首页 >出版文学> Theodore Roosevelt>第9章
  Therearetwokindsofsuccess,orrathertwokindsofabilitydisplayedintheachievementofsuccess。Thereis,first,thesuccesseitherinbigthingsorsmallthingswhichcomestothemanwhohasinhimthenaturalpowertodowhatnooneelsecando,andwhatnoamountoftraining,noperseveranceorwillpower,willenableanyordinarymantodo。Thissuccess,ofcourse,likeeveryotherkindofsuccess,maybeonaverybigscaleoronasmallscale。Thequalitywhichthemanpossessesmaybethatwhichenableshimtorunahundredyardsinnineandthree-fifthsseconds,ortoplaytenseparategamesofchessatthesametimeblindfolded,ortoaddfivecolumnsoffiguresatoncewithouteffort,ortowritethe“OdetoaGrecianUrn。”ortodelivertheGettysburgspeech,ortoshowtheabilityofFrederickatLeuthenorNelsonatTrafalgar。Noamountoftrainingofbodyormindwouldenableanygoodordinarymantoperformanyoneofthesefeats。Ofcoursetheproperperformanceofeachimpliesmuchpreviousstudyortraining,butinnooneofthemissuccesstobeattainedsavebythealtogetherexceptionalmanwhohasinhimthesomethingadditionalwhichtheordinarymandoesnothave。
  Thisisthemoststrikingkindofsuccess,anditcanbeattainedonlybythemanwhohasinhimthequalitywhichseparateshiminkindnolessthanindegreefromhisfellows。Butmuchthecommonertypeofsuccessineverywalkoflifeandineveryspeciesofeffortisthatwhichcomestothemanwhodiffersfromhisfellowsnotbythekindofqualitywhichhepossessesbutbythedegreeofdevelopmentwhichhehasgiventhatquality。Thiskindofsuccessisopentoalargenumberofpersons,ifonlytheyseriouslydeterminetoachieveit。Itisthekindofsuccesswhichisopentotheaveragemanofsoundbodyandfairmind,whohasnoremarkablementalorphysicalattributes,butwhogetsjustasmuchaspossibleinthewayofworkoutoftheaptitudesthathedoespossess。Itistheonlykindofsuccessthatisopentomostofus。Yetsomeofthegreatestsuccessesinhistoryhavebeenthoseofthissecondclass——whenIcallitsecondclassIamnotrunningitdownintheleast,Iammerelypointingoutthatitdiffersinkindfromthefirstclass。Totheaveragemanitisprobablymoreusefultostudythissecondtypeofsuccessthantostud"m.kanbaapp点com"ythefirst。
  Fromthestudyofthefirsthecanlearninspiration,hecangetupliftandloftyenthusiasm。Fromthestudyofthesecondhecan,ifhechooses,findouthowtowinasimilarsuccesshimself。
  IneedhardlysaythatallthesuccessesIhaveeverwonhavebeenofthesecondtype。Ineverwonanythingwithouthardlaborandtheexerciseofmybestjudgmentandcarefulplanningandworkinglonginadvance。Havingbeenarathersicklyandawkwardboy,Iwasasayoungmanatfirstbothnervousanddistrustfulofmyownprowess。Ihadtotrainmyselfpainfullyandlaboriouslynotmerelyasregardsmybodybutasregardsmysoulandspirit。
  WhenaboyIreadapassageinoneofMarryat’sbookswhichalwaysimpressedme。InthispassagethecaptainofsomesmallBritishman-
  of-warisexplainingtotheherohowtoacquirethequalityoffearlessness。Hesaysthatattheoutsetalmosteverymanisfrightenedwhenhegoesintoaction,butthatthecoursetofollowisforthemantokeepsuchagriponhimselfthathecanactjustasifhewasnotfrightened。Afterthisiskeptuplongenoughitchangesfrompretensetoreality,andthemandoesinveryfactbecomefearlessbysheerdintofpracticingfearlessnesswhenhedoesnotfeelit。Iamusingmyownlanguage,notMarryat’s。ThiswasthetheoryuponwhichIwent。TherewereallkindsofthingsofwhichI
  wasafraidatfirst,rangingfromgrizzlybearsto“mean“horsesandgun-fighters;butbyactingasifIwasnotafraidIgraduallyceasedtobeafraid。Mostmencanhavethesameexperienceiftheychoose。
  Theywillfirstlearntobearthemselveswellintrialswhichtheyanticipateandwhichtheyschoolthemselvesinadvancetomeet。Afterawhilethehabitwillgrowonthem,andtheywillbehavewellinsuddenandunexpectedemergencieswhichcomeuponthemunawares。
  Itisofcoursemuchpleasanterifoneisnaturallyfearless,andI
  envyandrespectthemenwhoarenaturallyfearless。Butitisagoodthingtorememberthatthemanwhodoesnotenjoythisadvantagecanneverthelessstandbesidethemanwhodoes,andcandohisdutywiththelikeefficiency,ifhechoosesto。Ofcoursehemustnotlethisdesiretaketheformmerelyofaday-dream。Lethimdreamaboutbeingafearlessman,andthemorehedreamsthebetterhewillbe,alwaysprovidedhedoeshisbesttorealizethedreaminpractice。Hecandohisparthonorablyandwellprovidedonlyhesetsfearlessnessbeforehimselfasanideal,schoolshimselftothinkofdangermerelyassomethingtobefacedandovercome,andregardslifeitselfasheshouldregardit,notassomethingtobethrownaway,butasapawntobepromptlyhazardedwheneverthehazardiswarrantedbythelargerinterestsofthegreatgameinwhichweareallengaged。
  4
  WhenIleftHarvard,Itookupthestudyoflaw。IfIhadbeensufficientlyfortunatetocomeunderProfessorThayer,oftheHarvardLawSchool,itmaywellbethatIwouldhaverealizedthatthelawyercandoagreatworkforjusticeandagainstlegalism。
  But,doubtlesschieflythroughmyownfault,someoftheteachingofthelawbooksandoftheclassroomseemedtometobeagainstjustice。
  The/caveatemptor/sideofthelaw,likethe/caveatemptor/sideofbusiness,seemedtomerepellent;itdidnotmakeforsocialfairdealing。The“letthebuyerbeware“maxim,whentranslatedintoactualpractice,whetherinlaworbusiness,tendstotranslateitselffurtherintothesellermakinghisprofitattheexpenseofthebuyer,insteadofbyabargainwhichshallbetotheprofitofboth。Itdidnotseemtomethatthelawwasframedtodiscourageasitshouldsharppractice,andallotherkindsofbargainsexceptthosewhicharefairandofbenefittobothsides。Iwasyoung;therewasmuchinthejudgmentwhichIthenformedonthismatterwhichIshouldnowrevise;
  but,thenasnow,manyofthebigcorporationlawyers,towhomtheordinarymembersofthebarthenasnowlookedup,heldcertainstandardswhichweredifficulttorecognizeascompatiblewiththeidealismIsupposeeveryhigh-mindedyoungmanisapttofeel。IfI
  hadbeenobligedtoearneverycentIspent,Ishouldhavegonewhole-
  heartedlyintothebusinessofmakingbothendsmeet,andshouldhavetakenupthelaworanyotherrespectableoccupation——forIthenheld,andnowhold,thebeliefthataman’sfirstdutyistopullhisownweightandtotakecareofthosedependentuponhim;andIthenbelieved,andnowbelieve,thatthegreatestprivilegeandgreatestdutyforanymanistobehappilymarried,andthatnootherformofsuccessorservice,foreithermanorwoman,canbewiselyacceptedasasubstituteoralternative。ButithappenedthatIhadbeenleftenoughmoneybymyfathernottomakeitnecessaryformetothinksolelyofearningbreadformyselfandmyfamily。Ihadenoughtogetbread。WhatIhadtodo,ifIwantedbutterandjam,wastoprovidethebutterandjam,buttocounttheircostascomparedwithotherthings。Inotherwords,Imadeupmymindthat,whileImustearnmoney,Icouldaffordtomakeearningmoneythesecondaryinsteadoftheprimaryobjectofmycareer。IfIhadhadnomoneyatall,thenmyfirstdutywouldhavebeentoearnitinanyhonestfashion。AsIhadsomemoneyIfeltthatmyneedformoremoneywastobetreatedasasecondaryneed,andthatwhileitwasmybusinesstomakemoremoneywhereIlegitimatelyandproperlycould,yetthatitwasalsomybusinesstotreatotherkindsofworkasmoreimportantthanmoney-
  making。
  AlmostimmediatelyafterleavingHarvardin1880Ibegantotakeaninterestinpolitics。Ididnotthenbelieve,andIdonotnowbelieve,thatanymanshouldeverattempttomakepoliticshisonlycareer。Itisadreadfulmisfortuneforamantogrowtofeelthathiswholelivelihoodandwholehappinessdependuponhisstayinginoffice。Suchafeelingpreventshimfrombeingofrealservicetothepeoplewhileinoffice,andalwaysputshimundertheheavieststrainofpressuretobarterhisconvictionsforthesakeofholdingoffice。
  Amanshouldhavesomeotheroccupation——Ihadseveralotheroccupations——towhichhecanresortifatanytimeheisthrownoutofoffice,orifatanytimehefindsitnecessarytochooseacoursewhichwillprobablyresultinhisbeingthrownout,unlessheiswillingtostayinatcosttohisconscience。
  Atthatday,in1880,ayoungmanofmybringingupandconvictionscouldjoinonlytheRepublicanparty,andjoinitIaccordinglydid。
  Itwasnosimplethingtojoinitthen。Thatwaslongbeforetheeraofballotreformandthecontrolofprimaries;longbeforetheerawhenwerealizedthattheGovernmentmusttakeofficialnoticeofthedeedsandactsofpartyorganizations。Thepartywasstilltreatedasaprivatecorporation,andineachdistricttheorganizationformedakindofsocialandpoliticalclub。Amanhadtoberegularlyproposedforandelectedintothisclub,justasintoanyotherclub。Asafriendofminepicturesquelyphrasedit,I“hadtobreakintotheorganizationwithajimmy。”
  Underthesecircumstancestherewassomedifficultyinjoiningthelocalorganization,andconsiderableamusementandexcitementtobeobtainedoutofitafterIhadjoined。
  Itwasoverthirty-threeyearsagothatIthusbecameamemberoftheTwenty-firstDistrictRepublicanAssociationinthecityofNewYork。
  ThemenIknewbestwerethemenintheclubsofsocialpretensionandthemenofcultivatedtasteandeasylife。WhenIbegantomakeinquiriesastothewhereaboutsofthelocalRepublicanAssociationandthemeansofjoiningit,thesemen——andthebigbusinessmenandlawyersalso——laughedatme,andtoldmethatpoliticswere“low“;
  thattheorganizationswerenotcontrolledby“gentlemen“;thatI
  wouldfindthemrunbysaloon-keepers,horse-carconductors,andthelike,andnotbymenwithanyofwhomIwouldcomeincontactoutside;
  and,moreover,theyassuredmethatthemenImetwouldberoughandbrutalandunpleasanttodealwith。IansweredthatifthisweresoitmerelymeantthatthepeopleIknewdidnotbelongtothegoverningclass,andthattheotherpeopledid——andthatIintendedtobeoneofthegoverningclass;thatiftheyprovedtoohard-bitformeI
  supposedIwouldhavetoquit,butthatIcertainlywouldnotquituntilIhadmadetheeffortandfoundoutwhetherIreallywastooweaktoholdmyownintheroughandtumble。