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如果说二十到三十岁之间是形成思维和专业习惯的关键阶段，那么二十岁以下对于所谓个人习惯的定型是更加重要的，比如声调、发音、手势、动作以及称呼方式。二十岁后习得的语言难免会带有外国口音；进入自己本不属于的上流社会的青年人，几乎无法丢弃成长过程中养成的鼻音或者其他不良语言习惯。甚至无论口袋里揣了多少金钱，他都学不会如何像一位天生的绅士那样穿衣打扮。尽管商人像对待社会精英一样热情地向他推销商品，但是他总是无法买到恰当的商品。像引力一样强大的无形法则，使他无法脱离自己的轨道，年复一年地穿着同样的衣装；而出身高贵的人们如何得到他们身上的衣服，这对他来说是一个谜，至死都无法解开。
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所有教育的重要之处，就是使神经系统成为我们的朋友，而不是敌人。对我们习得的技能，它会提供支持与资助，并与其带来的收益安然共处。因此，我们必须尽早地使尽可能多的有益行为成为自动、习惯的活动，像防范瘟疫一样防止不利的做法形成固定模式。日常生活中越多的具体事务交给毫不费力的自动监管，我们思想的力量就会更多地得以释放，发挥其应有的作用。最可怜的人只有一种习惯：犹豫。无论是点燃一只雪茄，品尝一杯美酒，乃至每天的作息时间，开始每一件工作，都要经过深思熟虑。有些事本该习惯成自然，根本不应察觉到它们的存在，而这种人却把一半时间花在做决定或者后悔上。各位读者，如果您的日常工作还没有潜移默化地成为自己的一部分，就从此刻开始改正吧。
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在《道德习惯》一章中，贝恩教授提出了令人钦佩的中肯的评论。他的解决方案阐明了两大准则。第一个准则是，在获取一个新习惯或者抛弃一个旧习惯时，我们必须尽可能果断而坚决地全力以赴。尽可能多创造有利于强化正确动机的情形；刻意把自己置身于鼓励新做法的条件之中；使自己的精力与旧做法互不相容；在条件允许的情况下采取公开承诺；总之，利用你所知道的一切手段来辅助你的决定。这将给你崭新的开端带来巨大动力，半途而废的诱惑不会那么快出现；打破习惯的日子推迟一天，这种诱惑再次出现的机会就减少一分。
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第二条准则就是：新习惯没有在你的生命中根深蒂固之前，不要容许例外发生。每次松懈就像把手中正在仔细缠绕的线团松开；一次失误需要多倍的努力才能弥补。持续训练是唯一确保神经系统正确行动的重要方法。正如贝恩教授所说：
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“与获取知识显著不同，道德习惯的特别之处是存在两种敌对的力量，若一种力量逐渐占上风，便会压倒另一种力量。在这种情况下，首先必须做到的就是一场战役也不要输掉。错误的一方一旦获胜，就会把正确一方多次取得的成果消耗殆尽。因此，必须慎重调整这两种敌对的力量，让正确一方不断取得一个又一个成功，直到多次重复使其得以巩固，以便无论在任何情况下，都能与敌对力量抗衡。理论上来说，这是思想进步的最佳历程。”
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在起步阶段，必须确保成功。若开局失利，将会消弭未来努力的能量，反之，前期的成功将使人未来精力充沛。有人向歌德咨询一项事业，却怀疑自己的能力，歌德对他说：“嗨！你只要往手上吹口气就行了！”这句话说明了事业上习惯性的成功，对于歌德的情绪态度产生了深远的影响。我是从鲍曼教授那里听到这则轶事的，他说欧洲人到来的时候，野蛮民族便土崩瓦解了，这是因为他们悲观绝望，而新来的欧洲人却在面临生命中重要的任务时充满了求胜的信心。旧模式被打破了，而新模式还未建立起来。
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戒除酗酒、吸毒之类的陋习时，“渐进式”方案带来了一些问题。对此，专家们存在一定分歧，也未就具体案例的最佳方案达成共识。但总体来说，所有专家都会同意，如果确有可能坚持下去，迅速养成一个新习惯是最佳方法。我们一定要注意，不要让意志面临一个一开始就注定会失败的艰巨任务。无论是戒除吸食鸦片的习惯，还是仅仅改变作息时间，如果能够经受考验，最佳的处理方法是先忍受一段痛苦时期，然后再经历一段自由时期。如果欲望不能得到满足，它很快就会因饥饿而消亡，这真是令人惊奇。
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“在没有‘脱胎换骨’之前，必须首先学会心无旁骛，不要左顾右盼，在笔直而狭窄的小路上稳步前行。每天下一个新的决心，就如同每次跑到准备跨越的壕沟边缘时，都会停下脚步，转身再次助跑。若没有持续的前进，就不会有道德力量的积聚。要做到这点，践行并习惯此道，唯有通过持续的工作带来极大益处。”
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除了前面的两个准则之外，还可以增加第三条准则：每当做出决定后，每逢产生有助于形成所渴望的习惯的情绪时，就抓住第一个机会立即行动。决定和渴望把新的“习惯模式”传递给大脑，并不是发生在它们形成之时，而是在产生行动效果之际。正如前面所引的作家所说：
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“实际机会的出现，为杠杆提供了支点，通过它，道德意志可以增加其力量，把自己高高举起。而不能为支点提供坚实支撑的人，只会停留在空洞摆姿态的阶段。”
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一个人不论信奉多少准则，也不论思想多么敏锐，若不抓住每个机会采取行动，其个性将无缘改善。仅仅有良好的意愿，如谚语所说，就会铺就一条通向地狱之路。这是我们制定的原则会带来的显而易见的结果。正如J. S．密尔所说，“性格是得到完全塑造的意志”。意志，在他所指的意义上，是在生活中主要遇到的所有紧急情况下，所采取的一切坚定、明确的行动倾向。行动的倾向在我们心中根深蒂固的程度，与行动实际不间断发生的频率成正比，而且大脑也随着它们的使用而“成长”。决心或美好的感觉没有产生实际结果就烟消云散了，这比失去一个机会还要糟糕；它将阻碍决心与情绪找到正常的流注渠道。性格最可鄙的一类人，是缺乏勇气的感伤主义者和空想家，一生都在感性与情感的海波中翻滚，而从未做出一件真正有男子气魄的事迹。卢梭便是一个经典的例子：他用卓越的口才煽动法国所有的母亲崇尚自然，亲自养育子女，而他自己却把孩子送到育婴堂。就我们每个人而言，若在心中萌发朦胧抽象的善意后，却在实际情况中，只看到丑陋的“其他特殊情况”，看不到背后掩藏的可以行的善，那便是某种程度上重蹈了卢梭之路。在这平凡的世界中，所有的善都会被伴随左右的粗俗所掩饰；但若仅能识别以纯粹抽象的形式存在的善，就未免太可悲可叹了。沉溺于阅读小说和观看戏剧，就会产生此类恶魔。俄罗斯妇人为戏剧中的虚拟人物哭泣垂泪，却不顾门外等候她的车夫在座位上冻得要死，这种事情时有发生，却不太引人注目。既不是演员，也没有欣赏天赋的人，其沉溺音乐的习惯或许对性格产生削弱的效果。如果一个人产生的感情习惯性地不引发任何行动，其怠惰的情绪状态将保持下去。补救的方法是，不要在音乐会上放纵感情，除非事后以某种积极的方式将其表达出来。让表达成为世界上最起码的行动吧——如果做不出英雄壮举，那就和颜悦色地对姑母说话，或者在马车上起身让座——但是一定要表达。
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后面的几个例子使我们清楚了：习惯在大脑中所刻下的印痕，不仅仅包括流注的具体渠道，还包括流注的一般形式。如果任由情绪无端消失，情绪就会进入无端消失的模式；同样，有理由相信，倘若本该努力时我们却退缩不前，努力的能力很快就会消失，而我们还浑然不觉；而且，如果我们任由注意力涣散，不久之后，注意力就再也无法集中了。后面我们将会看到，注意与努力只不过是同一个心理事实的两个不同的名字而已。它们对哪些大脑活动过程做出响应，尚不得而知。它们并非纯粹的精神活动，而是要依赖大脑活动过程。这种看法的最有力证明是：它们在某种程度上为习惯法则——一个实实在在的法则——所制约。最后一个实际准则和这些意志习惯有关，我们可以提供如下建议：通过每天做一点无关紧要的锻炼，让努力的机制在头脑中得以保留。也就是说，在琐碎而无足轻重的时点，保持坚忍、勇敢；每天做一两件不愿意做的事；当真正需要的时候，你就能够经受住考验，不会手足无措、毫无条理了。这种坚忍行为就像是为房子和货物所上的保险。缴纳这笔款项此时对他毫无益处，甚至可能永远都不会带来回报。但是倘若火灾真的降临，他所购买的保险将把他从废墟中拯救出来。在琐碎小事上注意培养习惯，使自己拥有集中的注意力、坚定的意志、自我克制的人，也是一样。四面楚歌之时，他仍会像巨塔一样耸立，而那些意志不坚的人则像谷壳一样在风中飘散无踪了。
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因此，对精神状况进行生理研究，会为激励伦理学提供最为有力的支持。神学已向我们启示，死后需要承受地狱之苦，但现世习惯性地以错误方式塑造性格会带来更多的灾难。如果年轻人能够意识到，不久之后他们就会被习惯所驱使，那么他们就会更加关注自己在习惯形成时期的行为。我们在编织自己的命运，不论是好还是坏，不会重来。一点善举、一个恶行，都会留下不小的痕迹。杰斐逊剧中的醉汉瑞普·凡·温克尔每次失职都会安慰自己：“这次不算！”好吧！就算他自己不去计算，慈爱的上苍也不去计算，但冥冥中的力量还是会毫厘不爽地计算的。在他的神经细胞和纤维之间，无数分子在默默地计数、录入和储存，当下一次诱惑来临之时，就会对他不利。在严格的科学意义上，我们所做的任何事都不会完全磨灭。当然，这有好的一面，也有坏的一面。一杯一杯地饮酒，我们会成为积习难改的酒鬼；同样，一次一次的行动，一个小时又一个小时的工作，可以使我们成为品德高尚的圣人，成为实践或科学领域的权威与专家。无论教育的过程如何，年轻人都不必对教育的结果感到忧虑。只要在工作日的每个小时都认真而忙碌地工作，结果自然会水到渠成。完全可以确定的是，某天清晨醒来，他会发现自己已成为一代人中的佼佼者，无论他选择了什么样的追求目标。在他完成一项项具体工作的时候，对此类问题的判断力会在他的身上默默地积聚，形成一种永不消失的财富。年轻人应该尽早知道这个真理，因为比起所有其他因素，若对此一无所知，可能会令刚刚踏上艰巨职业生涯的年轻人产生更多的胆怯与懦弱。
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（李春江 译）
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西南联大英文课（英汉双语版） [:1705033846]
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29 WHY A CLASSIC IS A CLASSIC
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By Arnold Bennett
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WHY A CLASSIC IS A CLASSIC, by Arnold Bennett, from his Literary Taste, How to Form It , New York, George H. Doran Company.Reprinted in Chamberlain and Bolton, Progressive Readings in Prose , pp. 37-39.
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Arnold Bennett （1867-1931）, English novelist, best known for his Old Wives’Tales , a realistic study of the pottery-manufacturing Staffordshire. WHY A CLASSIC IS A CLASSIC was written in 1909 and shows Mr. Bennett at his best in freeing a time-worn subject from cant phrases and wearisome formality.
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The large majority of our fellow citizens care as much about literature as they care about aëroplanes or the program of the Legislature. They do not ignore it; they are not quite indifferent to it. But their interest in it is faint and perfunctory;or, if their interest happens to be violent, it is spasmodic. Ask the two hundred thousand persons whose enthusiasm made the vogue of a popular novel ten years ago what they think of that novel now, and you will gather that they have utterly forgotten it, and that they would no more dream of reading it again than of reading Bishop Stubbs’s Select Charters . Probably if they did read it again they would not enjoy it—not because the said novel is a whit worse now than it was ten years ago; not because their taste has improved—but because they have not had sufficient practice to be able to rely on their taste as a means of permanent pleasure. They simply don’t know from one day to the next what will please them.
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In the face of this one may ask: Why does the great and universal fame of classical authors continue? The answer is that the fame of classical authors is entirely independent of the majority. Do you suppose that if the fame of Shakespeare depended on the man in the street it would survive a fortnight? The fame of classical authors is orginally made, and it is maintained, by a passionate few. Even when a first-class author has enjoyed immense success during his lifetime, the majority have never appreciated him so sincerely as they have appreciated second-rate men. He has always been reënforced by the ardor of the passionate few. And in the case of an author who has emerged into glory after his death, the happy sequel has been due solely to the obstinate perseverance of the few. They could not leave him alone; they would not. They kept on savoring him, and talking about him, and buying him, and they generally behaved with such eager zeal, and they were so authoritative and sure of themselves, that at last the majority grew accustomed to the sound of his name and placidly agreed to the proposition that he was a genius; the majority really did not care very much either way.
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And it is by the passionate few that the renown of genius is kept alive from one generation to another. These few are always at work. They are always rediscovering genius. Their curiosity and enthusiasm are exhaustless, so that there is little chance of genius being ignored. And, moreover, they are always working either for or against the verdicts of the majority. The majority can make a reputation, but it is too careless to maintain it. If, by accident, the passionate few agree with the majority in a particular instance, they will frequently remind the majority that such and such a reputation has been made, and the majority will idly concur: “Ah, yes. By the way, we must not forget that such and such a reputation exists.” Without that persistent memory-jogging the reputation would quickly fall into the oblivion which is death. The passionate few only have their way by reason of the fact that they are genuinely interested in literature, that literature matters to them. They conquer by their obstinacy alone, by their eternal repetition of the same statements. Do you suppose they could prove to the man in the street that Shakespeare was a great artist? The said man would not even understand the terms they employed. But when he is told ten thousand times, and generation after generation, that Shakespeare was a great artist, the said man believes—not by reason, but by faith. And he, too, repeats that Shakespeare was a great artist, and he buys the complete works of Shakespeare and puts them on his shelves, and he goes to see the marvelous stage effects which accompany King Lear or Hamlet , and comes back religiously convinced that Shakespeare was a great artist. All because the passionate few could not keep their admiration of Shakespeare to themselves. This is not cynicism; but truth. And it is important that those who wish to form their literary taste should grasp it.
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What causes the passionate few to make such a fuss about literature? There can be only one reply. They find a keen and lasting pleasure in literature. They enjoy literature as some men enjoy beer. The recurrence of this pleasure naturally keeps their interest in literature very much alive. They are forever making new researches, forever practicing on themselves. They learn to understand themselves. They learn to know what they want. Their taste becomes surer and surer as their experience lengthens. They do not enjoy to-day what will seem tedious to them to-morrow. When they find a book tedious, no amount of popular clatter will persuade them that it is pleasurable; and when they find it pleasurable no chill silence of the street crowds will affect their conviction that the book is good and permanent. They have faith in themselves. What are the qualities in a book which give keen and lasting pleasure to the passionate few? This is a question so difficult that it has never yet been completely answered. You may talk lightly about truth, insight, knowledge, wisdom, humor, and beauty. But these comfortable words do not really carry you very far, for each of them has to be defined, especially the first and last. It is all very well for Keats in his airy manner to assert that beauty is truth, truth beauty, and that that is all he knows or needs to know. I, for one, need to know a lot more. And I never shall know. Nobody, not even Hazlitt nor Sainte Beuve, has ever finally explained why he thought a book beautiful. I take the first fine lines that come to hand—
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The woods of Arcady are dead,
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