"Chéng shì zài jǐ - Smiles Centennial Motivational Classic (1) (Treasure Edition)"

Author: (English) Samuel Smiles / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features: "He who helps himself is helped by heaven." This is a time-tested piece of wisdom that, in small ways, reflects the rich fruits of human experience. The spirit of self-reliance is the foundation of all individual growth. Moreover, as demonstrated in the lives of many, it is the true source of a nation's vitality. External help often weakens its effect, while internal help always inspires. Relying on others or society always diminishes the motivation and necessity of doing things oneself. Once a person becomes overly dependent on others' guidance and management, the inevitable result is that they lose their independence. Even the best systems cannot provide positive help. Perhaps the most a system can do is allow you to freely develop yourself and improve your personal circumstances. Yet throughout history, people have been inclined to believe that their happiness and well-being should be ensured through systems rather than their own actions. As a result, the value of laws and regulations, as an auxiliary means of human progress, is often overestimated. Establishing a small department within a vast legislative body, voting for just one or two people every three or five years, no matter how conscientious they are in fulfilling their duties, has a negligible positive impact on personal habits and character. Moreover, we are increasingly aware that the function of government is negative and passive, not positive and active—it primarily addresses the protection of life, liberty, and property. Laws, if properly enforced, can fully protect people's hard-earned fruits (whether intellectual or physical labor) at a minimal personal cost. However, no law (no matter how severe) can make a lazy person diligent, a profligate frugal, or an alcoholic sober. Such improvements can only be achieved through individual action, thrift, and self-discipline; they rely on better habits, not broader rights. People often find that a nation's government can only reflect the individuals who compose it. A government that leads the people will inevitably be dragged down to the level of their development, while a government that lags behind the people will ultimately be elevated by them. According to the laws of nature, a nation's collective character is in harmony with its laws and government, just as water naturally seeks the same plane. Noble people will be ruled nobly, while ignorant and corrupt people will only be ruled contemptuously. Indeed, a nation's value and strength depend more on the character of its people than on its institutions. Because a nation is merely a collection of individuals, and what is called civilization is nothing more than the development of the individuals who form society. National progress is the sum of individual diligence, initiative, and integrity; similarly, national decline is the result of individual idleness, selfishness, and corruption. We are accustomed to condemning the sins of society, but in reality, they are largely the result of people's habits. Although we can eradicate them through legal means, if personal habits and character are not fundamentally improved, they will merely transform and grow anew. If this view is correct, then the following conclusion follows naturally: Noble patriotism and virtuous deeds do not lie in the reform of laws and institutions, but in helping and promoting people to continuously improve and refine themselves through their free and independent actions. A person's success depends little on external discipline and almost entirely on internal self-discipline. A complete slave is not the one ruled by a tyrant, but the one enslaved by his own ignorance, selfishness, and corruption. Therefore, a nation enslaved in its heart cannot be free simply through changes in government or institutions. As long as the fatal fallacy that "freedom comes from and returns to the government" prevails, institutional reforms will continue to occur, no matter how great the cost, but their actual and lasting results will be insignificant, like a fleeting bloom. The solid foundation of freedom must be built on individual character, which is also the only reliable guarantee of social security and national progress. John Stuart Mill was not mistaken when he said: "As long as individuality remains, even tyranny will not lead to the worst outcome. And suppressing individuality itself is tyranny, no matter what you call it." P3-5