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Chapter 46 Literature and Art (11)
A cobbler passed his time in singing from morning till night, it was wonderful to see, wonderful to hear him. He was more contented making in shoes, than was any of the seven sages. His neighbor, on the contrary, who was rolling in wealth, sung but little and slept less. He was a banker, when by chance he fell into a doze at day-break, the cobbler awoke him with his song. Having at length sent for the songster, he said to him: “How much a year do you earn, master Gregory?" "How much a year, sir?" Said the merry cobbler laughing: "I never reckon in that way, living as I do from one day to another; somehow I manage to reach the end of the year, each day brings its meal.” “Well then! How much a day do you earn, my friend?” “Sometimes more, sometimes less, but the worst of it is, and, without that our earnings would be very tolerable, a number of days occur in the year on which we are forbidden to work, and the curate, moreover, is constantly adding some new saint to the list.”

The banker, laughing at his simplicity, said: “In the future I shall place you above want. Take this hundred crowns, preserve them carefully, and make use of them in time of need.” The cobbler fancied he beheld all the wealth which the earth had produced in the past century for the use of mankind. Returning home, he buried his money and his happiness at the same time, no more singing. He lost his voice, the moment he acquired that which is the source of so much grief. Sleep quitted his dwelling, and cares, suspicions, and false alarms took its place, all day, his eye wandered in the direction of his treasure; and at night, if some stray cat made a noise, the cat was robbing him. At length the poor man ran to the house of his rich neighbor: “give me back,” said he, “sleep and my voice, and take your hundred crowns.”

Vocabulary
cobbler ["k? bl?] n. cobbler, artisan, cold drink, crispy fruit pie

sage [seid? ] n. Saint, sage;
adj. wise, wise, prudent

Providence ["pr? vid? ns] n. Providence, foresight

tolerable ["t? l? r? bl] adj. tolerable, ok
Fancied ["f? nsid] adj. Utopian, fictional, beloved
dwelling ["dweli?] n. residence, apartment;

v. to live (the present participle of dwell)
Practice
The cobbler is so happy until he has money, why?

Translation
A cobbler sings from morning to night.It was a pleasure both to see him in person and to hear him sing.He is more satisfied with shoemaking than he is with the seven saints of ancient Greece.On the contrary, his neighbor is a banker with millions of dollars, but he seldom sings and doesn't sleep well at night.Occasionally he fell asleep in a daze at dawn, only to be awakened by the cobbler's singing and work.Later, the banker called someone to invite the singer and asked, "Master Gregory, how much do you earn a year?" "Sir, do you ask me how much I earn a year?" The happy cobbler smiled. Said: "I never calculate this account, I live day by day, all in all until the end of the year, earning three meals a day." "Ah, friend, how much money do you make a day?" "Sometimes a little more, sometimes A little less, but the worst part is that there are days of the year when we are not allowed to do business, and the vicar is always adding new names to the saints list, otherwise our income is not bad."

The banker was amused by the cobbler's straightforwardness, and he said: "I want you to have no worries about money from now on. You take this hundred coins, put them away carefully, and use them when you need them." The cobbler felt as if See all the wealth that the earth has produced for the needs of mankind over the past few hundred years.He returned home, buried the coins, and buried his happiness at the same time.He doesn't sing anymore, his voice is hoarse from the moment he gets the source of this pain.Sleep parted him, and in its place were worries, doubts, false alarms.During the day, his eyes were all on the direction where the coins were buried; at night, if a stray cat made a sound, he thought it was someone who was robbing him of his money.At last the poor cobbler ran to his rich neighbor's house and said, "Take back your hundred coins, and give me back my sleep and my singing."

Exercise
Why is the cobbler no longer happy when he has money?

Because he begin to worried about losses and cares, suspicions took away the happy.

19 What I Have Lived For
Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of humanity. These passions, like great winds, have blown me hither and thither, in a wayward course , over a deep ocean of anguish, reaching to the very verge of despair.
I have sought love, first, because it brings ecstasy—so great that I would often have sacrificed all the rest of my life for a few hours for this joy. I have sought it, next, because it relieves loneliness—that terrible loneliness in which one shivering consciousness looks over the rim of the world into the cold unfathomable lifeless abyss. I have sought it, finally, because in the union of love I have seen, in a mystic miniature, the prefiguring vision of the heaven that saints and poets have imagined. This is what I sought, and though it might seem too good for human life, this is what—at least—I have found.
With equal passion I have sought knowledge. I have wished to understand the hearts of men. I have wished to know why the stars shine. And I have tried to appreciate the Pythagorean power by which number holds sway above the flux. , but not much, I have achieved.
Love and knowledge, so far as they were possible, led upward toward the heavens. But always pity brought me back to earth. Echoes of cries of pain reverberate in my heart. Children in famine, victims tortured by oppressors, helpless old people a hated burden to their sons, and the whole world of loneliness, poverty, and pain make a mockery of what human life should be. I long to alleviate the evil, but I cannot, and I too suffer.
This has been my life. I have found it worth living, and would gladly live it again if the chance were offered me.
Vocabulary
passion ["p???n] n. Passion, enthusiasm, love, fury

overwhelmingly ["ov?" hwelmi? li] adv. Overwhelmingly, irresistibly
verge [v? :d? ] vi. On the verge of, close to, on the edge of;

n. edge
ecstasy ["ekst? si] n. Fascinated, ecstasy, ecstasy
shivering ["?iv?ri?] n. trembling, small pieces;
adj. Trembling;
v. Trembling
unfathomable [? n"f? e? m? bl] adj. Unfathomable, bottomless, unfathomable

abyss [? "bis] n. abyss, deep, bottomless pit

miniature ["mini? t??] adj. miniature, small-scale;

n. thumbnail
apprehend ["?pri"hend] comprehend, comprehend, understand, understand, know
echo ["ek? u] vt. repeat, reflection;
vi. to echo;

n. echo, imitate

(End of this chapter)