The Road To Happiness
It is a commonplace among moralists that you cannot get happiness by pursuing it. This is only true if you pursue it unwisely. Gamblers at Monte Carlo are pursuing money, and most of them lose it instead, but there are other ways of pursuing money, which often succeed. So it is with happiness. If you pursue it by means of drink, you are forgetting the hang-over. Epicurus pursued it by living only in congenial society and eating only dry bread, supplemented by a little cheese on feast days. His method proved successful in his case, but he was a valetudinarian, and most people would need something more vigorous. For most people, the pursuit of happiness, unless supplemented in various ways, is too abstract and theoretical to be adequate as a personal rule of life. But I think that whatever personal rule of life you may choose it should not, except in rare and heroic cases, be incompatible with happiness.
There are a great many people who have all the material conditions of happiness, i.e. health and a sufficient income, and who, nevertheless, are profoundly unhappy. In such cases it would seem as if the fault must lie with a wrong theory as to how to live. In one sense, we may say that any theory as to how to live is wrong. We imagine ourselves more different from the animals than we are. Animals live on impulse, and are happy as long as external conditions are favorable. If you have a cat it will enjoy life if it has food and warmth and opportunities for an occasional night on the tiles. Your needs are more complex than those of your cat, but they still have their basis in instinct. In civilized societies, especially in English-speaking societies, this is too apt to be forgotten. People propose to themselves some one paramount objective, and restrain all impulses that do not minister to it. A businessman may be so anxious to grow rich that to this end he sacrifices health and private affections. When at last he has become rich, no pleasure remains to him except harrying other people by exhortations to imitate his noble example. Many rich ladies, although nature has not endowed them with any spontaneous pleasure in literature or art, decide to be thought cultured, and spend boring hours learning the right thing to say
中文：
道德家们常说：幸福靠追求是得不到的。只有用不明智的方式去追求才是这样。蒙特卡洛城的赌徒们追求金钱，但多数人却把钱输掉了，而另外一些追求金钱的办法却常常成功。追求幸福也是一样。如果你通过畅饮来追求幸福，那你就忘记了酒醉后的不适。埃毕丘鲁斯追求幸福的办法是只和志趣相投的人一起生活，只吃不涂黄油的面包，节日才加一点奶酪。他的办法对他来说是成功的，但他是个体弱多病的人，而多数人需要的是精力充沛。就多数人来说，除非你有别的补充办法，这样追求快乐就过于抽象和脱离实际，不宜作为个人的生活准则。不过，我觉得无论你选择什么样的生活准则，除了那些罕见的和英雄人物的例子外，都应该是和幸福相容的。
很多人拥有获得幸福的全部物质条件，即健康的身体和丰足的收入，可是他们非常不快乐。就这种情况来说，似乎问题处在生活理论的错误上。从某种意义上讲，我们可以说任何关于生活的理论都是不正确的。我们和动物的区别并没有我们想象的那么大。动物是凭冲动生活的，只要客观条件有利，它们就会快乐。如果你有一只猫，它只要有东西吃，感到暖和，偶尔晚上得到机会去寻欢，它就会很快活。你的需要比你的猫要复杂一些，但还是以本能为基础的。在文明社会中，特别是在讲英语的社会中，这一点很容易被忘却。人们给自己定下一个最高的目标，对一切不利于实现这一目标的冲动都加以克制。生意人可能因为切望发财以致不惜牺牲健康和爱情。等他终于发了财，他除了苦苦劝人效法他的好榜样而搅得别人心烦外，并没有得到快乐。很多有钱的贵妇人，尽管自然并未赋予她们任何欣赏文学或艺术的兴趣，却决意要使别人认为她们是有教养的，于是他们花费很多烦人的时间学习怎样谈论那些流行的新书。这些书写出来是要给人以乐趣的，而不是要给人以附庸风雅的机会的。（待续）
相关单词：valetudinarian
valetudinarian解释：n.病人；健康不佳者
valetudinarian例句：
She affected to be spunky
The valetudinarian alternated two hours of work with one hour of rest.那个体弱多病的人每工作两小时就要歇一小时。
相关单词：incompatible
incompatible解释：adj.不相容的，不协调的，不相配的
incompatible例句：
His plan is incompatible with my intent.他的计划与我的意图不相符。
Speed and safety are not necessarily incompatible.速度和安全未必不相容。
相关单词：civilized
civilized解释：a.有教养的，文雅的
civilized例句：
Racism is abhorrent to a civilized society. 文明社会憎恶种族主义。
rising crime in our so-called civilized societies 在我们所谓文明社会中日益增多的犯罪行为
相关单词：paramount
paramount解释：a.最重要的，最高权力的
paramount例句：
My paramount object is to save the Union and destroy slavery.我的最高目标是拯救美国，摧毁奴隶制度。
Nitrogen is of paramount
相关单词：remains
remains解释：n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹
remains例句：
He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。
相关单词：harrying
harrying解释：v.使苦恼( harry的现在分词 )；不断烦扰；一再袭击；侵扰
harrying例句：
The tax authorities have been harrying her for repayment. 税务局一直在催她补交税款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
He is increasingly active in harrying the government in late-night debates. 他越来越活跃，在深夜辩论中不断攻击政府。 来自辞典例句
相关单词：exhortations
exhortations解释：n.敦促( exhortation的名词复数 )；极力推荐；（正式的）演讲；（宗教仪式中的）劝诫
exhortations例句：
The monuments of men's ancestors were the most impressive exhortations. 先辈们的丰碑最能奋勉人心的。 来自辞典例句
Men has free choice. Otherwise counsels, exhortations, commands, prohibitions, rewards and punishments would be in vain. 人具有自由意志。否则，劝告、赞扬、命令、禁规、奖赏和惩罚都将是徒劳的。 来自辞典例句
相关单词：snobbism
snobbism解释：势利
snobbism例句：
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