第4章 如果我休息，我就生锈

    If I Rest，I Rust

    如果我休息，我就生锈

    Marden/马尔丹

    The significant inscription found on an old key—“If I rest，I rust”—would be an excellent motto for those who are afflicted with the slightest taint of idleness.Even the industrious might adopt it with advantage to serve as a reminder that，if one allows his faculties to rest，like the iron in the unused key，they will soon show signs of rust，and，ultimately，cannot do the work required of them.

    在一把旧钥匙上面发现了意义深远的文字——“如果我休息，我就生锈”——对于那些为懒散所苦的人来说，这是一则最好的箴言。甚至连勤劳的人都会加以接纳而受益，将它视为警语。如果一个人让他的身体机能休息，就像未用过的钥匙上的铁块一样，那么他的身体很快就会显露出生锈的迹象，最后无法从事所赋予的工作。

    Those who would attain the heights reached and kept by great men must keep their faculties polished by constant use，so that they may unlock the doors of knowledge，the ，gates that guard the entrances to the professions，to science，art，literature，agriculture，—every department of human endeavor .

    想要达到与伟人相同成就的人，必须不断地使用身体，保持体魄强健，这才足以开启知识之门——守卫着专业、科学、文学、农业，——每一道人类知识领域的入口。

    Industry keeps bright the key that opens the treasury of achievement.If Hugh Miller，after toiling all day in a quarry，had devoted his evenings to rest and recreation，he would never have become a famous geologist.The celebrated mathematician，Edmund Stone，would never have published a mathematical dictionary，never have found the key to the science of mathematics，if he had given his spare moments to idleness.Had the little Scotch lad，Ferguson，allowed the busy brain to go to sleep while he tended sheep on the hillside，instead of calculating the position of the stars by a string of beads，he would never have become a famous astronomer.

    勤勉能使开启成就宝藏的钥匙发亮。如果修斯？米勒在一天的矿场劳累之后，把傍晚用于休息和娱乐的话，他绝不会成为一位驰名世界的地质学家。知名的数学家爱德蒙？史东，如果懒散地度过闲暇时光，他绝不可能出版一本数学字典，也就不可能发现打开数学科学的钥匙。如果年轻的苏格兰青年霍格森，在山腰上牧羊时让忙碌的脑袋睡着了，而没有用一串珠子来计算星座位置的话，他也无法成为一位著名的天文学家。

    Labor vanquished all，—not inconstant，spasmodic，or ill-directed labor；but faithful，unremitting，daily effort toward a well-directed purpose.Just as truly as eternal vigilance is the price of liberty，so is eternal industry the price of noble and enduring success.

    劳动征服一切——这里所指的，并非善变的、断断续续的，或者方向偏差的劳动；而是确实的、不断的、朝着正确方向而日日进行的努力。正如自由的代价是无休止的警惕，无尽的勤勉则是达成崇高而持名的成功时，所必须付出的代价。（未完待续）