英语励志美文精华 26

The Law of the Heart

by J. George Frederick

At long last, I have come to a rather simple point, as to what I believe. I believe in what I choose to call, the Law of the Heart. In the medical world, this phrase—The Law of the Heart—means the great discovery by the Professor Ernest Henry Starling of the precise method by which the heart accelerates and retards¹ itself through the heart muscle; also, the manner in which it accomplishes the vital two-way exchange of fluids between the bloodstream and the body tissues.

In my view of life, there is also supremely² needful a vital, two-way exchange of heart qualities between human beings. Without it, the human spirit and relationship to other spirits is lifeless and dangerous. Dependence³ on head qualities is mechanical and empty, just as we have discovered that babies do not thrive, even with technical, expert nursing care, without mother love.

The law of the heart, in my belief, then, means that I can achieve greatest physical and mental health and have the most constructive⁴ relations with life and people if my matured emotional self dominates my motives⁵ and actions. When, after due consultation⁶ with my head, the true heart speaks, it is the finest and most mellowed⁷ judgment⁸ that I, human creature, am capable of. Man is indivisible, I believe. He is a whole—mind, spirit, body—but with only one real, fully⁹ representative voice: the voice of the heart.

There is in my belief, very suggestive symbolism in the means by which the law of the heart operates. We know that the man needs to give others—weaker, less fortunate—a transfusion¹⁰ of his blood as proof of fellowship. We know that hearts, which beat in unison¹¹ with the problems, pains, miseries¹², and needs of others, knows celestial¹³ music, which can never be known to those who do not. We know that hearts—capable of quickened pulse at the sight of beauty and nobility, courage and sacrifice, love and tenderness, a child or a sunset—achieve intensities¹⁴ of living, a song in their hearts unknown to others. We know that those who choke off the heart’s native impulses will likely bring on a coronary thrombosis of obstructed¹⁵ emotion, which can cripple.

The first law of the heart, I feel sure, is to pulsate¹⁶: to love. To fail to pulsate and love is swift and certain spiritual death. There are far, far too many of us who seemed obsessed¹⁷ with self, unable or unwilling¹⁸ to love. The second law of the heart, I believe, is to give and forgive: to sacrifice.

These things, I know and believe. They provide me with a foundation to what I call my “Humanistic Philosophy of Life.” It works for me. I feel close to the Earth with it; yet, face uplifted. The heart is closer to everlasting¹⁹ reality, although I am fully aware that I must not let raw emotion masquerade as a heart quality and that the immature²⁰ heart can make serious errors. The educated, matured heart is, to my belief, not only the noblest thing in man but also the great hope of the world.

1 retards   

使减速( retard的第三人称单数 )； 妨碍； 阻止； 推迟

参考例句：

• Cold weather retards the growth of the crops. 寒冷的天气妨碍作物的生长。
• Lack of science and education retards social progress. 缺乏科学和教育会妨碍社会进步。

2 supremely   

adv.无上地，崇高地

参考例句：

• They managed it all supremely well. 这件事他们干得极其出色。
• I consider a supremely beautiful gesture. 我觉得这是非常优雅的姿态。

3 dependence   

n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属

参考例句：

• Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
• He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。

4 constructive   

adj.建设的，建设性的

参考例句：

• We welcome constructive criticism.我们乐意接受有建设性的批评。
• He is beginning to deal with his anger in a constructive way.他开始用建设性的方法处理自己的怒气。

5 motives   

n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to impeach sb's motives 怀疑某人的动机
• His motives are unclear. 他的用意不明。

6 consultation   

n.咨询；商量；商议；会议

参考例句：

• The company has promised wide consultation on its expansion plans.该公司允诺就其扩展计划广泛征求意见。
• The scheme was developed in close consultation with the local community.该计划是在同当地社区密切磋商中逐渐形成的。

7 mellowed   

（使）成熟( mellow的过去式和过去分词 )； 使色彩更加柔和，使酒更加醇香

参考例句：

• She's mellowed over the years. 这些年来他变得成熟了。
• The colours mellowed as the sun went down. 随着太阳的落去，色泽变得柔和了。

8 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

9 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

10 transfusion   

n.输血，输液

参考例句：

• She soon came to her senses after a blood transfusion.输血后不久她就苏醒了。
• The doctor kept him alive by a blood transfusion.医生靠输血使他仍然活着。

11 unison   

n.步调一致，行动一致

参考例句：

• The governments acted in unison to combat terrorism.这些国家的政府一致行动对付恐怖主义。
• My feelings are in unison with yours.我的感情与你的感情是一致的。

12 miseries   

n.痛苦( misery的名词复数 )；痛苦的事；穷困；常发牢骚的人

参考例句：

• They forgot all their fears and all their miseries in an instant. 他们马上忘记了一切恐惧和痛苦。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• I'm suffering the miseries of unemployment. 我正为失业而痛苦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 celestial   

adj.天体的；天上的

参考例句：

• The rosy light yet beamed like a celestial dawn.玫瑰色的红光依然象天上的朝霞一样绚丽。
• Gravity governs the motions of celestial bodies.万有引力控制着天体的运动。

14 intensities   

n.强烈( intensity的名词复数 )；（感情的）强烈程度；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• At very high intensities, nuclear radiations cause itching and tingling of the skin. 当核辐射强度很高时，它能使皮肤感到发痒和刺痛。 来自辞典例句
• They ask again and again in a variety of ways and intensities. 他们会以不同的方式和强度来不停地问，直到他得到自己想要的答案为止。 来自互联网

15 obstructed   

阻塞( obstruct的过去式和过去分词 )； 堵塞； 阻碍； 阻止

参考例句：

• Tall trees obstructed his view of the road. 有大树挡着，他看不到道路。
• The Irish and Bristol Channels were closed or grievously obstructed. 爱尔兰海峡和布里斯托尔海峡或遭受封锁，或受到了严重阻碍。

16 pulsate   

v.有规律的跳动

参考例句：

• Hues of purplish,rose and amber begin to pulsate in the sky.淡紫色的、玫瑰色的和琥珀色的色调开始在天空中微微颤动起来。
• Building facades pulsate with millions of lights and glowing neon display.在千万灯光和霓虹灯的照耀下，建筑物的外墙规律地闪动着。

17 obsessed   

adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的

参考例句：

• He's obsessed by computers. 他迷上了电脑。
• The fear of death obsessed him throughout his old life. 他晚年一直受着死亡恐惧的困扰。

18 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

19 everlasting   

adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的

参考例句：

• These tyres are advertised as being everlasting.广告上说轮胎持久耐用。
• He believes in everlasting life after death.他相信死后有不朽的生命。

20 immature   

adj.未成熟的，发育未全的，未充分发展的

参考例句：

• Tony seemed very shallow and immature.托尼看起来好像很肤浅，不夠成熟。
• The birds were in immature plumage.这些鸟儿羽翅未全。