TheDailyMiracle
阿諾德·貝內特/ArnoldBennett
「Yes,he』soneofthosementhatdon』tknowhowtomanage.Goodsituation.Regularincome.Quiteenoughforluxuriesaswellasneeds.Notreallyextravagant.Andyetthefellow』salwaysindifficulties.Somehowhegetsnothingoutofhismoney.Excellentflat—halfempty!Alwayslooksasifhe'dhadthebrokersin.Newsuit—oldhat!Magnificentnecktie—baggytrousers!Asksyoutodinner:cutglass—badmutton,orTurkishcoffee—crackedcup!Hecan』tunderstandit.Explanationsimplyisthathefrittershisincomeaway.WishIhadthehalfofit!I'dshowhim—」
Sowehavemostofuscriticised,atonetimeoranother,inoursuperiorway.
Wearenearlyallchancellorsoftheexchequer:itistheprideofthemoment.Newspapersarefullofarticlesexplaininghowtoliveonsuch-and-suchasumandthesearticlesprovokeacorrespondencewhoseviolenceprovestheinteresttheyexcite.Recently,inadailyorgan,abattleragedroundthequestionwhetherawomancanexistnicelyinthecountryonL85ayear.Ihaveseenanessay,「Howtoliveoneightshillingsaweek.」ButIhaveneverseenanessay,「Howtoliveontwenty-fourhoursaday.」Yetithasbeensaidthattimeismoney.Thatproverbunderstatesthecase.Timeisagreatdealmorethanmoney.Ifyouhavetimeyoucanobtainmoney—usually.Butthoughyouhavethewealthofacloak-roomattendantattheCarltonHotel,youcannotbuyyourselfaminutemoretimethanIhave,orthecatbythefirehas.
Philosophershaveexplainedspace.Theyhavenotexplainedtime.Itistheinexplicablerawmaterialofeverything.Withit,allispossible;withoutit,nothing.Thesupplyoftimeistrulyadailymiracle,anaffairgenuinelyastonishingwhenoneexaminesit.Youwakeupinthemorning,andyourpurseismagicallyfilledwithtwenty-fourhoursoftheunmanufacturedtissueoftheuniverseofyourlife!Itisyours.Itisthemostpreciousofpossessions.Ahighlysingularcommodity,showereduponyouinamannerassingularasthecommodityitself!
Forremark!Noonecantakeitfromyou.Itisunstealable.Andnoonereceiveseithermoreorlessthanyoureceive.
Talkaboutanidealdemocracy!Intherealmoftimethereisnoaristocracyofwealth,andnoaristocracyofintellect.Geniusisneverrewardedbyevenanextrahouraday.Andthereisnopunishment.Wasteyourinfinitelypreciouscommodityasmuchasyouwill,andthesupplywillneverbewithheldfromyou.Momysteriouspowerwillsay:—「Thismanisafool,ifnotaknave.Hedoesnotdeservetime;heshallbecutoffatthemeter.」Itismorecertainthanconsols,andpaymentofincomeisnotaffectedbySundays.Moreover,youcannotdrawonthefuture.Impossibletogetintodebt!Youcanonlywastethepassingmoment.Youcannotwastetomorrow;itiskeptforyou.Youcannotwastethenexthour;itiskeptforyou.
Isaidtheaffairwasamiracle.Isitnot?
Youhavetoliveonthistwenty-fourhoursofdailytime.Outofityouhavetospinhealth,pleasure,money,content,respect,andtheevolutionofyourimmortalsoul.Itsrightuse,itsmosteffectiveuse,isamatterofthehighesturgencyandofthemostthrillingactuality.Alldependsonthat.Yourhappiness—theelusiveprizethatyouareallclutchingfor,myfriends!—dependsonthat.Strangethatthenewspapers,soenterprisingandup-to-dateastheyare,arenotfullof「Howtoliveonagivenincomeoftime」insteadof「Howtoliveonagivenincomeofmoney」!Moneyisfarcommonerthantime.Whenonereflects,oneperceivesthatmoneyisjustaboutthecommonestthingthereis.Itencumberstheearthingrossheaps.