Cultivating a Hobby

---Winston Churchill

A gifted American psychologist has said ,“Worry is a spasm¹ of the emotion; the mind catches hold of something and will not let it go.” It is useless to argue with the mind in this condition. The stronger the will, the more futile² the task. One can only gently insinuate³ something else into its convulsive grasp. And if this something else is rightly chosen, if it is really attended by the illumination of another field of interest, gradually, and often swiftly, the old undue⁴ grip relaxes and the process of recuperation and repair ,begins.

培养业余爱好

---温氏顿 丘吉尔

一位极具天赋的心理学家曾经说过，“担忧是一种情感的突发；心里死死地纠缠着一件事，总是放不开。”在这种情况下，心理的斗争是徒劳无功的。心里越是挣扎，越是放不开。唯一有用的就是巧妙地利用别的事情，分散注意力。而且，如果这个别的事情选对了，并切实伴随着另一个兴趣领域的启发，逐渐地，通常也是非常快速地，这种担忧的情绪将会得到放松，平和的心情也就开始得到恢复。

The cultivation⁵ of a hobby and new forms of interest is therefore a policy of first importance to a public man. But this is not a business that can be undertaken in a day or swiftly improvised⁶ by a mere⁷ command of the will. The growth of alternative mental interests is a long process. The seeds must be carefully chosen; they must fall on good ground; they must be sedulously⁸ tended, if the vivifying fruits are to be at hand when needed.

因此，对于一位公众人物来说，爱好的培养和兴趣的形成是首要的策略。但是，这不是一天内就能完成的事情，也不是一想做就可以做成的事情。新兴趣的培养是一个漫长的过程。这就好比，如果你想在需要的时候就能摘到新鲜诱人的水果，你就必须严格挑选优质的种子，种在肥沃的土壤，并加以精心的照料。

To be really happy and really safe, one ought to have at least two or three hobbies, and they must all be real. It is no use starting late in life to say: "I will take an interest in this or that." Such an attempt only aggravates⁹ the strain of mental effort. A man may acquire great knowledge of topics unconnected with his daily work, and yet hardly get any benefit or relief. It is no use doing what you like: you have got to like what you do. Broadly speaking, human beings may be divided into three classes: those who are toiled¹⁰ to death, those who are worried to death, and those who are bored to death. It is no use offering the manual labourer, tired out with a hard week's sweat and effort，the chance of playing a game of football or baseball on Saturday afternoon. It is no use inviting¹¹ the politician or the professional or businessman, who has been working or worrying about serious things for six days, to work or worry about trifling¹² things at the week-end.

想要真正地感到愉快与安全，至少要有两至三个切实可行的兴趣。到了晚年的时候才说：“我将会对这个或那个产生兴趣”是没用的。这样的一个意图只会让心里头的焦虑愈益严重。一个人也许会获取大量与其日常工作无关的各种知识，但仍然很难得到任何益处或者放松。做你喜欢做的事情也是无效的，你必须要喜欢上你所做的事情。从广义上说，人可大致分为三类：劳累得要命的，担忧得要命的，无聊得要命的。若是给那些工作了一个星期的，筋疲力竭的劳工们一个在周六下午踢足球或打棒球的机会是徒劳的。让那些一周里有六天都在处理重要事情的政客，专家或商人们在周日去烦心那些琐碎的事情也等于在做无用功。

As for the unfortunate people who can command everything they want, who can gratify every caprice and lay their hands on almost every object of desire — for them a new pleasure, a new excitement is only an additional satiation. In vain they rush frantically¹³ round from place to place, trying to escape from avenging¹⁴ boredom¹⁵ by mere clatter¹⁶ and motion. For them discipline in one form or another is the most hopeful path.

那些凡事可以随心所欲，垂手可得的，不幸的人，于其，一种新式的娱乐，兴奋的事情也只不过是一分多余的饱足。他们疯狂地到处乱窜，想借此逃避那挥之不去的厌倦感，结果只是白费心思。这种或那种形式的规则才是真正能让他们释放的途径。

It may also be said that rational, industrious¹⁷, useful human beings are divided intotwo classes: first, those whose work is work and whose pleasure is pleasure; and secondly，those whose work and pleasure arc one. Of these the former are the majority. They have their compensations. The long hours in the office or the factory bring with them as their reward, not only the means of sustenance¹⁸, but a keen appetite for pleasure even in its simplest and most modest forms. But Fortune's favored children belong to the second class. Their life is a natural harmony. For them the working hours are never long enough. Each day is a holiday, and ordinary holidays when they come are grudged¹⁹ as enforced interruptions in an absorbing vocation²⁰. Yet to both classes the need of an alternative outlook, of a change of atmosphere, of a diversion of effort, is essential. Indeed, it may well be that those whose work is their pleasure are those who most need the means of banishing²¹ it at intervals²² from their minds.

也可以这么说，那些理智的，勤奋的有用之人可分为两大类：一，那些工作归工作，娱乐归娱乐的人；二，那些寓工作于娱乐的人。这些人当中，前者是占大多数的。他们自有他们的薪酬。在办公室或工厂里长时间的工作给他们带来酬金，这不仅是维持生计的一种手段，同时也是一种最简单适中的，对于娱乐的热切渴望。但是受幸运女神眷顾的孩子们就属于第二类。他们的生活就是与生俱来的和谐。对于他们来说，工作时间是永远不够的，每一天都是假期。而那些普通节假日的来临则会被认为是对于他们愉快假期的无情的打断。但是，对于这两类人来说，可选择的对生活的展望，生活氛围的变换，注意力的转移，都是必要的。实际上，更为可能的是，那些寓工作于娱乐的人就是那些最需要不时地从精神上得到放松的人。