快乐吧！Be Happy!
[英国]劳埃德·莫里斯/Lloyd Morris
劳埃德·莫里斯（1613-1680），英国作家，作品富于机智幽默。著有《格言集》等。
本文以演绎的手法论述快乐对人的影响。作者先借梅斯菲尔德的诗引出“快乐”与“智慧”的关系，接着以人在快乐时的种种心理反应，点出快乐无处不在。最后再给予肯定的结论：快乐是智慧的开端。
“The days that make us happy make us wise.”
-John Masefield
When I first read this line by England's Poet Laureate, it startled me. What did Masefield mean?Without thinking about it much, I had always assumed that the opposite was true. But his sober assurance was arresting. I could not forget it.
Finally, I seemed to grasp his meaning and realized that here was a profound observation. The wisdom that happiness makes possible lies in clear perception, not fogged by anxiety nor dimmed by despair and boredom, and without the blind spots caused by fear.
Active happiness-not mere satisfaction or contentment-often comes suddenly, like an April shower or the unfolding of a bud. Then you discover what kind of wisdom has accompanied it. The grass is greener, bird songs are sweeter, the shortcomings of your friends are more understandable and more forgivable. Happiness is like a pair of eyeglasses correcting your spiritual vision.
Nor are the insights of happiness limited to what is near around you. Unhappy, with your thoughts turned in upon your emotional woes, your vision is cut short as though by a wall. Happy, the wall crumbles.
The long vista is there for the seeing. The ground at your feet, the world about you-people, thoughts, emotions, pressures-are now fitted into the larger scene. Every thing assumes a fairer proportion. And here is the beginning of wisdom.
“快乐的日子，使我们聪明。”
——约翰·梅斯菲尔德
第一次读到英国桂冠诗人梅斯菲尔德这行诗的时候，我非常惊讶，它真正的寓意是什么呢？不仔细考虑的话，我一直认为这句诗倒过来才对。不过他的冷静与自信却俘获了我，所以我一直无法忘记这句诗。
终于，我好像领会了他的意思，意识到其中蕴含着深刻的观察思考。快乐带来的智慧存在于清晰的心灵感觉中，不因忧虑、担心而困惑，不因绝望、厌烦而迟钝，不因惶恐而出现盲点。
跳动的快乐——不仅是满足或惬意——会突然到来，就像四月的春雨或是花蕾的绽放，然后你发觉智慧已随快乐而来。草儿更绿，鸟儿的歌声更加美妙，朋友的缺点也变得更加可以理解、原谅。快乐就像一副眼镜，可以修正你精神的视力。
快乐的视野并不受你周围事物的局限。只不过当你不快乐的时候，思想便转向你感情上的苦恼，眼界也就被心灵之墙隔断了。而当你快乐的时候，这道墙便崩塌了。
你的眼界更宽了。脚下的大地，身旁的世界——人们、思想、情感、压力——现在都溶进了一个更加宏伟的情境中，每件事都恰如其分。这就是智慧的开端。
心灵小语
在千万种品德里，有谁敢说是智慧的开端？只有快乐。它开启眼睛、开启头脑、开启心灵，这不正是智慧吗？
词汇笔记
sober['səubə]adj.冷静的；清醒的；严肃的
Men come closest to their true selves in the sober moments of life, under the shadows of sorrow and loss.
在人生的清醒时刻，在哀痛和伤心的阴影之下，人们与真实的自我最为接近。
perception[pə'sepʃən]n.感知（能力）；觉察（力）；知觉
Our perception of colours can depend on whether we view them from the left or the right, scientists have found.
科学家们发现：我们对颜色的感知可能依赖于我们是从左边看还是从右边看。
accompany[ə'kʌmpəni]v.陪伴；陪同
Earthquakes commonly accompany volcanic activity or movement of magma deep in the earth.
地震通常都伴随着火山活动或地球深处的岩浆运动。
crumble['krʌmbl]v.（把……）弄碎；（使）碎成细屑
Bad things happen, even to good men. Good men who are weak often crumble under such pressure.
坏事是会发生的，即便是好人也还是如此。那些心里脆弱的好人在遇到这样的压力时往往会精神崩溃。
小试身手
快乐的日子，使我们聪明。
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快乐就像一副眼镜，可以修正你精神的视力。
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快乐的视野并不受你周围事物的局限。
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短语家族
The wisdom that happiness makes possible lies in clear perception.
lie in：在于……
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The ground at your feet, the world about you-people, thoughts, emotions, pressures-are now fitted into the larger scene.
fit into：适合；符合
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