原文

翻開辭典，“自”字下排列著數目可觀的成語，這些“自”字多指自己而言。這中間包括著一大堆哲學，一大堆道德，一大堆詩文和廢話，一大堆人，一大堆我，一大堆悲喜劇。自己“真乃天下第一英雄好漢”，有這么些可說的，值得說值不得說的！難怪紐約電話公司研究電話里最常用的字，在五百次通話中會發現三千九百九十次的“我”。這“我”字便是自己稱自己的聲音，自己給自己的名兒。

自愛自憐！真是天下第一英雄好漢也難免的，何況區區尋常人！冷眼看去，也許只覺得那枉自尊大狂妄得可笑；可是這只見了真理的一半兒。掉過臉兒來，自愛自憐確也有不得不自愛自憐的。幼小時候有父母愛憐你，特別是有母親愛憐你。到了長大成人，“娶了媳婦兒忘了娘”，娘這樣看時就不必再愛憐你，至少不必再像當年那樣愛憐你。——女的呢，“嫁出門的女兒，潑出門的水”；做母親的雖然未必這樣看，可是形格勢禁而且鞭長莫及，就是愛憐得著，也只算找補點罷了。愛人該愛憐你？然而愛人們的嘴一例是甜蜜的，誰能說“你泥中有我，我泥中有你！”真有那么回事兒？趕到愛人變了太太，再生了孩子，你算成了家，太太得管家管孩子，更不能一心兒愛憐你。你有時候會病，“久病床前無孝子”，太太怕也夠倦的，夠煩的。住醫院？好，假如有運氣住到像當年北平協和醫院樣的醫院里去，倒是比家里強得多。但是護士們看護你，是服務，是工作；也許夾上點兒愛憐在里頭，那是“好生之德”，不是愛憐你，是愛憐“人類”。——你又不能老呆在家里，一離開家，怎么著也算“作客”；那時候更沒有愛憐你的。可以有朋友招呼你；但朋友也有朋友的事兒，那能教他將心常放在你身上？可以有屬員或仆役伺候你，那——說得上是愛憐么？總而言之，天下第一愛憐自己的，只有自己；自愛自憐的道理就在這兒。

再說，“大丈夫不受人憐。”窮有窮干，苦有苦干；世界那么大，憑自己的身手，哪兒就打不開一條路？何必老是向人愁眉苦臉唉聲嘆氣的！愁眉苦臉不順耳，別人會來愛憐你？自己免不了傷心的事兒，咬緊牙關忍著，等些日子，等些年月，會平靜下去的。說說也無妨，只別不揀時候不看地方老是向人叨叨，叨叨得誰也不耐煩的岔開你或者躲開你。也別怨天怨地將一大堆感嘆的句子向人身上扔過去。你怨的是天地，倒礙不著別人，只怕別人奇怪你的火氣怎么這樣大。——自己也免不了吃別人的虧。值不得計較的，不做聲吞下肚去。出入大的想法子復仇，力量不夠，臥薪嘗膽地準備著。可別這兒那兒盡嚷嚷——嚷嚷完了一扔開，倒便宜了那欺負你的人。“好漢胳膊折了往袖子里藏”，為的是不在人面前露怯相，要人愛憐這“苦人兒”似的，這是要強，不是裝。說也怪，不受人憐的人倒是能得人憐的人；要強的人總是最能自愛自憐的人。

大丈夫也罷，小丈夫也罷，自己其實是渺乎其小的，整個兒人類只是一個小圓球上一些碳水化合物，像現代一位哲學家說的，別提一個人的自己了。莊子所謂馬體一毛，其實還是放大了看的。英國有一家報紙登過一幅漫畫，畫著一個人，仿佛在一間鋪子里，周遭陳列著從他身體里分析出來的各種元素，每種表明分量和價目，總數是五先令——那時合七元錢。現在物價漲了，怕要合國幣一千元了罷？然而，個人的自己也就值區區這一千元兒！自己這般渺小，不自愛自憐著點又怎么著！然而，“頂天立地”的是自己，“天地與我并生，萬物與我為一”的也是自己；有你說這些大處只是好聽的話語，好看的文句？你能愣說這樣的自己沒有！有這么的自己，豈不更值得自愛自憐的？再說自己的擴大，在一個尋常人的生活里也可見出。且先從小處看。小孩子就愛搜集各國的郵票，正是在擴大自己的世界。從前有人勸學世界語，說是可以和各國人通信。你覺得這話幼稚可笑？可是這未嘗不是擴大自己的一個方向。再說這回抗戰，許多人都走過了若干地方，增長了若干閱歷。特別是青年人身上，你一眼就看出來，他們是和抗戰前不同了，他們的自己擴大了。——這樣看，自己的小，自己的大，自己的由小而大。在自己都是好的。

自己都覺得自己好，不錯；可是自己的確也都愛好。做官的都愛做好官，不過往往只知道愛做自己家里人的好官，自己親戚朋友的好官；這種好官往往是自己國家的貪官污吏。做盜賊的也都愛做好盜賊——好嘍啰，好伙伴，好頭兒，可都只在賊窩里。有大好，有小好，有好得這樣壞。自己關閉在自己的丁點大的世界里，往往越愛好越壞。所以非擴大自己不可。但是擴大自己得一圈兒一圈兒的，得充實，得踏實。別像肥皂泡兒，一大就裂。“大丈夫能屈能伸”，該屈的得屈點兒，別只顧伸出自己去。也得估計自己的力量。力量不夠的話，“人一能之，己百之，人十能之，己千之”；得寸是寸，得尺是尺。總之路是有的。看得遠，想得開，把得穩；自己是世界的時代的一環，別脫了節才真算好。力量怎樣微弱，可是是自己的。相信自己，靠自己，隨時隨地盡自己的一份兒往最好里做去，讓自己活得有意思，一時一刻一分一秒都有意思。這么著，自愛自憐才真是有道理的。

英譯

Searching in the dictionary, we will find a significant amount of idioms following the Chinese word“zi”, and the word“zi”in these Chinese idioms often means self. These idioms describe many philosophies and morals, numerous poetic prose and nonsense, heaps of people and selves, and a great number of tragedies and comedies. Since so many things meaningful or meaningless that we can say when speaking of ourselves; we, ourselves are truly the greatest heroes in the world. NYNEX carried out a research on the most popular word on the phone, and they found the word“I”emerged 3990 times in 500 phone calls. The word“I”is the sound we call ourselves, and it.s the name we give to ourselves.

Even the greatest hero in the world will love himself, let alone our ordinary people. Without much thinking, you may hold the view that the person who is self-regarding and self-pitying is unscrupulous and ridiculous, but you.re wrong. Thinking it over, you.ll know the reason why we.re self-regarding and self-pitying. When you are a child, your parents, especially your mother dote on you. When you grow up and marry a girl, you.ll escape from your mother; at this time, your mother thinks she doesn.t need to care about you anymore or at least care about so much. As for girls, just as the Chinese saying goes,“A daughter married is like the water poured”, you don.t belong to your parents anymore. Though the mother doesn.t think so, both the situation and distance are not favorable for her to make a difference. Even if your mother manages to give you love, it is very limited. Should your lover love and care about you? Lovers always speak sweet words,“I.m a part of you and you.re a part of me”, but who can tell me this is believable? Once your lover turns to be your wife and has a child, it means you have a family; at that time, your wife has to take care of the whole family and little time will be left for you. Sometimes you.ll fall ill, but just as the saying goes“the filial son will also lose his patience after having cared for his sick parents for a long time”, your wife will also get fed up with you. You.d like to go to hospital? Well, if you.re lucky enough to live in a hospital such as Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH), it.ll be fine. However, the nurse.s care and nursing for you are just her work, maybe a little love and pity are involved, but it.s her virtue in sparing life, not for you, but for humanity. And it.s impossible for you to stay at home all the time. Once you leave home, you are a guest for others; at that time, no one will love and pity on you. Of course, your friend will take care of you, but your friend has his own business to do, so he can not give his whole heart to you. Also subordinates or servants will wait on you, but do you think they love and pity on you from the heart? In a word, the one who cares for you the most in the world is yourself, and this is the reason why we.re self-regarding and self-pitying.

What.s more,“a real man will refuse what is offered”. Poor life can live in a poor way while bitter life lives in a bitter way. The world is so big, and we can blaze a trail relying on ourselves. There is no need for us to pull a long face, sigh and groan all the time. Would someone pity on you for your doleful face and distraught expression? Life is full of grief, and you should bite the bullet; some days later, you will find everything has cooled down. It.s just as well to talk about your trouble, but you should pay attention to the occasion. Because people may become impatient and avoid you. Moreover, you.d better not complain and throw a heap of exclamatory words to others. Of course, it.s none of others.business as you blame heaven and earth, but I.m afraid, people can.t tolerate your hot temper. Unavoidably, you will also suffer from this. Things that are unworthy of haggling over should be swallowed silently. But if things are in violation of your own principle, you should undergo self-imposed hardships to gather strength and nurse vengeance.Don.t be silly and yell around.After yelling you throw it behind, which just satisfies the one who bullies you.A man who breaks his arm hides it into his sleeve, for he doesn.t want others to discover his fear and throw pity on him. This shows his strong character rather than affectation. Oddly enough, the people who aren.t willing to accept others.pity can always get others.care and love.

No matter if you are a great man or an ordinary, we are very tiny, and the entire human race is just some carbohydrates on a small ball.One current philosopher once said,“don.t mention one human being”, which means the individual is nothing and negligible. Zhuangzi, a prime representative of Taoism in the 4th century B.C., thinks that human are just one hair of a horse, but in fact it is still amplified. A British newspaper once ran a cartoon: one person was in a pawnshop, and around him there are a variety of elements extracted from his body. With the volume and price of each element marked, the total value is five shillings, equaling seven RMB at that time. Prices have gone up, it probably equals one thousand RMB now. Since we are so tiny and insignificant, why don.t we love and care about ourselves? Besides, both“we of indomitable spirit stand upright between heaven and earth”and“heaven, Earth and I come into being together, and all things and I are one”describe our humankind; will you say those are just good words or beautiful diction for admiring our important role? Will you ignore our existence? Since we are so great and important, we deserve love and care. Then comes our growth. We can see improvement even in the daily lives of ordinary people. In the small aspect, children like collecting nations.stamps, which shows that they are enlarging their own fields. Formerly we were encouraged to learn Esperanto in order to communicate with others around the world. You may think it.s childish and ignorant, but it.s indeed a way to improve ourselves. Moreover, through this war of resistance against aggression, people have been to many places and attained some sophistication. Especially for the teenagers, before and after the war, the differences in them are very easy to see—they get improved. Small as we are, big as we are, we grow up from small to big, which in our own view are all gratifying.

It.s fine that we think ourselves good, and in fact we each intend to become a good person. Officials are all supposed to be good leaders, however, they only try to be good officials to their families, relatives and friends. Such officials are evils for their countries. Robbers intend to be good, such as good mobs, partners or leaders, but they must stay in their own circle. Great people want to be good; ordinary people want to be good, even bad people want to be good. If we just limit ourselves in a small circle, things will always go wrong when we try our best. Therefore, we must develop ourselves, ensure that we.re substantial and surefooted, and develop ourselves one circle by one circle. Don.t learn from soap bubble, it will burst once it becomes bigger. As the saying goes“the purest gold is the most ductile”, it.s necessary for us to learn to shrink rather than just stretch out. At the same time, we should take our strength into account. If we don.t have enough strength, we must try harder than others and accumulate strength one step at a time. Anyway, there.s always a road. We should look forward, be positive and steadfast. As we play an important role in the world, we.d better not detach from the world. No matter how weak our strength is, it still belongs to ourselves. We should believe in ourselves, depend on ourselves and try our best to do it well. Last but not the least, have fun each second. Only in this way, can self-regard and self-pity make sense.