自传 本杰明.富兰克林\作
2012-04-11 09:56阅读：
给儿子
特文福特，圣.阿斯福教区，1771年
亲爱的儿子，
我一向爱好搜集祖上的奇闻轶事。你也许记得在英格兰的时候和我一起遍访我们还遗留的亲人以及为此目的我进行的旅行。设想一下你同样有可能想知道我的生活情形----好多方面你目前还不熟悉----你也想来我目前归隐的乡间住所来一次不受干扰的造访，我坐下来为你写它们。再说，还有一些其他原因激励我从事这项工作。我生于一个贫困的家庭，一名不文，我的早年就是那样度过，而今我终于在这个世界上有了些财富和名声。既然一直到后来我都是好运连连，我的后代也许想知道我都使用了那些手段，而那些手段感谢上帝我是屡试不爽。也许当他们处于相同的境地也想加以效仿。
那些好运，当我加以反思，通常情况下是这样，使得我有时候想说，如果让我重新选择生活，我到不反对把它们从头到尾搬演一次，仅仅要求自己有作者那种二版时修正第一版书的错误的权利。我还希望改掉一些小瑕疵以便其他人更加喜欢。哪怕这种情形被否决，我仍然欣然接受。但是既然这种搬演不可能，就像任何人的生命都不可能重来一样，那就只有回忆一下当时情形，并且为了尽量使这种回忆保持的持久一些，那就是把它们写下来。
在从事这工作时我可能会服从于老人天然的倾向只是唠叨自己和自己的成功，而且纵容它，为了不让别人因尊重我的年龄硬着头皮听而心烦，写下来还有个好处就是不想看就可以扔在一边。最后（我最好还是承认，因为否认也没人会相信）写它也不能不是出于自己小小的虚荣。真的，我还从没听说或见过那个人不是一大段,“我说这话绝不是出于虚荣，”之类开场白后，接着虚荣就来了。大多数人不喜欢别人虚荣但对自己在其中占多大份额一无所知，但当我碰到它却能公平待它。我就这样说服自己：虚荣对于它的拥有者和别人都不是一件坏事，只要控制在它自己划定的范围内。因此，大多数情况下一点不算荒唐如果一个人因为有了他虚荣这个生命小小的安慰而感谢上帝。
现在说到感
谢上帝，我就渴望十分谦卑地承认，我把生命中过去所有的幸福都归功于他神圣的赐予。我的这一信念使得我去希望而不是臆断这同样的赐福无论我是身处幸福还是逆境都会和我相伴，这点我和其他人有同感----我未来的命运只有上帝知道，而且也只有他有能力祝福我们即便我们身处厄运。
【附英文】
Autobiography
To HIs Son
Twyford, at the Bishop of St. Asaph's,
1771
DEAR SON,
I HAVE ever had pleasure in obtaining any little
anecdotes of my ancestors. You may remember the inquiries I
made among the remains of my relations when you were with me in
England, and the journey I undertook for that purpose.
Imagining it may be equally agreeable to some of you to know the
circumstances of my life, many of which you are yet unacquainted
with, and expecting the enjoyment of a week's uninterrupted leisure
in my present country retirement, I sit down to write them for you.
To which I have besides some other inducements.
Having emerged from the poverty and obscurity in which I was born
and bred, to a state of affluence and some degree of reputation in
the world, and having gone so far through life with a considerable
share of felicity, the conducing means I made use of, which with
the blessing of God so well succeeded, my posterity may like to
know, as they may find some of them suitable to their own
situations, and therefore fit to be imitated.
That felicity, when I reflected on it, has induced
me sometimes to say, that were it offered to my choice, I should
have no objection to a repetition of the same life from its
beginning, only asking the advantages authors have in a
second edition to correct some faults of the first. So I
might, besides correcting the faults, change some sinister
accidents and events of it for others more favorable. But
though this were denied, I should still accept the offer.
Since such a repetition is not to be expected, the next thing most
like living one's life over again seems to be a recollection
of that life, and to make that recollection as durable as possible
by putting it down in writing.
Hereby, too, I shall indulge the inclination so
natural in old men, to be talking of themselves and their own past
actions; and I shall indulge it without being tiresome to others,
who, through respect to age, might conceive themselves obliged to
give me a hearing, since this may be read or not as any one
pleases. And, lastly (I may as well confess it, since my
denial of it will be believed by nobody), perhaps I shall a good
deal gratify my own vanity. Indeed, I scarce ever heard or
saw the introductory words, 'Without vanity I may say,' &c.,
but some vain thing immediately followed. Most people
dislike vanity in others, whatever share they have of it
themselves; but I give it fair quarter wherever I meet with it,
being persuaded that it is often productive of good to the
possessor, and to others that are within his sphere of
action; and therefore, in many cases, it would not be
altogether absurd if a man were to thank God for his vanity among
the other comforts of life.
And now I speak of thanking God, I desire with all
humility to acknowledge that I owe the mentioned happiness of my
past life to His kind providence, which lead me to the means I used
and gave them success. My belief of this induces me to
hope, though I must not presume, that the same goodness will still
be exercised toward me, in continuing that happiness, or enabling
me to bear a fatal reverse, which I may experience as others have
done: the complexion of my future fortune being known to
Him only in whose power it is to bless to us even our
afflictions.
文完
2008.8.27.
9：47分
