第1篇 英语演讲稿素材：人生、幸福
片段1：
man’s dearest possession is life. it is given to him but once, and he must live it so as to feel no torturing regrets for wasted years, never know the burning shame of a mean and petty past; so live that, dying, he might say: all my life, all my strength were given to the finest cause in all the world—the fight for the liberation of mankind.
人生最宝贵的是生命。生命对于人来说只有一次。一个人的生命应该这样度过：当他回首往事时，不因虚度年华而悔恨;也不会因为碌碌无为而羞耻。在临死的时候他能够说：我的整个生命和全部精力都已经献给了世界上最壮丽的事业――为人类的解放事业而斗争!
help：
possession: n.财产
torturing : adj. 使痛苦的
片段2：
happiness lies not in the mere possession of money, it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative efforts, the joy and moral stimulation of work no longer must be forgotten in the mad chase of evanescent profits. these dark days, my friends, will be worth all they cost us, if they teach us that our true destiny is not to be ministered on to , but to minister to ourselves, to our fellow men.
幸福并不在于单纯的占有金钱，幸福还在于取得成功后的喜悦，在于创造努力时的激情。务必不能再忘记劳动带来的喜悦和激励，而去疯狂追逐那转瞬即逝的利润。如果这些黯淡的日子能使我们认识到，我们真正的使命不是要别人侍奉，而是要为自己和同胞们服务的话，那么，我们付出的代价是完全值得的。
help:
stimulation: n.激励，刺激
evanescent: adj.渐渐消失的，易消散的
profit： vi.得益，利用
第2篇 幸福的代价： 英语演讲稿带中文翻译
i'm just going to play a brief video clip.
我现在播放一段短片。
on the fifth of december 1985, a bottle of 1787 lafitte was sold for 105,000 pounds -- nine times the previous world record. the buyer was kip forbes, son of one of the most flamboyant millionaires of the 20th century. the original owner of the bottle turned out to be one of the most enthusiastic wine buffs of the 18th century. chateau lafitte is one of the greatest wines in the world, the prince of any wine cellar.
五万英镑 1985年的十二月五号，一瓶1787年的拉菲特葡萄酒被售出。 售价为十万五千英镑， 九倍于前世界纪录。 福布斯先生。 买家是基普·福布斯， 某位二十世纪最声名显赫的百万富翁之子。 这瓶酒的上一任拥有者是 十八世纪最狂热的葡萄酒爱好者之一。 尚图·拉菲特是全世界顶级葡萄酒之一， 任何酒窖中的极品。
benjamin wallace: now, that's about all the videotape that remains of an event that set off the longest-running mystery in the modern wine world. and the mystery existed because of a gentleman named hardy rodenstock. in 1985, he announced to his friends in the wine world that he had made this incredible discovery. some workmen in paris had broken through a brick wall, and happened upon this hidden cache of wines -- apparently the property of thomas jefferson. 1787, 1784. he wouldn't reveal the exact number of bottles, he would not reveal exactly where the building was and he would not reveal exactly who owned the building. the mystery persisted for about 20 years.
本杰明·瓦伦斯：现在，这段影片纪录了 堪称现代葡萄酒世界持续时间最长的秘密。? 而这秘密的存在起因于一位名为哈迪·鲁登斯托克的绅士。 1985年，他对自己在葡萄酒界的朋友们宣布 他有一个令人难以置信的发现 一些在巴黎的工人们砸破了一堵砖墙 从而发现了这些被匿藏的葡萄酒 这似乎是托马斯·杰斐逊的财产。年份1787、1784 他不愿意公开确切的数量 他也不会公布建筑物的确切地址 他更不会公布具体的拥有人姓名 这个秘密持续了20年。
it finally began to get resolved in 2019 because of this guy. bill koch is a florida billionaire who owns four of the jefferson bottles, and he became suspicious. and he ended up spending over a million dollars and hiring ex-fbi and ex-scotland yard agents to try to get to the bottom of this. there's now ample evidence that hardy rodenstock is a con man, and that the jefferson bottles were fakes.
最终，在2019年有人揭开了谜底。 比尔·寇奇是一位佛罗里达的亿万富翁，拥有四瓶杰斐逊葡萄酒。 他对此事开始质疑。 他最终用一百多万美元聘请了一些前fbi 和前苏格兰场侦探彻查这一事件。 如今有充分的证据表明哈迪·鲁登斯托克是个诈骗犯， 那些杰斐逊葡萄酒也是伪造的。
but for those 20 years, an unbelievable number of really eminent and accomplished figures in the wine world were sort of drawn into the orbit of these bottles. i think they wanted to believe that the most expensive bottle of wine in the world must be the best bottle of wine in the world, must be the rarest bottle of wine in the world. i became increasingly, kind of voyeuristically interested in the question of you know, why do people spend these crazy amounts of money, not only on wine but on lots of things, and are they living a better life than me?
但在那20年里 这些酒被高价售出 并被给予葡萄酒界中极高的评价 我想人们都想要相信 全世界最贵的酒一定就是最好的， 肯定是世间最稀有的。 我开始逐渐变得狂热于追求一个问题的答案 那就是：为什么人们愿意为葡萄酒或其他的东西 挥霍大笔金钱? 这些人是否活得比我好?
so, i decided to embark on a quest. with the generous backing of a magazine i write for sometimes, i decided to sample the very best, or most expensive, or most coveted item in about a dozen categories, which was a very grueling quest,
所以，我决心寻求答案。 凭借一份我常投稿的杂志慷慨赞助 我决定在数十个大类中 选出最好的，最贵的或人们最想要的事物加以体验， 你可以想像，这个过程何其痛苦
this was the first one. a lot of the kobe beef that you see in the u.s. is not the real thing. it may come from wagyu cattle, but it's not from the original, appalachian hyogo prefecture in japan. there are very few places in the u.s. where you can try real kobe, and one of them is wolfgang puck's restaurant, cut, in los angeles. i went there, and i ordered the eight-ounce rib eye for 160 dollars. and it arrived, and it was tiny. and i was outraged. it was like, 160 dollars for this? and then i took a bite, and i wished that it was tinier, because kobe beef is so rich. it's like foie gras -- it's not even like steak. i almost couldn't finish it. i was really happy when i was done.
这里是第一件。 很多你在美国见到的神户牛肉不是真品 那可能是和牛， 但不是原产于阿帕拉契山脉的日本兵库。 在美国只有很少的几个地方可以品尝真正的神户牛肉， 其中之一就是位于洛杉矶，沃尔福冈·普克的饭店，cut。 我去了那里，点了价值160美元的8盎司肋眼牛排。 上菜了，牛排很小。 我当时气坏了。 这就值160美元? 然后我尝了一口， 我但愿这牛排更小点，因为神户牛肉太肥腻了。 味道就像鹅肝- 甚至不能算牛排。 我几乎就吃不完。 当我终于吃光时，我可真开心。
now, the photographer who took the pictures for this project for some reason posed his dog in a lot of them, so that's why you're going to see this recurring character. which, i guess, you know, communicates to you that i did not think that one was really worth the price.
现在这张照片是这个项目的摄影师拍摄的 不知道为什么，在很多照片里放上了他的狗。 所以你们会一直看到它。 我猜，你已经知道 我觉得那牛排不值。
white truffles. one of the most expensive luxury foods by weight in the world. to try this, i went to a mario batali restaurant in manhattan -- del posto. the waiter, you know, came out with the white truffle knob and his shaver, and he shaved it onto my pasta and he said, you know, "would signore like the truffles?" and the charm of white truffles is in their aroma. it's not in their taste, really. it's not in their texture. it's in the smell. these white pearlescent flakes hit the noodles, this haunting, wonderful, nutty, mushroomy smell wafted up. 10 seconds passed and it was gone. and then i was left with these little ugly flakes on my pasta that, you know, their purpose had been served, and so i'm afraid to say that this was also a disappointment to me. there were several -- several of these items were disappointments.
白松露 世间最贵的食材 为此，我去了位于曼哈顿的马利奥 巴塔利餐厅， 它位于德尔 泊斯托。 服务生拿着白松露和刮刀出来后， 他把松露刮成碎屑，撒在我的意大利面上，然后对我说 “先生要一些松露吗?” 白松露的迷人之处在于它的香味。 不是口感，也不是材质 气味才是关键。 当这些白珍珠色的小片落到面条上， 一股醉人的，香味浓郁的松露味就飘了起来。 10秒后，没了。 之后就只是面条上丑陋的小白碎片， 这样，他们的任务完成了， 可对于我，这正是一大遗憾。 还有其他的例子，都是逐一让我失望。
yeah. the magazine wouldn't pay for me to go there.
是的， 那家杂志社可不愿出钱让我去那。
they did give me a tour, though. and this hotel suite is 4,300 square feet. it has 360-degree views. it has four balconies. it was designed by the architect i.m. pei. it comes with its own rolls royce and driver. it comes with its own wine cellar that you can draw freely from. when i took the tour, it actually included some opus one, i was glad to see. 30,000 dollars for a night in a hotel.
但他们让我去参观了。 这间酒店套房有四千三百平方尺， 有360度景观房， 四个阳台。 由建筑师i.m.pei设计 配备劳斯莱斯和司机。 有专署酒窖，免费任你享用。 我参观的时候，我还高兴地见到酒窖里有“第一乐章“(一款名酒)。 酒店一晚房价为三万美元。
this is soap that's made from silver nanoparticles, which have antibacterial properties. i washed my face with this this morning in preparation for this. and it, you know, tickled a little bit and it smelled good, but i have to say that nobody here has complimented me on the cleanliness of my face today.
这是用含银的纳米微粒制成的香皂 有抗菌作用 今天早上为准备这次演讲，我用它洗了脸 有点痒，很好闻。 可我不得不说 今天没有人夸过我的脸干净。
but then again, nobody has complimented me on the jeans i'm wearing. these ones gq did spring for -- i own these -- but i will tell you, not only did i not get a compliment from any of you, i have not gotten a compliment from anybody in the months that i have owned and worn these. i don't think that whether or not you're getting a compliment should be the test of something's value, but i think in the case of a fashion item, an article of clothing, that's a reasonable benchmark. that said, a lot of work goes into these. they are made from handpicked organic zimbabwean cotton that has been shuttle loomed and then hand-dipped in natural indigo 24 times. but no compliments.
再说说我的牛仔裤，也没有人夸过。 我的这条是gq杂志的春装款——我自己买的——但让我告诉你， 不只你们没有注意到这条裤子， 迄今为止从买到穿了这么久 没有任何人注意过 我不认为被人夸奖与否 是衡量物品价值的标准， 但我认为，就时尚品而言 那是一个合理的标准。 据说，这一款做工精良。 由人手挑选的津巴布韦有机棉花 用梭织机织出 24次手工蘸染成自然靛青色 但是没人赞美。
armando manni is a former filmmaker who makes this olive oil from an olive that grows on a single slope in tuscany. and he goes to great lengths to protect the olive oil from oxygen and light. he uses tiny bottles, the glass is tinted, he tops the olive oil off with an inert gas. and he actually -- once he releases a batch of it, he regularly conducts molecular analyses and posts the results online, so you can go online and look at your batch number and see how the phenolics are developing, and, you know, gauge its freshness. i did a blind taste test of this with 20 people and five other olive oils. it tasted fine. it tasted interesting. it was very green, it was very peppery. but in the blind taste test, it came in last. the olive oil that came in first was actually a bottle of whole foods 365 olive oil which had been oxidizing next to my stove for six months.
阿曼多.曼尼以前是一名电影制片人， 他用托斯卡尼某处斜坡上特产的橄榄树制造了这种橄榄油 而且竭尽全力将其真空避光保存。 他用有色小玻璃瓶 并在橄榄油上层注入气体。 事实上，每制成一批 他总是做分子分析，还把结果公布在网上 你可以在网上通过批号 看到油酚的演变 并测出新鲜度 我混和了其他五种橄榄油，和这种一起让20个人做盲测。 这种橄榄油口味独特、有趣。 色泽清亮，非常辛辣。 但在盲测结果中，它排名最尾。 排名最佳的橄榄油 是一瓶在我的灶台上放了六个月的 超市橄榄油 whole foods 365。
a recurring theme is that a lot of these things are from japan --you'll start to notice
你可能会注意到 这个主题很多相关的东西都来自日本。
i don't play golf, so i couldn't actually road test these, but i did interview a guy who owns them. even the people who market these clubs -- i mean, they'll say these have four axis shafts which minimize loss of club speed and thereby drive the ball farther -- but they'll say, look, you know, you're not getting 57,000 dollars worth of performance from these clubs. you're paying for the bling, that they're encrusted with gold and platinum. the guy who i interviewed who owns them did say that he's gotten a lot of pleasure out of them, so ...
我不打高尔夫，所以我无法实际体验， 但我采访了一个拥有这套球具的人 我是说，即使是为这套球具做市场推广的人都会说 这套球具的四轴杆身可有效减少挥杆速度损失 打出的球可以更远——但是他们也会说， 你用这些球具不一定打得出等价于五万七千美元的表现。 你只是付钱买些那些闪亮的外表， 而那可是由黄金和铂金制成的。 我所采访的球具主人倒是说 他从中所获“乐趣“无穷，你可以想到。。。
oh, yeah, you know this one? this is a coffee made from a very unusual process. the luwak is an asian palm civet. it's a cat that lives in trees, and at night it comes down and it prowls the coffee plantations. and apparently it's a very picky eater and it, you know, hones in on only the ripest coffee cherries. and then an enzyme in its digestive tract leeches into the beans, and people with the unenviable job of collecting these cats' leavings then go through the forest collecting the, you know, results and processing it into coffee -- although you actually can buy it in the unprocessed form. that's right.
哦，你们知道这个? 这是一种用非同寻常的方法制成的咖啡 鲁瓦克是亚洲小型麝香猫。 这种猫生活在树上， 夜间它会偷偷爬下树，偷吃咖啡树上的果实。 很显然，它们很挑食 只选那些最成熟的咖啡果。 而咖啡豆在它的消化道中可以吸取一种酶， 然后担任最不令人羡慕工作的人们会收集这些猫的粪便， 挑拣收集来的“成果“， 将其加工成咖啡。 虽然你也可以买没加过工的。 对了。
japan is doing crazy things with toilets.
日本人疯狂地搞他们的厕所。
there is now a toilet that has an mp3 player in it. there's one with a fragrance dispenser. there's one that actually analyzes the contents of the bowl and transmits the results via email to your doctor. it's almost like a home medical center -- and that is the direction that japanese toilet technology is heading in. this one does not have those bells and whistles, but for pure functionality it's pretty much the best -- the neorest 600. and to try this -- i couldn't get a loaner, but i did go into the manhattan showroom of the manufacturer, toto, and they have a bathroom off of the showroom that you can use, which i used. it's fully automated -- you walk towards it, and the seat lifts. the seat is preheated. there's a water jet that cleans you. there's an air jet that dries you. you get up, it flushes by itself. the lid closes, it self-cleans. not only is it a technological leap forward, but i really do believe it's a bit of a cultural leap forward. i mean, a no hands, no toilet paper toilet. and i want to get one of these.
这一个有mp3播放器， 这个有芳香喷雾， 这个则分析马桶里的承载物， 然后用电子邮件的方式把分析结果发给你的医生。 几乎就是一个家庭医疗中心 而这就是日本厕所科技的发展方向。 这个既没铃铛也没口哨 但就纯功能性而言，这个是最好的-鼎新600 因为没人愿意借我马桶，为了体验这个， 我只好去了toto位于曼哈顿的展览室。 展厅旁就有一个厕所，你可以使用。我试过了 它是全自动的-你走过去，坐垫就升起来 坐垫是预热的， 有水喷出来帮你洗干净， 再有空气把你吹干 你起身，它就自动冲水。 盖子合上，它就自动清洁。 这不只是技术的进步， 我真觉得在文明程度上都是领先的 我是指，不用手，不用厕纸 我想要一个。
this was another one i could not get a loaner of. tom cruise supposedly owns this bed. there's a little plaque on the end that, you know, each buyer gets their name engraved on it.
这是另一个我借不到的。 汤姆·克鲁斯就该有这样一张床 床尾有个小匾 买家可以把自己的名字刻上去。
to try this one, the maker of it let me and my wife spend the night in the manhattan showroom. lights glaring in off the street, and we had to hire a security guard and all these things. but anyway, we had a great night's sleep. and you spend a third of your life in bed. i don't think it's that bad of a deal.
为了试这个，制造者让我和我妻子在曼哈顿的展览室待了一晚上，街上灯火通明，我们不得不雇个保安，可不管怎么说，我们那晚睡得很好，而人的一生有三分之一的时间在床上，我觉得这个床还比较值。
this was a fun one. this is the fastest street-legal car in the world and the most expensive production car. i got to drive this with a chaperone from the company, a professional race car driver, and we drove around the canyons outside of los angeles and down on the pacific coast highway. and, you know, when we pulled up to a stoplight the people in the adjacent cars kind of gave us respectful nods. and it was really amazing. it was such a smooth ride. most of the cars that i drive, if i get up to 80 they start to rattle. i switched lanes on the highway and the driver, this chaperone, said, "you know, you were just going 110 miles an hour." and i had no idea that i was one of those obnoxious people you occasionally see weaving in and out of traffic, because it was just that smooth. and if i was a billionaire, i would get one.
这个很搞笑 这是全世界最快的可以合法在街上开的车， 也是最贵的量产车。 我得和该公司的试车员一起试驾， 他是职业赛车手， 我们在洛杉矶外的峡谷中驾驶， 又上了太平洋海岸高速公路。 你知道吗，当我们在红灯前停下时， 附近车里的人对我们佩服得直点头。 实在太棒了。 如此流畅， 我所开过的车大都在加速到80唛时就吱嘎作响 我在高速公路上换道时，陪驾车手说 “你知道吗?你刚转到110唛每小时“ 我自己都不知道我成了那种讨厌的人， 在车河中钻进钻出， 因为这车实在太顺手了。 如果我是亿万富翁，我一定买一辆。
this is a completely gratuitous video i'm just going to show of one of the pitfalls of advanced technology. this is tom cruise arriving at the "mission: impossible iii" premiere. when he tries to open the door, you could call it "mission: impossible iv.
我现在要播放一段纯属意外录下的 关于高科技弊端的影片。 汤姆·克鲁斯到达"不可能的任务3"首映现场。 他开门时 上演了一场"不可能的任务4"。
there was one object that i could not get my hands on, and that was the 1947 cheval blanc. the '47 cheval blanc is probably the most mythologized wine of the 20th century. and cheval blanc is kind of an unusual wine for bordeaux in having a significant percentage of the cabernet franc grape. and 1947 was a legendary vintage, especially in the right bank of bordeaux. and just together, that vintage and that chateau took on this aura that eventually kind of gave it this cultish following. but it's 60 years old. there's not much of it left. what there is of it left you don't know if it's real -- it's considered to be the most faked wine in the world. not that many people are looking to pop open their one remaining bottle for a journalist.
这瓶1947年产cheval blanc 是我可望而不可及的 这是20世纪最具传奇的葡萄酒 它是极不寻常的波尔多红酒 主要用品丽珠葡萄酿成 1947是波尔多右岸地区 红酒具有传奇色彩的年份 加上白马庄园， 两者的光环 最终引来一批崇拜者 但这种酒有60年了 也所剩无几。 即便留下来，也难以辨别是真是假。 他被公认为世上造假率最高的酒。 没有人愿意为一个记者 打开自己珍藏的所剩无几的美酒。
so, i'd about given up trying to get my hands on one of these. i'd put out feelers to retailers, to auctioneers, and it was coming up empty. and then i got an email from a guy named bipin desai. bipin desai is a u.c. riverside theoretical physicist who also happens to be the preeminent organizer of rare wine tastings, and he said, "i've got a tasting coming up where we're going to serve the '47 cheval blanc." and it was going to be a double vertical -- it was going to be 30 vintages of cheval blanc, and 30 vintages of yquem. and it was an invitation you do not refuse. i went.
我打算放弃试这酒的念头， 因为零售商，拍卖商那我都试过了， 全部落空。 之后，我收到一封来自bipin desai的电子邮件。 bipin desai是加州大学河岸分校的理论物理学家 他碰巧也是了不起的稀有品酒会的组织人， 他说：“我要办个品酒会， 可以尝到47年的cheval blanc， 而且还不止于此， 届时会有30种其他年份的cheval blanc， 以及30种年份的yquem. 这实在太吸引人了。 我去了。
it was three days, four meals. and at lunch on saturday, we opened the '47. and you know, it had this fragrant softness, and it smelled a little bit of linseed oil. and then i tasted it, and it, you know, had this kind of unctuous, porty richness, which is characteristic of that wine -- that it sort of resembles port in a lot of ways. there were people at my table who thought it was, you know, fantastic. there were some people who were a little less impressed. and i wasn't that impressed. and i don't -- call my palate a philistine palate -- so it doesn't necessarily mean something that i wasn't impressed, but i was not the only one there who had that reaction. and it wasn't just to that wine. any one of the wines served at this tasting, if i'd been served it at a dinner party, it would have been, you know, the wine experience of my lifetime, and incredibly memorable. but drinking 60 great wines over three days, they all just blurred together, and it became almost a grueling experience.
3天，4顿大餐。 在那个周六的午餐时，我们打开了47年的cheval blanc。 它香气柔和， 闻起来有点像亚麻子油。 然后我尝了酒， 酒的口感丰富，如同带油的甜葡萄酒。 这就是其特质 很多方面类似葡萄牙甜葡萄酒 席间，有人大加赞誉 有人不以为然 我也不觉有太惊人之处 我是大众口味型 并非我不识货 而且也不只我一人有此反映 也不只针对那种酒 那天品的所有酒都一般 如果我在某次晚宴上喝到这种酒， 我一生都会回味无穷。 但在3天里尝遍60种顶级红酒 口味就全混了 而且还成了一种受罪。
and i just wanted to finish by mentioning a very interesting study which came out earlier this year from some researchers at stanford and caltech. and they gave subjects the same wine, labeled with different price tags. a lot of people, you know, said that they liked the more expensive wine more -- it was the same wine, but they thought it was a different one that was more expensive. but what was unexpected was that these researchers did mri brain imaging while the people were drinking the wine, and not only did they say they enjoyed the more expensively labeled wine more -- their brain actually registered as experiencing more pleasure from the same wine when it was labeled with a higher price tag.
我打算以一个有趣的研究作为结尾 这是年初由斯坦福和加州工学院的研究人员发表的 他们在相同的红酒上 挂了不同的标价 如你所知，很多人 说他们喜欢标价较贵的酒 酒其实都一样， 只是他们不知道。 但意想不到的是这些研究人员 在研究对象喝酒时对他们进行了脑部核磁共挣扫描 他们不只是说更喜欢较贵的酒 他们的大脑也显示更快乐 一样的酒，只是标价更高。
第3篇 经典2分钟英语演讲稿：人生、幸福
片段1：
man’s dearest possession is life. it is given to him but once, and he must live it so as to feel no torturing regrets for wasted years, never know the burning shame of a mean and petty past; so live that, dying, he might say: all my life, all my strength were given to the finest cause in all the world—the fight for the liberation of mankind.
人生最宝贵的是生命。生命对于人来说只有一次。一个人的生命应该这样度过：当他回首往事时，不因虚度年华而悔恨;也不会因为碌碌无为而羞耻。在临死的时候他能够说：我的整个生命和全部精力都已经献给了世界上最壮丽的事业――为人类的解放事业而斗争!
help：
possession: n.财产
torturing : adj. 使痛苦的
片段2：
happiness lies not in the mere possession of money, it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative efforts, the joy and moral stimulation of work no longer must be forgotten in the mad chase of evanescent profits. these dark days, my friends, will be worth all they cost us, if they teach us that our true destiny is not to be ministered on to , but to minister to ourselves, to our fellow men.
幸福并不在于单纯的占有金钱，幸福还在于取得成功后的喜悦，在于创造努力时的激情。务必不能再忘记劳动带来的喜悦和激励，而去疯狂追逐那转瞬即逝的利润。如果这些黯淡的日子能使我们认识到，我们真正的使命不是要别人侍奉，而是要为自己和同胞们服务的话，那么，我们付出的代价是完全值得的。
help:
stimulation: n.激励，刺激
evanescent: adj.渐渐消失的，易消散的
profit： vi.得益，利用
第4篇 通往幸福的道路英语演讲稿
the road to happiness
it is a commonplace among moralists that you cannot get happiness by pursuing it. this is only true if you pursue it unwisely. gamblers at monte carlo are pursuing money, and most of them lose it instead, but there are other ways of pursuing money, which often succeed. so it is with happiness. if you pursue it by means of drink, you are forgetting the hangover. epicurus pursued it by living only in congenial society and eating only dry bread, supplemented by a little cheese on feast days. his method proved successful in his case, but he was a valetudinarian, and most people would need something more vigorous. for most people, the pursuit of happiness, unless supplemented in various ways, is too abstract and theoretical to be adequate as a personal rule of life. but i think that whatever personal rule of life you may choose it should not, except in rare and heroic cases, be incompatible with happiness. if you look around at the men and women whom you can call happy, you will see that they all have certain things in common.
the most important of these things is an activity which at most gradually builds up something that you are glad to see coming into existence. women who take an instinctive pleasure in their children can get this kind of satisfaction out of bringing up a family. artists and authors and men of science get happiness in this way if their own work sseems good to them. but there are many humbler forms of the same kind of pleasure. many men who spend their working life in the city devote their weekends to voluntary and unremunerated toil in their gardens, and when the spring comes, they experience all the joys of having created beauty. the whole subject of happiness has, in my opinion, been treated too solemnly.
it had been thought that man cannot be happy without a theory of life or a religion. perhaps those who have been rendered unhappy by a bad theory may need a better theory to help them to recover, just as you may need a tonic when you have been ill. but when things are normal a man should be healthy without a tonic and happy without a theory. it is the simple things that really matter. if a man delights in his wife and children, has success in work, and finds pleasure in the alternation of day and night, spring and autumn, he will be happy whatever his philosophy may be. if, on the other hand, he finds his wife fateful, his children’s noise unendurable, and the office a nightmare; if in the daytime he longs for night, and at night sighs for the light of day, then what he needs is not a new philosophy but a new regimen--a different diet, or more exercise, or what not. man is an animal, and his happiness depends on his physiology more than he likes to think. this is a humble conclusion, but i cannot make myself disbelieve it. unhappy businessmen, i am convinced, would increase their happiness more by walking six miles every day than by any conceivable change of philosophy.
