120 philosophical essays you must read in your life

Chapter 31

Chapter 2 Section 9 The Gift of Life

[United States] Mark Twain
At the dawn of life came a benevolent fairy with a basket, and she said to a boy:

"The basket is full of presents. Take one and take only one. Be careful and choose wisely. Oh, the reason why you choose wisely is that only one of these gifts is precious .”

There are five gifts: Fame, Love, Fortune, Joy, and Death.The young man couldn't wait to say: "There is no need to think about it at all. I choose to be happy."

He stepped into the society, had fun, and indulged in it.In the end, however, every joy is fleeting, depressing, and vain.They laughed at him as they faded away.In the end, he said regretfully: "I have spent all these years in vain. If I could choose again, I would definitely make a wise choice."

Before the words were finished, the fairy appeared and said:

"There are four gifts left, choose again, oh, remember, time flies, choose wisely. Only one of these gifts is precious."

The man was very cautious this time, pondered for a long time, and then chose love.When the fairy saw this, tears welled up in her eyes.However, the man didn't notice it.

Years passed, and the man sat in an empty room, guarding a coffin.He looked depressed and murmured to himself: "They left me one by one. Now, the last of the closest people is lying here. A wave of loneliness came to me. Love is a slippery businessman, every time he sells For an hour of my joy I have to give an hour of sorrow. I curse it from the bottom of my heart."

"Choose again," said the fairy, who appeared again, "the years have undoubtedly made you wiser. There are three gifts left. Remember, only one of them is valuable. Choose carefully."

The man pondered for a long time, and then carefully picked his fame.The fairy sighed and walked away.

Many, many years later, the fairy returned.At this moment, the man was sitting alone in the twilight, meditating.She stood behind him, and she understood his thoughts:

"I am famous all over the world, and I am well-known. Although I am happy for a while, it is fleeting after all! Jealousy, slander, slander, envy, persecution come one after another, and then ridicule. This is the beginning of the end, the end of everything, It is pity, which is the funeral of fame. Oh, the bitter sorrow of fame! Reviled when famous, scorned and pitied when notorious."

"Choose again," said the fairy, "don't despair, there are two gifts left, and remember that only one of my gifts is precious, and you are very lucky that it is still here."

"Wealth, it's power! How blind I am!" cried the man frantically. "Now, at last, I have chosen the most valuable gift of my life. I will spend my money and show it off. Those who are used to laughing and The despised shall prostrate in the mud at my feet. I will feed my hungry soul with their envy. I will enjoy every luxury, every pleasure, every intoxication of the mind, and every satisfaction of the flesh. I want to buy fame, obedience, reverence—every vanity enjoyment of life that a mediocre human market can provide. Before that, those muddled choices made me lose a lot of time. At that time, I was ignorant and chose The ones that look like the best."

Three short years have passed.One day, the man was sitting shivering in a rough attic.He was ragged and emaciated, with a pale face and sunken eyes.He muttered angrily as he chewed a piece of dry bread:

"For such mean incidents and gilded lies, I curse all the gifts of the world, and all that are in vain! They are not gifts at all, but things on loan. Joy, love, fame, wealth, are just Temporary masquerades, whose eternal truths are pain, sorrow, shame, poverty. The Fairy was right when she said that only one of her gifts is precious, and only one of her gifts is worth. Now I know that, compared with the priceless Oh, how pitiful and vile these things are! The precious, sweet, gracious gift! In a dreamless eternal sleep, the pain that torments the body and the shame and sorrow that gnaws the soul is over. Give it to me! I am weary I'm going to rest in peace."

The Fairy reappeared and brought four more gifts, but only one survived.she says:

"I gave it to a mother's darling—a little child. He was ignorant, but trusted me, and begged me to choose for him. You didn't ask me to choose for you!"

"Oh, how miserable I am! So what's left for me?"

"Insults, you deserve only the capricious insults of your dying years."

【Together with you】

Life is too hasty, time flies by, wealth, fame, happiness, etc. are like floating clouds.Life is short, if you indulge in the pursuit of vanity, life will inevitably become impetuous.Returning the true nature of life, naturally pursuing what should be grasped, so that each stage of life has a certain sense of paragraphs, so that the ideals in the heart will not be sluggish in the bustling and noisy, and the ideals in the heart will not be swayed in the feasting and feasting. lose yourself in.Understanding the true orientation of life and choosing the meaning behind the vanity is the first essence of our existence.People can make others good, but they can also destroy others; helping each other can make people move forward, and complaining to each other can make people shrink back.

(End of this chapter)