific inquiry, often called the Baconian method or simply, the scientific method. He has been credited as the creator of the English essay.