HE WAS A very poor man, but capable and clever; he was content, or at least appeared so, with what little he possessed, and he had no family burdens. He often came to talk things over, and he had great dreams for the future; he was eager and enthusiastic, simple in his pleasures, and delighted in doing little things for others. He was not, he said, greatly attracted to money or to physical comfort; but he liked to describe what he would do if he had money, how he would support this or that how he would start the perfect school, and so on. He was rather dreamy and easily carried away by his own enthusiasm and by that of other?

他非常贫穷，却能干和聪明； 他知足，或者至少看起来如此， 只有他所拥有的那一点点，而且他没有家庭负担。 他经常来谈事情，对未来有着伟大的梦想； 他渴望和热情， 简单的快乐，并乐于为别人做小事。 他说，他没有被金钱或身体上的舒适所吸引。 但他喜欢描述如果他有钱，他会怎么做， 他会如何支持这个或那个，他将如何创办一所完美的学校，等等。 他相当梦幻，很容易被自己的热情和其他人的热情所迷惑？

Several years passed, and then one day he came again. There was a strange transformation in him. The dreamy look had gone; he was matter-of-fact, definite, almost brutal in his opinions, and rather harsh in his judgements. He had travelled, and his manner was highly polished and sophisticated; he turned his charm on and off. He had been left a lot of money and was successful in increasing it many times, and he had become an altogether changed man. He hardly ever comes now; and when on rare occasions we do meet, he is distant and self-enclosed.

几年过去了，然后有一天他又来了。 他身上有一种奇怪的转变。梦幻般的表情已经消失了。 他是实事求是的，明确的， 他的观点几乎是残酷的，他的判断相当严厉。 他曾旅行，他的举止非常周到和圆滑； 他随意转换他的魅力。 他积累了很多钱，并且成功地增加了很多倍， 他已经变成了一个完全不同的人。他现在几乎从不过来。 当我们在极少数情况下见面时，他是遥远的，自我封闭的。

Both poverty and riches are a bondage. The consciously poor and the consciously rich are the playthings of circumstances. Both are corruptible, for both seek that which is corrupting: power. Power is greater than possessions; power is greater than wealth and ideas. These do give power; but they can be put away, and yet the sense of power remains. One may beget power through simplicity of life, through virtue, through the party, through renunciation; but such means are a mere substitution and they should not deceive one. The desire for position, prestige and power – the power that is gained through aggression and humility, through asceticism and knowledge, through exploitation and self-denial – is subtly persuasive and almost instinctive. Such in any form is power, and failure is merely the denial of success. To be powerful, to be successful is to be slavish, which is the denial of virtue. Virtue gives freedom, but it is not a thing to be gained. Any achievement, whether of the individual or of the collective, becomes a means to power. Success in this world, and the power that self-control and self-denial bring, are to be avoided; for both distort understanding. It is the desire for success that prevents humility; and without humility how can there be understanding? The man of success is hardened, self-enclosed; he is burdened with his own importance, with his responsibilities, achievements and memories. There must be freedom from self-assumed responsibilities and from the burden of achievement; for that which is weighed down cannot be swift, and to understand requires a swift and pliable mind. Mercy is denied to the successful, for they are incapable of knowing the very beauty of life which is love.

贫穷与财富都是一种束缚。 自认为穷的人和自认为富的人，都是环境的玩物。 两者都是腐败的，因为两者都寻求腐败的东西：权力。 权力比占有物更伟大；权力比财富和理想更伟大。 这些确实带来了权力；但是它们可以被收回，但权力依然存在。 一个人可以通过 简化生活、美德、党派、放弃，以获取权力； 但这些手段仅仅是一种替代，它们不应该欺骗这个人。 想要地位、威望和权力的欲望 —— 通过侵略和谦卑、 通过禁欲和知识、通过剥削和自我践踏，来获取权力 —— 是微妙地有说服力的，几乎是本能的。 类似的任何形式都是权力，而失败只是成功的拒绝。 要强大，要成功就要去奴役，这样就拒绝了美德。 美德放任自由，但它不是一件可以获得的东西。 任何成就，无论是个人的还是集体的，都成为获取权力的手段。 世界上的成功， 以及由自我控制和自我否定带来的权力，是要避免的； 因为两者都扭曲理解。 想成功的欲望，阻止了谦卑； 没有谦卑，怎么会去理解呢？ 成功的人是刚硬的、自我封闭的； 他背负着自己的尊荣、他的责任、成就和记忆。 必须摆脱自我承担的责任和成就的负担； 因为，那被重压的，不可能迅捷， 理解，需要一个迅捷而柔韧的头脑。 走向成功，即是拒绝仁慈， 因而，他们无法知道生活的美，也就是爱。

The desire for success is the desire for domination. To dominate is to possess, and possession is the way of isolation. This self-isolation is what most of us seek, through name, through relationship, through work, through ideation. In isolation there is power, but power breeds antagonism and pain; for isolation is the outcome of fear, and fear puts an end to all communion. Communion is relationship; and however pleasurable or painful relationship may be, in it there is the possibility of self-forgetfulness. Isolation is the way of the self, and all activity of the self brings conflict and sorrow.

想成功的欲望，是支配欲。 支配就是占据，占据就是隔绝。 这种自我隔绝，是我们大多数人所寻求的 通过名称、通过关系、通过工作、通过构思。 在隔绝中，存在权力，但权力滋生敌对与痛苦； 因为隔绝是恐惧的产物，恐惧终结一切共融。 共融是关系； 无论关系有多么愉快或痛苦， 其中都有忘记自我的可能性。 隔绝是自我的方式，自我的所有活动都带来冲突与悲伤。