A Reporter Quotes His Sources
It’s rather difficult in these noisy, confusing, nerve-racking days to achieve the peace of mind in which to pause for a moment to reflect on what you believe in. There’s so little time and opportunity to give it much thought—though it is the thing we live by; and without it, without beliefs, human existence today would hardly be bearable.
My own view of life, like everyone else’s, is conditioned by personal experience. In my own case, there were two experiences, in particular, which helped to shape my beliefs: years of life and work under a totalitarian regime, and a glimpse of war.
Living in a totalitarian land taught me to value highly—and fiercely—the very things the dictators denied: tolerance, respect for others and, above all, the freedom of the human spirit.
A glimpse of war filled me with wonder not only at man’s courage and capacity for self-sacrifice, but at his stubborn, marvelous will to preserve, to endure, to prevail—amidst the most incredible savagery and suffering. When you saw people—civilians—who where bombed out, or who, worse, had been hounded in the concentration camps or worked to a frazzle in the slave-labor gangs—when you saw them come out of these ordeals of horror and torture, still intact as human beings, with a will to go on, with a faith still in themselves, in their fellow man, and in God, you realized that man was indestructible. You appreciated, too, that despite the corruption and cruelty of life, man somehow managed to retain great virtues: love, honor, courage, self-sacrifice, compassion.
It filled you with a certain pride just to be a member of the human race. It renewed your belief in your fellow men.
Of course, there are many days (in this Age of Anxiety) when a human being feels awfully low and discouraged. I myself find consolation at such moments by two means: trying to develop a sense of history, and renewing the quest for inner life.
I go back, for example, to reading Plutarch. He reminds you that even in the golden days of Greece and Rome, from which so much that is splendid in our own civilization derives, there was a great deal of what we find so loathsome in life today: war, strife, corruption, treason, double-crossing, intolerance, tyranny, rabble-rousing. Reading history thus gives you perspective. It enables you to see your troubles relatively. You don’t take them so seriously then.
Finally, I find that most true happiness comes from one’s inner life; from the disposition of the mind and soul. Admittedly, a good inner life is difficult to achieve, especially in these trying times. It takes reflection and contemplation. And self-discipline. One must be honest with oneself, and that’s not easy. (You have to have patience and understanding. And, when you can, seek God.)
But the reward of having an inner life, which no outside storm or evil turn of fortune can touch, is, it seems to me, a very great one.
我的人生信仰
威廉.L.夏伊勒
在这个喧哗纷乱、人的精神处于极度紧张的年代，能够静下心来，休息片刻，思考一下自己的人生信仰是极不容易的。因为人们既没有时间也没有机会好好考虑这个问题——尽管信仰乃是生活之基准，没有它，没有信仰，人类社会将让人不堪忍受。
人的人生观取决于个人经历，我的也是如此。就我而言，有两种经历对我信仰的形成极为关键：一是多年在极权统治下生活和工作，一是有战争的短暂经历。
生活在极权统治的国家，得不到宽容，受不到尊重，尤其是人的精神自由都被独、裁者剥夺，这使我倍觉它们的可贵。
战争的短暂经历让我对纷飞战火中人民奋起抗争、勇于牺牲的精神惊叹不已；更让我钦佩的则是人民在野蛮暴政之下和水深火热之中顽强的求生意志和必胜的信心。如果你目睹人民——那些平民——由于战火而流离失所，甚至于在集中营备受摧残或是在劳工营疲惫不堪，如果你目睹他们在经历这些恐怖与磨难后仍然未失去人类的尊严，未失去生活的勇气，未失去对自己、对同胞、对上帝的信念，你就会明白人类是坚不可摧的。你也会赞叹，生活中尽管有堕落与暴行，人类仍能以某种方式保留这些美德——充满爱心、满怀荣耀、仁慈英勇、敢于牺牲。
你会因身为人类的一员而感到一种荣耀，也会对自己的同胞重拾信心！
当然，生活在这样一个“焦虑的年代”，我们常常也会情绪低落、意志消沉。此时，我会试着从史书中寻求慰藉，或是踏上新的精神之旅。
例如，我重读普卢塔克的《希腊罗马名人比较列传》，从中可以看出，战乱动荡、暴君苛政并非当世之灾，背信弃义、危言惑世亦非时人之弊；即使在我们辉煌文明之源的古希腊古罗马黄金时代，这些灾祸也无法避免。读史可以开阔视野，使我们不会孤立地看待世间纷扰，不必终日惶惶不安。
我终于意识到真正的幸福来自人的精神世界，来自人的心智与灵魂。诚然，在这个纷扰喧嚣的时世，想拥有宁静祥和的内心世界并非易事，这需要我们时常反省、冥思，还要自律。坦然直面自己实属不易。（你得有耐心，能体谅，只要可能，寻求上帝的帮助。）而一旦你的精神世界能真正远离暴风骤雨和阴风邪气的侵犯，你必将获得无比丰厚的回报。
附注：
威廉·夏伊勒：是一名驻外记者、广播评论员。
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