英语名篇诵读 依靠自己

Self-reliance

依靠自己

H. Martin(H. 马丁)

If you want a thing done, do it yourself.

Of course a certain amount of dependence¹ on others is not only good, but necessary. Children

must be dependent on their parents; and the weak must depend on the strong, and the sick on the

well. And in a sense, all of us, even the most independent and self-reliant, are dependent on one

another. At any rate , in civilized² society, it is impossible for anyone to make all the things he

needs. No man can produce all the food and clothes he wants, build his own house, make his own

furniture, and all the hundreds of useful things he requires every day of his life. He can only

produce one or two things, and must get all the others by exchange or purchase from others, who

are doing the same thing. So in a community everyone is dependent on the service of others, while

he himself contributes to the needs of others. But, so long as we are doing our fair share, we are

not dependants³; for mutual⁴ help and cooperation is quite consistent with individual independence

and self-reliance.

The contemptible⁵ dependence on others, which is the opposite of self-reliance, is the

depending on others for the goods and services which we could and should provide for ourselves.

This kind of dependence may be due to laziness, or lack of confidence. Idlers, who shrink from

honest work, attach themselves like parasites⁶ to rich and influential⁷ people, and by flattery and

servile adulation get money and favours from them. Such hangers-on are to be despised.

People who are afraid to rely on their own opinions and efforts are to be pitied, and, if possible,

taught self-confidence and self-reliance.

True self-reliance means knowledge of one's own powers, a reasonable self-confidence, and a

determination to be independent and to stand on one's own feet. It is well expressed in Longfellow

注 's Village Blacksmith :

“His brow is wet with honest sweat,

He earns whate'er he can,

And looks the whole world in the face,

For he owes not any man.”

如果要做成一件事，就自己动手。

当然，一定程度的依靠别人不仅有益，而且也必要。孩子必须依靠父母；弱者必须依

靠强者；病人必须依靠健康的人。在某种意义上，我们所有的人，即使是最独立、最自力

更生的人，也相互依赖他人。不管怎么说，在文明社会中，任何人都不可能制造出他所需

要的一切。无人能够生产出他需要的所有食物和衣服、建造自己的房子、打造自己的家具

以及数百件日常生活中他需要的有用的东西。他只能生产一两种东西，必须通过交换或从

别人那里购买才能得到所有其他的东西，别人也是如此。所以，在一个社区中，人人都依

靠他人的服务，同时他自己又为别人的需要奉献着。但是只要我们做着自己应做的那份

事，我们就不算依靠他人，因为共同帮助和彼此合作与个人独立和自力更生是全面一致

的。

那种可鄙的对他人的依赖，与自力更生相反，它是指依赖他人以获取那些我们自己能

够也应该提供的产品和服务。这种依赖可能由于懒惰或缺乏信心。游手好闲的人不去诚实

地劳动，而像寄生虫一样依附于富豪和权贵，靠阿谀奉承从他人那里获得钱财与恩惠。这

些依附者应受到鄙视。害怕依靠自己的见解和努力的人值得同情，如有可能，要教他们自

信，教他们依靠自己。

真正的依靠自己意味着了解自己的能力，合理地自信，并有自助自立的决心。这一点

在朗费罗的《乡村铁匠》一诗中表达得很精彩：

诚实汗水浸额头，

苦干挣得样样有，

面对世界昂起首，

谁也不欠无愧疚。

1 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。

2 civilized   

a.有教养的，文雅的

参考例句：

• Racism is abhorrent to a civilized society. 文明社会憎恶种族主义。
• rising crime in our so-called civilized societies 在我们所谓文明社会中日益增多的犯罪行为

3 dependants   

受赡养者，受扶养的家属( dependant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The government has agreed to take only 150 refugees plus their dependants. 政府承诺只收留150 名难民及家属。
• There are approximately 12 million migrants with their dependants living in the EU countries. 大约有1200万流动工人带着家属居住在欧盟诸国。

4 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

5 contemptible   

adj.可鄙的，可轻视的，卑劣的

参考例句：

• His personal presence is unimpressive and his speech contemptible.他气貌不扬，言语粗俗。
• That was a contemptible trick to play on a friend.那是对朋友玩弄的一出可鄙的把戏。

6 parasites   

寄生物( parasite的名词复数 )； 靠他人为生的人； 诸虫

参考例句：

• These symptoms may be referable to virus infection rather than parasites. 这些症状也许是由病毒感染引起的，而与寄生虫无关。
• Kangaroos harbor a vast range of parasites. 袋鼠身上有各种各样的寄生虫。

7 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。