英语沙龙：完美的代价

The Price of Perfection

Gold may depreciate¹, stocks rise or fall,

and business values change so as to leave the market in panic,

but every man on the street or in the store knows that one value forever remains² permanent, unvarying,

and that is character.

Every other asset may be swept away and success still achieved if this remain;

every other aid may be at its best

and failure only await him who lacks the wealth of character.

Character is that of which reputation is but the echo, often mistaken and misleading.

Character is the last, the ultimate, value of life.

It is the trend of the whole being towards the best.

It is the passion and power that holds one true despite all persuasion³.

It is the one thing worth having, because upon it all other values depend.

This asset comes not to a man by accident.

He who is rich in character,

whose success in many ways is built upon his resources in this way,

does not just simply happen to be good, true, and square.

There is a price to character;

it costs more than any other thing, for it is worth more than all other things.

Essentially⁴ it never is inherited,

but always acquired by processes often slow and toilsome and at great price.

If you would be perfect you must pay the price of perfection.

Unless the passion of life is this perfection it never will be your possession.

Dreams of ideal goodness only waste the hours in which it might have been achieved.

No man ever finds character in his sleep.

The education of the heart is a thing even more definite than the education of the head.

The school of character has an infinite variety of courses and an unending curriculum.

This does not mean that this prize of eternity⁵ falls

only to those who devote themselves wholly to self-culture,

to the salvation⁶ of their own souls.

The best lives have thought little of themselves,

but they have lived for the ends of the soul, to help men to better living,

to save them from the things that blight⁷ and damn the soul.

Like the Leader of men they have found the life unending by laying down their lives,

paying the full price, selling all in order that right and truth and honour and purity,

love and kindness and justice might remain to man.

1 depreciate   

v.降价，贬值，折旧

参考例句：

• The computer value will depreciate by $ 500 in the first year.在头一年里这台电脑会贬值500美元。
• If you neglect this property,it will depreciate.如果你忽视这份资产，它无形中就贬值了。

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• 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。

3 persuasion   

n.劝说；说服；持有某种信仰的宗派

参考例句：

• He decided to leave only after much persuasion.经过多方劝说，他才决定离开。
• After a lot of persuasion,she agreed to go.经过多次劝说后，她同意去了。

4 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

5 eternity   

n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷

参考例句：

• The dull play seemed to last an eternity.这场乏味的剧似乎演个没完没了。
• Finally,Ying Tai and Shan Bo could be together for all of eternity.英台和山伯终能双宿双飞，永世相随。

6 salvation   

n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困

参考例句：

• Salvation lay in political reform.解救办法在于政治改革。
• Christians hope and pray for salvation.基督教徒希望并祈祷灵魂得救。

7 blight   

n.枯萎病；造成破坏的因素；vt.破坏，摧残

参考例句：

• The apple crop was wiped out by blight.枯萎病使苹果全无收成。
• There is a blight on all his efforts.他的一切努力都遭到挫折。