美文欣赏

编者按：

怀特先生的信念也成为我私生活的信条，以它为行动准则，我为人类的奉献更多。做奉献让自己心满意足，心态平和，虽然它们本不是我的天性。这就是我得到的回报，我的福祉。

的确，我相信，美国的物质主义非常需要精神力量的调剂。这种精神力量必须表现在帮助同胞、为同胞服务上。

How to Give Your Money Away

Many years ago I met a man whose unique psychology helped me to shed a life of struggle and uneasiness for great happiness, for peace of mind, and for a measure of success I otherwise would not have attained.
　　
His name was George Robert White, a man who was orphaned and impoverished at a tender age. Yet, a man whose God-given beliefs made him both a material and a spiritual millionaire at thirty.
　　
My path to success, and to what I had considered its natural result- happiness-was the ordinary road over which most American businessmen travel, namely, endless hours of hard work, social contacts, wise investments, headaches and heartaches.
　　
To be sure, in a materialistic sense, I had traveled a long way from my father’s farm in Nova Scotia. I had become an executive in a multi-million dollar drug firm. But where was the resulting happiness that my material gain was supposed to have afforded me?
　　
In my private moments of mental inventory, I discovered that I had no more peace of mind, nor was I less afraid of the problems of life and death, than many years before, when I planned my road to happiness and success by the flickering lamp in my father's tiny farmhouse. The reason was, I had neglected spiritual values in my anxiety for material gain.
　　
It took the kindly advice of George Robert White, to open the pathway for me to happiness and freedom of mind. The important lesson Mr. White taught me is this: If we are to be happy, if we are to be successful in every aspect of the word, if we are to live truly full lives, we must share ourselves, as well as our material gain, with our fellow men.
　　
As a young man, Mr. White took over the leadership of a small soap-manufacturing plant in Boston, and throughout his career he gave away to charity a large part of his net profits.
　　
Yet, despite his unusual business practices, Mr. White built that tiny concern into the world-famous Cuticura Corporation, and became the multi-million-dollar manufacturer of Cuticura Soap, Ointment and Shampoo.
　　
I shall never forget Mr. White's words: "Personal success, business success, built upon materialism alone, are empty shells concealing disappointment, saddened lives," which he epitomized by saying: "Cast your bread upon the waters and it will come back in abundance."
　　
Since Mr. White's death, I have endeavored, as his successor, to adhere to his code of ethics. Two dollars out of every three dollars profit earned by our corporation is shared with others in helping to make our nation a better place in which to live.
　　
We, in our corporation, believe that it is not sufficient only to manufacture as fine a product as is possible-millions of dollars over the years are being shared by our corporation for the advancement of medicine and science, for chemical research, for art and for beauty.
　　
In my personal life I have adopted Mr. White's beliefs, and, in doing so, I have become much better equipped to serve humanity.
　　
My reward, my blessings, have come to me in the form of personal satisfaction and peace of mind that had been substantially foreign to me.
　　
Yes, I believe that spirituality is the needed seasoning to America's materialism. But it must be that kind of spirituality that takes the form of help and service toward our fellow men.

参考译文

如何捐赠钱财

塞缪尔.M.贝斯特博士

多年以前我结识的一位朋友用他独特的心理帮助我摆脱了充满斗争和不安的生活。没有他的帮助，我的生活不可能这样幸福，心态不可能这样平和，也不可能取得一定程度的成功。

他名叫乔治·罗伯特·怀特，幼年时父母双亡，贫困不堪，然而，因信奉上帝，三十岁时便成为物质上和精神上的百万富翁。

我的成功之路，也是大多数美国商人的致富之路，它由无休止的辛勤工作、社交活动、明智的投资、头痛和心痛一起铺设而成。我曾认为成功理所当然会给我带来幸福。

当然，从物质的意义讲，从我在父亲的新斯科舍农场做工至今，经过多年的辛劳，我已成为一个有百万美元资产的制药公司的总裁，但丰厚的物质财富应该带给我的幸福又在何方？

但我一人独处整理思绪时，我发现自己的心态不如多年以前在我父亲那幢小小的农舍，坐在摇曳的油灯旁规划我的幸福成功之路时那样平和，我仍然同当年一样害怕想到生与死的问题。原因是：在我急于追求物质财富时，我忽略了精神财富的价值。

我听从了乔治·罗伯特·怀特的忠告，为自己思想的愉悦和自由另辟蹊径。怀特先生对我的教导是：若要幸福，赢得真正意义上的成功，生活得充实，就必须与我们的同胞分享我们的一切，包括物质财富。

怀特先生接过波士顿那家小肥皂厂的领导职位时，还很年轻。从那时起直至他事业的终结，他将工厂的大部分纯利捐献给了慈善事业。

尽管他的经商之路不寻常，他却致力使一家小小的工厂发展成世界著名的库提库亚公司，一个资产达百万美元，生产库提库亚肥皂、软膏和香波的厂家。

我永远不会忘记怀特先生的箴言：“只以物质主义为目的的个人成功和商业成功，都是空壳，里面藏着失望和令人忧心忡忡的生活。”他将其浓缩为：“行善不图回报，就有丰厚的回报。”

怀特先生去世后，作为他的继任，我尽力恪守他的道德信条，我们将公司利润的三分之二捐赠给社会，以改善美国人的生活。

在我们公司，我们的信念是：尽力生产优质产品是不够的——多年以来，我们公司将数百万美元投入研发药物和科学，研究化学，提高生活的艺术氛围和人们的审美能力。

怀特先生的信念也成为我私生活的信条，以它为行动准则，我为人类的奉献更多。做奉献让自己心满意足，心态平和，虽然它们本不是我的天性。这就是我得到的回报，我的福祉。

的确，我相信，美国的物质主义非常需要精神力量的调剂。这种精神力量必须表现在帮助同胞、为同胞服务上。

附注：

塞缪尔·M·贝斯特博士：一位非常成功的商人，加入库提库亚公司后不久便成为该公司总裁，还担任麻省药学院院长的职务。