恒心与毅力 Perseverance and Inexhaustible Patience
塞缪尔·斯迈尔斯/Samuel Smiles
Bernard Palissy is supposed to have been born in the south of France, in the diocese of Agen, about the year 1510. His father was probably a worker in glass, to which trade Bernard was brought up. His parents were poor people—too poor to give him the benefit of any school education. "I had no other books," said he afterwards, "than heaven and earth, which are open to all." He learnt, however, the art of glass-painting, to which he added that of drawing, and afterwards reading and writing.
When about eighteen years old, the glass trade becoming decayed, Palissy left his father's house, and went out into the world to search whether there was any place in it for him. He first traveled towards Gascony, and then he traveled northwards, sojourning for various periods at different places in France.
Thus Palissy occupied about ten more years of his life, after which he married, and ceased from his wanderings. There children were born to him; and not only his responsibilities but his expenses increased, while, do what he could, his earnings remained too small for his needs. He was induced to turn his attention to the kindred art of painting and enameling earthenware. Yet on this subject he was wholly ignorant; for he had never seen earth baked before he began his operations. He had therefore everything to learn by himself, without any helper. But he was full of hope, eager to learn, of unbounded perseverance and inexhaustible patience.
It was the sight of an elegant cup of Italian manufacture—which first set Palissy thinking about the new art. The sight of this cup disturbed his whole existence; and the determination to discover the enamel with which it was glazed thenceforward possessed him like a passion. Had he been a single man he might have traveled into Italy in search of the secret; but he was bound to his wife and his children, and could not leave them; so he remained by their side groping in the dark in the hope of finding out the process of making and enameling earthenware.
At first he could merely guess the materials of which the enamel was composed; and he proceeded to try all manner of experiments to ascertain what they really were. He pounded all the substances which he supposed were likely to produce it. Then he bought common earthen pots, broke them into pieces, and, spreading his compounds over them, subjected them to the heat of a furnace which he erected for the purpose of baking them. His experiments failed; and the results were broken pots and a waste of fuel, drugs, time, and labor.
The first furnace having proved a failure, he proceeded to erect another out of does. There he burnt more wood, spoiled more drugs and pots, and lost more time, until poverty stared him and his family in the face. After the operation he went to see the pieces taken out; and, to his dismay, the whole of the experiments were failures. But though disappointed, he was not yet defeated; for he determined on the very spot to "begin afresh."
For two more years he went on experimenting without any satisfactory result, he was reduced to poverty again. But he resolved to make a last great effort.
He proceeded to build the furnace with his own hands, carrying the bricks from the brick-field upon his back. He was bricklayer, laborer, and all. At last the furnace was built and ready for use. He had been for some time accumulating a great store of fuel for the final effort: and he thought it was enough. At last the operation proceeded.
All day he sat by the furnace, feeding it with fuel. He sat there watching and feeding all through the long night. But the enamel did not meet. A third day and night passed—a fourth, a fifth, and even a sixth,—yes, for six long days and nights did the unconquerable Palsy watch and toil, fighting against hope; and still the enamel would not melt.
So he set to work to pound and compound fresh materials for a new experiment. But how to buy more pots? His money was now all spent; but he could borrow. His character was still good, though his wife and the neighbors thought him foolishly wasting his means in futile experiments. Nevertheless he succeeded. He borrowed sufficient from a friend to enable him to buy more fuel and more pots, and he was again ready for a further experiment.
It was the last and most desperate experiment of the whole. The fire blazed up; the heat became intense; but still the enamel did not melt. The fuel began to run short!
Wife and children then rushed from the house, and went frantically through the town, calling out that poor Palissy had gone mad, and was breaking up his very furniture for firewood!
He proceeded from one step of improvement to another; always aiming at the greatest perfection possible. His ornamental pieces are now regarded as rare gems in the cabinets of virtuosi.
1510年，伯纳德·帕里希出生于法国南部的一个主教郊区。他的父亲可能是一位玻璃商人，帕里希从小就跟随父亲做生意。他家境贫穷——太穷了，以至于无力供他上学。帕里希后来说：“除了从天地万物中学习知识，我再也没有可以翻阅的书籍了。”然而，他学会了将素描加入到玻璃绘画中，然后又学会了读书和写字。
大约在帕里希18岁的时候，玻璃生意变得越来越不景气，于是他离开父母，外出去寻找自己的落脚之处。帕里希首先来到加斯顿，随后又向北部迁移，就这样辗转走遍了法国的各个地方。
直到十年后，帕里希因为结婚才停止了“流浪”生涯。尽管这并不是他的过错，但孩子的出生还是增加了生活的负担。帕里希尽自己最大的努力经营生活，可是他的收入实在太少了，根本不能满足生活所需。后来，他将精力集中到了陶器画的创作上。然而，帕里希对这一行却是一窍不通，在开始制作之前，他从来没有看过陶器画的制作流程。所以，他必须在没有任何帮手的情况下，一切从头开始。尽管如此，帕里希还是满怀希望，始终带着恒心和毅力如饥似渴地学习制作知识。
帕里希偶然看到了一只做工精美的意大利杯子，这促使他开始考虑进行新艺术的创作。对那只杯子的一瞥彻底打乱了帕里希的生活，从那以后，研究瓷釉的决心占据了他的全部身心。也许帕里希本该只身一人前往意大利探寻瓷釉的奥秘，但是他无法丢下妻儿不管，于是就带上他们同行。满怀着找到陶器的制作与上釉方法的希望，帕里希在家人的陪伴下向前摸索着。
起初，帕里希几乎连瓷釉的调配原料都弄不清，于是他开始了各种试验，以确定瓷釉中的原料到底是什么。他将所有有可能制出瓷釉的材质捣碎，然后买来普通的陶瓷罐，也把它们打碎，将自己混合的材料涂抹在碎片上，最后放到高温炉里烧制。他的试验一次次失败，结果只是白白摔碎了罐子，浪费了燃料、药物、时间和努力。
结果证实了帕里希的第一个炉窑是失败的，他又继续建造了另一只炉窑。在这个炉窑里，他燃烧了更多的燃料、损耗了更多的药物和罐子，同样也浪费了更多的时间，直至生活一贫如洗。每次试验做完后，帕里希都要拿出碎片察看，然而，令他沮丧的是，所有的实验都失败了。但是，失败的他并没有气馁，而是下定决心重新开始。
两年来，帕里希的实验始终没有取得可喜的成果，他的生活也再一次窘困不堪。不过，他下定决心再做最后一次尝试。
帕里希从砖场背回砖头，既做砖匠又做砖工，亲自建造了一个炉窑。最后炉窑建好，一切就绪。他为最后的努力积聚了大量的燃料，认为一切都准备就绪了。实验终于开始了。
帕里希一整天都守在炉窑旁，往里面添加燃料。整个晚上他就这样看着、不断地添加燃料，但是瓷釉并没有熔化。三天三夜过去了，接着第四天、第五天、第六天也过去了，六天六夜之后，不服输的帕里希依然观望着、不停地添加燃料，然而瓷釉还是没有熔化。
于是，帕里希开始为自己的新实验准备原料和添加剂。但是，他拿什么来买罐子？他现在已身无分文，不过他可以向别人借钱。尽管妻子和邻居都认为帕里希将钱浪费在毫无意义的实验上是很愚蠢的行为，但他的品性还是受到认可的。帕里希成功了，他从朋友那里借到的钱，足够买更多的罐子和燃料，他又开始准备下一步的实验。
这是最后一次，也是最令人绝望的一次实验。炉窑中的火在燃烧，炉窑中的温度在上升，可是瓷釉依然没有熔化的迹象。燃料开始不足了！
帕里希的妻子和孩子跑出家门，发疯般地在镇上呼喊着帕里希疯了。因为他们发现帕里希把家具当木材烧了。
帕里希还在逐步对实验做着改进，他要尽最大可能创造出最完美的作品。如今，他的作品被古玩家们公认为“橱柜中的宝石”。
A man is not old as long as he is seeking something. A man is old until regrets take the place of dreams.
—Barrymore
只要一个人还有追求，他就没有老。直到后悔取代了梦想，一个人才算老。
——巴里摩尔
sojourn[ˈsəudʒə:n]v.旅居；逗留
He sojourned with a friend in Wales for two weeks.
他在威尔士一个朋友那儿住了两个星期。
perseverance[ˌpə:siˈviərəns]n.毅力；忍耐；不屈不挠
You need perseverance to win in politics and I doubt if he can go the distance.
在政治上，需要矢志不移才能取胜，我怀疑他能否坚持到底。
desperate[ˈdespərit]adj.不顾一切的；绝望的
The state of that country is desperate.
那个国家的形势非常危急。
ornamental[ˌɔ:nəˈmentl]adj.装饰的
Ornamental copper pans hung on the wall.
墙上挂着装饰性的铜盘。
除了从天地万物中学习知识，我再也没有可以翻阅的书籍了。
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尽管如此，帕里希还是满怀希望，始终带着恒心和毅力如饥似渴地学习制作知识。
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失败的他并没有气馁，而是下定决心重新开始。
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His father was probably a worker in glass, to which trade Bernard was brought up.
bring up：教育；培养；抚养
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At first he could merely guess the materials of which the enamel was composed; and he proceeded to try all manner of experiments to ascertain what they really were.
proceed to：往下进行（另一件事）
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