middle age were still seated at tables, talking aimlessly and drinking more than was good for them. These same men can be found there day after day and, strangely enough, each one of these men had been a man of affairs and wealth, successful in business and respected in the community. If material prosperity were the chief requisites for happiness, then each one should have been happy. Yet, it seemed to me, something very important was missing; else there would not have been the constant effort to escape the realities of life through Scotch and soda. They knew, each one of them, that their productivity had ceased. When a fruit tree ceases to bear its fruit, it is dying. And it is even so with man.
What is the answer to a long and happy existence in this world of ours? I think I found it long ago in a passage from the book of Genesis which caught my eyes while I was thumbing through my Bible. The words were few but they became indelibly impressed on my mind, “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat thy bread.”
To me that has been a challenge from my earliest recollections. In fact, the battle of life, of existence, is a challenge to everyone. The immortal words of St. Paul, too, have been and always will be a great inspiration to me. At the end of the road I want to be able to feel that I have fought a good fight—have finished the course—I have kept the faith.
有一次，我沿着内河独自驾船前往佛罗里达州。到达南卡罗来纳的乔治敦时，我决定靠岸过夜，顺便去拜访一位老朋友。船一进埃松港，我就从望远镜中看到他站在那里等我们。朋友高而挺拔的身影像一支箭一样，站立在刺骨的寒风中，简直像一幅健壮男子汉的画面，虽然画面中的人已年过八旬。没错，他就是我们的老一辈政治家——伯纳德·巴鲁克。
伯纳德·巴鲁克的旅行轿车载着我们，径直驶向他那著名的霍布考大庄园用餐。我们在谈话的大客厅就坐，曾有包括罗斯福和丘吉尔在内的许多贵客与政治家光临，与他交谈，倾听他的意见。如今，巴鲁克先生虽然已经82岁，却依然活力充沛。他对过去缄口不提，只谈论现在与将来的问题，并为我们对历史学、经济学和心理学知识的匮乏而深表遗憾。他告诉我，昨天他只用10发子弹就射中了8只鹌鹑，这也是他提到的唯一“往事”。说话时，他的双眼闪烁着令人愉快的光芒。这位伟大的人物对世界充满价值的奥秘何在？答案就是他对成就一如既往的追求。
我的另一位朋友领导着一家最大的公司—— 一个大钢铁公司。年近75岁的他，依然是位优秀的领导者。他也从不谈及往昔，而是游刃有余地处理着每天的问题，头脑中想的满是对未来的计划。并且值得一提的是，70多岁的他，还会不时打打高尔夫球。他是个幸福的人，因为他有所成就。
人生在世，最难完成的两件事就是：用诚实的努力获得财富，以及拥有财富后，学会如何