励志书中一直强调家庭，友情，亲密爱情生活的重要性，所有这些也正是幸福快乐的源泉。下面小编整理了英语励志勇敢美文摘抄，希望大家喜欢!

英语励志勇敢美文摘抄

Matisse and the Music of Discontent 马蒂斯和永不满足的音乐

By Andre Kostelanetz

On Easter Sunday, 1945, the last year of the war, my wife and I were in Marseilles. We had just arrived for four days’ rest, after a tour of entertaining the troops in Burma. It was a wonderful morning, sparkling but not too warm. There were no tourists, of course, and we decided to drive along the Riviera to Vence and call on Matisse. We had never met the painter, but we knew well his son Pierre in New York.

We found Matisse living in a small house, with a magnificent, sweeping view beyond his vegetable garden. In one room, there was a cage with a lot of fluttering birds. The place was covered with paintings, most of them obviously new ones. I marveled at his production, and I asked him, “What is your inspiration?”

“I grow artichokes,” he said. His eyes smiled at my surprise and he went on to explain: “Every morning, I go into the garden and watch these plants. I see the play of light and shade on the leaves, and I discover new combinations of colors and fantastic patterns. I study them. They inspire me. Then I go back into the studio and paint.”

This struck me forcefully. Here was perhaps the world’s most celebrated living painter. He was approaching 80, and I would have thought that he had seen every combination of light and shade imaginable. Yet every day he got fresh inspiration from the sunlight on an artichoke; it seemed to charge the delicate dynamo of his genius with an effervescent energy almost inexhaustible.

I wondered what might have happened if Matisse had never taken that morning stroll in the garden. But such a withdrawal is not in his character. Sometimes a man builds a wall around himself, shutting out the light. Not Matisse. He goes out to meet the world, discovers it and seems to soak up the discoveries in his very pores.

In such a process, man inhales the chemicals of inspiration, so to speak. As a musician, inspiration is vital to me, but I find it hard to define what it is. It is more than just drinking in a view or being in love. It is, I think, a sense of discovery, a keen appetite for something new. There goes with it a certain amount of discipline, of control, coupled with a reluctance to accept a rigid, preconceived pattern. Someone has described this whole feeling as a divine discontent.

The source of this capacity for thrilling, explanatory wonder at life rests, I believe, above man himself in something supreme. I sense this in regarding nature, which stimulates me in all my creative work.

There are a host of things about the universe which I do not clearly understand, any more than I can understand, for example, the technicalities of the process by which we can be heard and seen in this new dimension, the miraculous television screen.

Such finite things as these inventions were inconceivable mysteries a few years ago. The reason for life may be obscure to me, but that is no cause to doubt that the reason is there. Like Matisse with his artichoke, I can regard the infinite number of lights and shades of a piece of music and know that this is true.

英语励志勇敢美文摘抄鉴赏

排水管的启示

Inspiration from a Drainpipe

排水管的启示

By Mrs. John G. Lee

约翰.G.李夫人

I think the most profound influence in my life was my father. He was an inventor and a scientist with a most inquisitive mind. He loved and was greatly stimulated by the beauty and the design he found in nature.

我想在我一生中，父亲对我的影响最大。他是一位发明家和科学家，对任何事物都充满好奇。他热爱他在自然中发现的美和图案，并从中获得极大的启示。

He believed in people and was himself a completely honest person. His sense of humor was keen though kindly and his energy was inexhaustible. Once he was asked how he got the idea for the Maxim Silencer.

他相信人，自己也是个十分诚实的人。他的幽默尽管有时让人感到尖刻，但却是善意的;他的精力十分旺盛。一次，有人问他怎么想到马克西姆消音器这个点子。

He answered, "By watching the way water behaved when it went down a drain." This simple statement opened up for me a whole realm of ideas which led to a firm belief that human intelligence need recognize no bounds; that through the use of our intelligence we will move progressively closer to an understanding of man and of the universe around us; that this knowledge will bring a closer harmony between man and his surroundings; and that this way lies the chance to make the world a better place to live in.

他回答说，“是观察水在排水管中流动的方式得到的启发。”这句简单的话开启了我的心智，使我坚信人类的智慧无穷无尽;运用我们的智慧，我们将逐步深入了解人类和我们周围的宇宙;这种知识将使人类和他们生活的环境更加和谐地相处;只有这样，我们才有机会使人类生活的世界更美好。

Then I remember sitting with him on the deck of his boat one night in early September.

我还记得九月初的一天晚上，我和父亲坐在他的小船甲板上。

We were anchored in a secluded cove. The breeze was light and very salty. We could hear across a little strip of land the pounding of the surf.

船停靠在一个幽僻的小湾里。阵阵微风吹过，带着咸味。一小条狭长陆地那边传来浪花拍岸的声音。

The stars were brilliant and every now and then a shooting star would streak across the sky. He was deeply interested in astronomy and he led my mind into unforgettable population as we explored the grandeur of that night.

星星明亮，不时会有一颗流星划过夜空。父亲对天文学深感兴趣，当我们探讨那天晚上壮丽的夜色时，他引导着我思索，那种思索令我永远不能忘怀。

I think from this I came to understand that there must be law and order in our universe. There is design. Man can observe, he can learn to understand, he can apply. The secret is to apply in the interests of the common good; not for one or for a few; not to destroy but to build for all peoples.

我想正是从那时起我开始懂得在我们的宇宙里必须有法律和秩序。一切都安排好了。人类能够观察，能够学会理解事物并运用所学的知识，奥秘就在于运用知识是为了所有的人的利益，而不是为了某一个人或几个人，不是为了毁灭而是为了所有人而建设。

My mother and father each had an acute social conscience. They believed that because good fortune had endowed them with better than average opportunity, they had a duty to perform in their communities.

我的父母都有强烈的社会责任感。他们认为他们有责任在自己的群体中履行自己的职责，因为好运给了他们比一般人更多的机会。

From this no doubt came my own conviction that I must give more than I receive and that a satisfactory life must be measured by its usefulness to others.

我自己的信仰也正是来自于此，我应该更多地给予而不是领受，令人满意的人生必须通过你是否对他人有用来衡量。

I remember the excitement engendered by the conversation in our home. All kinds of ideas were explored; all sorts of prejudices were challenged; penetrating minds were brought to bear on every problem of the day.

我还记得在我家里的谈话所带来的兴奋和激动。各种观点都得到探讨;各种偏见都受到质疑;深邃的思想几乎触及当代所有的问题。

I learned that each one of us has a right to his own beliefs, that prejudice perverts truth and that violence in the long run gains us nothing. From this understanding I moved into the belief that people everywhere must learn how to work together for the common purpose of the betterment of mankind.

我明白我们都一个人都有权利拥有自己的信仰，偏见会歪曲真理，从长远的观点看来，暴力会使我们一无所获。正是基于这样的认识，我开始相信世界各地的人们必须学会如何团结起来，为了人类更美好的明天这一共同目标而奋斗。

I believe one of the greatest ideas of all times, one that is a compelling moral force, is the concept of the dignity and worth of the human individual. From this idea there develops a sense of devotion to the common good.

我相信所有时代最伟大的观念之一，即最令人信服的道德力量就是个人的尊严和价值。为了共同利益而奉献的精神就来自于这种观念。

I believe that if we pull these rather simple but fundamental things together and tie them up with honesty and truth, there are no visible limits to the heights to which mankind can rise.

我相信如果我们把这些看似简单但却十分重要的观念集中起来，用诚实和真理把它们连在一起，人类将会登上一个又一个高峰。

英语励志勇敢美文摘抄赏析

The Only Way to Make a Friend

交友的唯一方式

By HERBERT H. LEHMAN

赫伯特·H·莱曼

SO MANY THINGS affect a man’s philosophy and his life that I find it difficult to put into words my personal beliefs. I hesitate to speak of them publicly for fear of giving the appearance of preaching.

许多事情会影响一个人的人生哲学和生活，因此我觉得难以用言语来陈述我的信仰。我踌躇着，不愿在公众面前提到我的信仰，担心会因此留给我说教的印象。

Two convictions, however, I believe have more than any others influenced my thinking both in private and in public life.

然而，我相信有两条信念无论是在公共或是私人生活方面对我产生了深刻的影响。

First, commonplace as it may sound, I am convinced that what we get out of life is in direct proportion to what we put into it. Second, I must respect the opinions of others even if I disagree with them.

第一条，它可能听起来像老生常谈，我相信我们对生活付出多少，就会收获多少。第二条，即使我和他人意见不同，我仍然应该尊重他们的观点。

Throughout my long and rather busy career I have always held firmly to the belief that I owe life as much as it owes to me. If that philosophy is sound, and I believe it is, it applies, I hope, to all of my activities—to my home, to my daily work, to my polities, and above all things to my relationships to others.

在我漫长而忙碌的一生中，我始终坚守一个信念：我对生活付出多少，就会收获多少。如果这种人生哲学是正确的，我也相信如此，那么我希望它能适用于我的一切活动——我的家庭，我的日常工作，我的政治活动，尤其是我和他人的关系。

Life is not a one-way street. What I do, what I say, even what I thank, inevitably has a direct effect on my relationships with others. I am certain that in the degree that my attitude towards others has given convincing proof of loyalty, sincerity, honesty, courtesy and fairness, I have encouraged in others the same attitude towards me. Respect begets respect, suspicion begets suspicion, hate begets hate. It has been well said that “The only way to have a friend is to be one.”

生活并不是单行道。我的行为、我的言谈，甚至我的想法都不可避免地会直接影响我和他人的关系。我确信我对他人的态度表明了多少我的忠诚、真挚、诚实、谦恭和公正，我也鼓励他人以同样的态度对待我。尊重他人必被人尊重，怀疑他人必被人怀疑，嫉恨他人必遭人嫉恨。人们常说：“交友的唯一方式就是做他人的朋友。”

None of the blessings of our great American heritage of civil liberties is self-executing. To make effective such things as brotherhood, kindliness, sympathy, human decency, the freedom of opportunity, the very preciousness of life—to make these things real requires respect and constant vigilance. This is the core of my American Faith.

我们美国公民自由的伟大传统中没有任何一项是自动生效的。要使诸如兄弟情谊、仁慈、同情、人类的行为准则、机会自由以及生命的珍贵等生效——要使这些成为现实，就需要尊重和常备不懈。这就是我的美国信仰之核心。

As I have said, I believe I must help to safeguard to all men free expression of their views even though I may be in disagreement with them. I must listen to and study responsible views; sometimes I will learn much from them. No individual and no nation has a monopoly of wisdom or talent. When an individual or a nation becomes self-satisfied or complacent, it is time, I believe, to be deeply concerned. He who closes his ears to the views of others shows little confidence in the integrity of his own views.

正如我所说过的，我认为我必须帮助所有人捍卫他们的言论自由，即使我和他们意见不同。我必须倾听并研究责任重大的观点;有时我会从中学到很多。任何个人或国家都无法独享智慧或才能。一个人或一个国家开始骄傲自满之日，我想，便是它令人深感忧虑之时。对他人的观点置若罔闻的人事实上是对他们自己观点的完整性缺乏信心。

There can be no question with regard to the inherent rights of Americans to enjoy equal economic opportunity in every field, to secure decent living conditions, adequate provision for the moral and spiritual development of their children, and free association with their fellow men as equals under the law and equals in the sight of God. These rights can be safeguarded and advanced only where men may think and speak freely.

毫无疑问，美国人与生俱来的权利是在一切领域享有平等的机会谋取自身的利益、获得适当的生活条件、足够的经济实力培养孩子的道德和精神、享有在法律和上帝面前平等的身份与同胞自由地交往。只有当人们能自由地思考和发表自己的见解时，这些权利才能够得到捍卫和发展。

I reject a fundamental principle of democracy if I seek to prevent a fellow citizen of different background from fully expressing his thoughts on any subject. I have tried to express a few of my own thoughts on this subject which is very close to me. I think that we will have good reason for optimism about the future of the American ideal as long as men can and will say, without fear, what they believe.

如果我试图阻止一个具备不同背景的公民就任何话题自由地发表自己的观点，那就违背了民主的根本准则。我已经对与我密切相关的问题表达了自己的一些见解。我想我们理应乐观地看待美国理的未来，只要人们能够并将无所畏惧地说出他们的信仰。

HERBERT H. LEHMAN has had a long and distinguished career in business and public life. For thirty years after his graduation from Williams College in 1899 he engaged in commercial, industrial, and banking activities. In 1928 he was elected Lieutenant Governor of New York, serving for four years. He was elected Governor and served ten years.

赫伯特·H·莱曼在商业和公共事务领域久负盛名。他1899年毕业于威廉姆斯学院，三十年来一直致力于商业、工业和银行事务。1928年他当选为纽约代理州长，任期四年。随后，当选为州长并任职十年。

In 1943 he was chosen Director General of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration by the unanimous vote forty-four nations. This organization dispensed over three and a half billion dollars and saved millions of people from starvation. Decorated by many foreign governments for his services to humanity, he also holds the Distinguished Service Medal.

1943年经过四十四个国家一致投票通过，他当选为联合国善后救济总署署长。该组织发放三十五亿五千万美元，使成千上万的人免受饥饿之苦。许多外国政府因为他对人类的贡献授予他荣誉勋章，他还获得服役优异勋章。

In 1949 he was elected United States Senator from New York to fill the unexpired term of Senator Robert F. Wagner, and in 1950 was re-elected for a full six-year term.

1949年他当选为纽约的美国参议员，履行任期未满的参议员罗伯特·费迪南德·瓦格纳的职务，1950年重新当选，任期六年。