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那些有能力的人、聪明的人、有野心的人、傲慢的人，同时，也就是最懦弱而糊涂的人，缺乏幽默家的勇气、深刻和机巧。他们永远在处理琐碎的事情。他们并不知那些心思较旷达的幽默家更能应付伟大的事情。
——林语堂《生活的艺术》
《生活的艺术》是林语堂旅美专事创作后的第一部书，也是继《吾国与吾民》之后再获成功的又一英文作品。该书于1937年在美国出版，次年便居美国畅销书排行榜榜首达52周，且接连再版四十余次，并被翻译为十余种文字。
林语堂在书中谈了庄子的淡泊，赞了陶渊明的闲适，诵了《归去来辞》，讲了《圣经》的故事，以及中国人如何品茗、行酒令，如何听雨弄月、阅读思考……林语堂将中国人旷怀达观、陶情遣兴的生活方式和浪漫高雅的东方情调皆诉诸笔下，向西方人娓娓道出了一个可供仿效的“生活最高典型”的模式。
Mankind seems to be divided into idealists and realists, and idealism and realism are the two great forces1)molding human progress. The clay of humanity is made soft and 2)pliable by the water of idealism, but the stuff that holds it together is after all the clay itself, or we might all 3)evaporate into 4)Ariels. The forces of idealism and realism 5)tug at each other in all human activities, personal, social and national, and real progress is made possible by the proper mixture of these two6)ingredients, so that the clay is kept in the ideal pliable, plastic condition, half moist and half dry, not hardened and7)unmanageable, nor dissolving into mud.
The sense of humor, which I shall discuss at more length in a later chapter, seems to be very closely related to the sense of reality, or realism. If the joker is often cruel in 8)disillusioning the idealist, he nevertheless performs a very important function right there by not letting the idealist bump his head against the stone wall of reality and receive a ruder shock. He also gently eases the tension of the hot-headed9)enthusiast and makes him live longer.
I have often thought of formulas by which the 10)mechanism of human progress and historical change can be expressed. They seem to be as follows:
Reality – Dreams = Animal Being
Reality + Dreams = A Heartache (usually called Idealism)
Reality + Humor = Realism (also called 11)Conservatism)
Dreams – Humor = 12)Fanaticism
Dreams + Humor = Fantasy
Reality + Dreams + Humor = Wisdom
So then, wisdom, or the highest type of thinking, consists in 13)toning down our dreams or idealism with a good sense of humor, supported by reality itself.
Probably these formulas are more 14)provocative than 15)authoritative. I promise to modify them gradually for my own use as new facts are brought to my knowledge, or new impressions are formed. That is all they are worth today — a record of the progress of my knowledge and the gaps of my16)ignorance.
人类似分成两种人：理想主义者和现实主义者。理想主义和现实主义是推动人类进步的两种强大动力。人性好似泥土，经理想主义浇灌后即变成了柔软可塑的东西，但是使泥土凝固的毕竟还是泥土本身，不然我们早就蒸发化为气了。理想主义和现实主义这两种力，在一切人类活动里，包括个人的、社会的，和民族的，都互相牵制着，而真正的进步便是由这两种成分的适当混合而促成；这样才能使泥土保持着柔软可塑的理想状态，那就是半湿半燥，既不硬实难控，也不溃如泥浆。
幽默感（我在后面的章节里将作更详细的讨论）似乎和现实感，或称现实主义，有密切的联系。说笑话者虽常常残酷地使理想主义者感到理想幻灭，但是在另一方面，却起到一个极重要的作用，这足以使理想主义者不至于把头撞在现实的墙壁上，而受到一个比理想幻灭更猛烈的撞击。他同时也能缓和暴躁狂热分子的紧张情绪，使他可以寿命长一些。
我时常想到一些公式，可将人类进步和历史变迁的历程明确地表示出来。这些公式仿佛可以罗列如下：
现实 - 梦想 = 禽兽
现实 + 梦想 = 心痛（通常叫做“理想主义”）
现实 + 幽默 = 现实主义（也可叫做“保守主义”）
梦想 - 幽默 = 狂热
梦想 + 幽默 = 幻想
现实 + 梦想 + 幽默 = 智慧
这样看来，智慧，或思想的最高形态，它的形成就是在现实的支持下，用适当的幽默感把我们的梦想或理想主义调和配合起来。
这些公式与其说是权威的，不如说引发思考。假使我能得到一些新见识或新感想时，我一定会把这些公式逐渐修正，以供自用。它们的价值眼前只限于此，这无非是我知识智力的进步和我愚昧不周的一个记录而已。
翻译：立及夕
——林语堂《生活的艺术》
《生活的艺术》是林语堂旅美专事创作后的第一部书，也是继《吾国与吾民》之后再获成功的又一英文作品。该书于1937年在美国出版，次年便居美国畅销书排行榜榜首达52周，且接连再版四十余次，并被翻译为十余种文字。
林语堂在书中谈了庄子的淡泊，赞了陶渊明的闲适，诵了《归去来辞》，讲了《圣经》的故事，以及中国人如何品茗、行酒令，如何听雨弄月、阅读思考……林语堂将中国人旷怀达观、陶情遣兴的生活方式和浪漫高雅的东方情调皆诉诸笔下，向西方人娓娓道出了一个可供仿效的“生活最高典型”的模式。
Mankind seems to be divided into idealists and realists, and idealism and realism are the two great forces1)molding human progress. The clay of humanity is made soft and 2)pliable by the water of idealism, but the stuff that holds it together is after all the clay itself, or we might all 3)evaporate into 4)Ariels. The forces of idealism and realism 5)tug at each other in all human activities, personal, social and national, and real progress is made possible by the proper mixture of these two6)ingredients, so that the clay is kept in the ideal pliable, plastic condition, half moist and half dry, not hardened and7)unmanageable, nor dissolving into mud.
The sense of humor, which I shall discuss at more length in a later chapter, seems to be very closely related to the sense of reality, or realism. If the joker is often cruel in 8)disillusioning the idealist, he nevertheless performs a very important function right there by not letting the idealist bump his head against the stone wall of reality and receive a ruder shock. He also gently eases the tension of the hot-headed9)enthusiast and makes him live longer.
I have often thought of formulas by which the 10)mechanism of human progress and historical change can be expressed. They seem to be as follows:
Reality – Dreams = Animal Being
Reality + Dreams = A Heartache (usually called Idealism)
Reality + Humor = Realism (also called 11)Conservatism)
Dreams – Humor = 12)Fanaticism
Dreams + Humor = Fantasy
Reality + Dreams + Humor = Wisdom
So then, wisdom, or the highest type of thinking, consists in 13)toning down our dreams or idealism with a good sense of humor, supported by reality itself.
Probably these formulas are more 14)provocative than 15)authoritative. I promise to modify them gradually for my own use as new facts are brought to my knowledge, or new impressions are formed. That is all they are worth today — a record of the progress of my knowledge and the gaps of my16)ignorance.
人类似分成两种人：理想主义者和现实主义者。理想主义和现实主义是推动人类进步的两种强大动力。人性好似泥土，经理想主义浇灌后即变成了柔软可塑的东西，但是使泥土凝固的毕竟还是泥土本身，不然我们早就蒸发化为气了。理想主义和现实主义这两种力，在一切人类活动里，包括个人的、社会的，和民族的，都互相牵制着，而真正的进步便是由这两种成分的适当混合而促成；这样才能使泥土保持着柔软可塑的理想状态，那就是半湿半燥，既不硬实难控，也不溃如泥浆。
幽默感（我在后面的章节里将作更详细的讨论）似乎和现实感，或称现实主义，有密切的联系。说笑话者虽常常残酷地使理想主义者感到理想幻灭，但是在另一方面，却起到一个极重要的作用，这足以使理想主义者不至于把头撞在现实的墙壁上，而受到一个比理想幻灭更猛烈的撞击。他同时也能缓和暴躁狂热分子的紧张情绪，使他可以寿命长一些。
我时常想到一些公式，可将人类进步和历史变迁的历程明确地表示出来。这些公式仿佛可以罗列如下：
现实 - 梦想 = 禽兽
现实 + 梦想 = 心痛（通常叫做“理想主义”）
现实 + 幽默 = 现实主义（也可叫做“保守主义”）
梦想 - 幽默 = 狂热
梦想 + 幽默 = 幻想
现实 + 梦想 + 幽默 = 智慧
这样看来，智慧，或思想的最高形态，它的形成就是在现实的支持下，用适当的幽默感把我们的梦想或理想主义调和配合起来。
这些公式与其说是权威的，不如说引发思考。假使我能得到一些新见识或新感想时，我一定会把这些公式逐渐修正，以供自用。它们的价值眼前只限于此，这无非是我知识智力的进步和我愚昧不周的一个记录而已。
翻译：立及夕