It is not difficult to imagine a world short of ambition. It would probably be a kinder world: with out demands, without abrasions, without disappointments. People would have time for reflection. Such work as they did would not be for themselves but for the collectivity. Competition would never enter in. conflict would be eliminated, tension become a thing of the past. The stress of creation would be at an end. Art would no longer be troubling, but purely celebratory in its functions. Longevity would be increased, for fewer people would die of heart attack or stroke caused by tumultuous endeavor. Anxiety would be extinct. Time would stretch on and on, with ambition long departed from the human heart.
Ah, how unrelieved boring life would be!
There is a strong view that holds that success is a myth, and ambition therefore a sham. Does this mean that success does not really exist? That achievement is at bottom empty? That the efforts of men and women are of no significance alongside the force of movements and events now not all success, obviously, is worth esteeming, nor all ambition worth cultivating. Which are and which are not is something one soon enough learns on one’s own. But even the most cynical secretly admit that success exists; that achievement counts for a great deal; and that the true myth is that the actions of men and women are useless. To believe otherwise is to take on a point of view that is likely to be deranging. It is, in its implications, to remove all motives for competence, interest in attainment, and regard for posterity.
We do not choose to be born. We do not choose our parents. We do not choose our historical epoch, the country of our birth, or the immediate circumstances of our upbringing. We do not, most of us, choose to die; nor do we choose the time or conditions of our death. But within all this realm of choicelessness, we do choose how we shall live: courageously or in cowardice, honorably or dishonorably, with purpose or in drift. We decide what is important and what is trivial in life. We decide that what makes us significant is either what we do or what we refuse to do. But no matter how indifferent the universe may be to our choices and decisions, these choices and decisions are ours to make. We decide. We choose. And as we decide and choose, so are our lives formed. In the end, forming our own destiny is what ambition is about.
這是不難想象，一個(gè)缺乏抱負(fù)的世界。或許，這將是一個(gè)更為友善的世界：沒有渴求，沒有磨擦，沒有失望。人們將有時(shí)間進(jìn)行反思。因?yàn)樗麄冏隽诉@樣的工作不會(huì)是為自己而是為了整個(gè)集體。競爭永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)進(jìn)入。沖突將被消除，緊張關(guān)系將成為過去的事情了。創(chuàng)造的重壓將得以終結(jié)。藝術(shù)將不再惹人費(fèi)神，其功能將純粹為了慶典。壽命會(huì)增加，更少的人會(huì)死于心臟發(fā)作或中風(fēng)引起的激烈拼爭。焦慮將會(huì)消失。時(shí)光流逝而上，有抱負(fù)的人的心臟長離去。
啊，怎么減輕的無聊生活會(huì)！
還有的是認(rèn)為，成功是一種神話，因此抱負(fù)一個(gè)假了高度重視。這是否意味著成功并不真的存在嗎？成就本身就是一場空？男性和女性的努力是諸多運(yùn)動(dòng)和事件的力量相比，現(xiàn)在并非所有的成功，很明顯，是值得景仰，也并非所有的抱負(fù)都值得追求。對(duì)值得和不值得的一名即將足夠的學(xué)習(xí)對(duì)一個(gè)人的自己。但即使是最為憤世嫉俗的人暗地里也承認(rèn)，成功確實(shí)存在;這一成就計(jì)為一個(gè)偉大的交易;并且，真正的說法是，男性和女性的行為是無用的。要相信，要不就是采取一種觀點(diǎn)認(rèn)為很可能是攪亂。它是在其影響，刪除所有的動(dòng)機(jī)能力，求取業(yè)績的興趣和對(duì)子孫后代的關(guān)注。
我們沒有選擇出生。我們不選擇我們的父母。我們不選擇我們的歷史時(shí)期，我們出生的國家，或是成長的周遭環(huán)境。我們不這樣做，我們大多數(shù)人選擇死亡;我們也沒有選擇的時(shí)候還是我們死亡的情況。但是在這些無法選擇所有這些領(lǐng)域，我們的確可以選擇自己的生活方式：是勇敢無畏還是膽小怯懦，是光明磊落還是厚顏無恥，是目標(biāo)堅(jiān)定還是隨波逐流。我們決定什么是重要的，什么是平凡的生活。我們決定，是什么讓我們顯著的，不是我們做了什么，就是我們拒絕做些什么。但無論怎樣冷漠的宇宙可能是我們的選擇和決定，這些選擇和決定都是我們自己做出的。我們決定。我們選擇。而當(dāng)我們決定和選擇時(shí)，我們的生活形成。最終構(gòu)筑我們命運(yùn)的就是抱負(fù)之所在。
Ah, how unrelieved boring life would be!
There is a strong view that holds that success is a myth, and ambition therefore a sham. Does this mean that success does not really exist? That achievement is at bottom empty? That the efforts of men and women are of no significance alongside the force of movements and events now not all success, obviously, is worth esteeming, nor all ambition worth cultivating. Which are and which are not is something one soon enough learns on one’s own. But even the most cynical secretly admit that success exists; that achievement counts for a great deal; and that the true myth is that the actions of men and women are useless. To believe otherwise is to take on a point of view that is likely to be deranging. It is, in its implications, to remove all motives for competence, interest in attainment, and regard for posterity.
We do not choose to be born. We do not choose our parents. We do not choose our historical epoch, the country of our birth, or the immediate circumstances of our upbringing. We do not, most of us, choose to die; nor do we choose the time or conditions of our death. But within all this realm of choicelessness, we do choose how we shall live: courageously or in cowardice, honorably or dishonorably, with purpose or in drift. We decide what is important and what is trivial in life. We decide that what makes us significant is either what we do or what we refuse to do. But no matter how indifferent the universe may be to our choices and decisions, these choices and decisions are ours to make. We decide. We choose. And as we decide and choose, so are our lives formed. In the end, forming our own destiny is what ambition is about.
這是不難想象，一個(gè)缺乏抱負(fù)的世界。或許，這將是一個(gè)更為友善的世界：沒有渴求，沒有磨擦，沒有失望。人們將有時(shí)間進(jìn)行反思。因?yàn)樗麄冏隽诉@樣的工作不會(huì)是為自己而是為了整個(gè)集體。競爭永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)進(jìn)入。沖突將被消除，緊張關(guān)系將成為過去的事情了。創(chuàng)造的重壓將得以終結(jié)。藝術(shù)將不再惹人費(fèi)神，其功能將純粹為了慶典。壽命會(huì)增加，更少的人會(huì)死于心臟發(fā)作或中風(fēng)引起的激烈拼爭。焦慮將會(huì)消失。時(shí)光流逝而上，有抱負(fù)的人的心臟長離去。
啊，怎么減輕的無聊生活會(huì)！
還有的是認(rèn)為，成功是一種神話，因此抱負(fù)一個(gè)假了高度重視。這是否意味著成功并不真的存在嗎？成就本身就是一場空？男性和女性的努力是諸多運(yùn)動(dòng)和事件的力量相比，現(xiàn)在并非所有的成功，很明顯，是值得景仰，也并非所有的抱負(fù)都值得追求。對(duì)值得和不值得的一名即將足夠的學(xué)習(xí)對(duì)一個(gè)人的自己。但即使是最為憤世嫉俗的人暗地里也承認(rèn)，成功確實(shí)存在;這一成就計(jì)為一個(gè)偉大的交易;并且，真正的說法是，男性和女性的行為是無用的。要相信，要不就是采取一種觀點(diǎn)認(rèn)為很可能是攪亂。它是在其影響，刪除所有的動(dòng)機(jī)能力，求取業(yè)績的興趣和對(duì)子孫后代的關(guān)注。
我們沒有選擇出生。我們不選擇我們的父母。我們不選擇我們的歷史時(shí)期，我們出生的國家，或是成長的周遭環(huán)境。我們不這樣做，我們大多數(shù)人選擇死亡;我們也沒有選擇的時(shí)候還是我們死亡的情況。但是在這些無法選擇所有這些領(lǐng)域，我們的確可以選擇自己的生活方式：是勇敢無畏還是膽小怯懦，是光明磊落還是厚顏無恥，是目標(biāo)堅(jiān)定還是隨波逐流。我們決定什么是重要的，什么是平凡的生活。我們決定，是什么讓我們顯著的，不是我們做了什么，就是我們拒絕做些什么。但無論怎樣冷漠的宇宙可能是我們的選擇和決定，這些選擇和決定都是我們自己做出的。我們決定。我們選擇。而當(dāng)我們決定和選擇時(shí)，我們的生活形成。最終構(gòu)筑我們命運(yùn)的就是抱負(fù)之所在。