Tradition says that when Solomon received the gift of an emerald vase from the Queen of Sheba he filled it with an elixir which he only knew how to prepare， one drop of which would prolong life indefinitely. A dying criminal begged for a drop of the precious fluid， but Solomon refused to prolong a wicked life. When good men asked for it they were refused， or failed to obtain it when promised， as the king would forget or prefer not to open the vase to get but a single drop. When at last the king became ill， and bade his servants bring the vase， he found that the contents had all evaporated. So it is often with our hope， our faith， our ambition， our aspiration.
A man cannot aspire if he looks down. God has not created us with aspirations and longings for heights to which we cannot climb. Live upward. The unattained still beckons us toward the summit of life’s mountains， into the atmosphere where great souls live and breathe and have their being. Life should be lived in earnest. It is no idle game， no farce to amuse and be forgotten. It is a stern reality， fuller of duties than the sky of stars. You cannot have too much of that yearning which we call aspiration， for， even though you do not attain your ideal， the efforts you make will bring nothing but blessing.
To all will come a time when the love of glory will be seen to be but a splendid delusion， riches empty， rank vain， power dependent， and all outward advantages without inward peace a mere mockery of wretchedness. The wisest men have taken care to uproot selfish ambition from their breasts. Shakespeare considered it so near a vice as to need extenuating circumstances to make it a virtue.
Who has not noticed the power of love in an awkward， crabbed， shiftless， lazy man？ He becomes gentle， chaste in language， energetic. Love brings out the poetry in him. It is only an idea， a sentiment， and yet what magic it has brought. Nothing we can see has touched the man， yet he is entirely transformed.
But do not strive to reach impossible goals. It is wholly in your power to develop yourself， but not necessarily so to make yourself a king. How many Presidents of the United States or Prime Ministers of England are chosen within the working lifetime of a man？ What if a thousand young men resolve to become President or Prime Minister？ While such prizes are within your reach， remember that your will must be tremendous and your qualifications of the highest order， or you cannot hope to secure them. Too many are deluded by ambition beyond their power of attainment， or tortured by aspirations totally disproportionate to their capacity for execution. You may， indeed， confidently hope to become eminent in usefulness and power， but only as you build upon a broad foundation of self-culture； while， as a rule， specialists in ambition as in science are apt to become narrow and one-sided. Darwin was very fond of poetry and music when young， but after devoting his life to science， he was surprised to find Shakespeare tedious. He said that if he were to live his life again， he would read poetry and hear music every day， so as not to lose the power of appreciating such things.
Man never reaches heights above his habitual thought. It is not enough now and then to mount on wings of ecstasy into the infinite. We must habitually dwell there. The great man is he who abides easily on heights to which others rise occasionally and with difficulty. Don’t let the maxims of a low prudence daily dinned into your ears lower the tone of your high ambition or check your aspirations. Hope lifts us step by step up the mysterious ladder， the top of which no eye hath ever seen. Though we do not find what hope promised， yet we are stronger for the climbing， and we get a broader outlook upon life which repays the effort. Indeed， if we do not follow where hope beckons， we gradually slide down the ladder in despair. Strive ever to be at the top of your condition.
在聖赫勒拿，拿破侖曾對蒙托洛說：“亞曆山大、愷撒、查理曼還有我自己都曾建立帝國，但我們天賦的創造基於什麽之上？是武力。隻有耶穌基督在愛的基礎上建起了他的帝國，因而此刻有無數的人願為他而死。我將提早離開人世，而我的軀體也將回歸塵埃。這便是那個號稱‘偉大的拿破侖’的命運。在我深深的痛苦和耶穌基督永恒的帝國之間，有著怎樣的一道深淵啊！那永恒的帝國表明了，愛慕與崇敬可以遍布整個地球。”
傳說，所羅門（以色列國王）收到示巴女王所贈的翡翠瓶後，便在瓶內裝滿了隻有他自己才知道配方的長生不老藥，而這種藥隻需一滴便可無限地延長壽命。一個垂死的罪犯曾向他乞求一滴珍貴的靈藥，但所羅門拒絕了，他不願延長一個罪惡的生命。而好人去求靈藥時，或被拒絕，或得到允諾卻遲遲拿不到藥，因為國王總會忘記或根本不願打開瓶子，哪怕隻是一滴藥。最終國王病倒了，他吩咐仆人拿來翡翠瓶，發現裏麵的靈藥早已全部蒸發。所以說，所謂的靈藥通常都承載著我們的希望、信念、雄心和渴望。
一個垂頭喪氣的人無法擁有雄心壯誌。上帝創造我們時，並沒有給我們對於無法攀登的高度所需的熱望和期待。樂觀向上地生活，因為那些不曾得到的一切依然召喚著我們朝生命的巔峰前進，到偉大靈魂生活、呼吸、存在的地方去。生活就應該滿懷熱情。它不是懶惰的遊戲，也不是可以輕易忘卻的搞笑鬧劇，它是嚴肅的現實，滿載著比天上繁星更多的責任。你無法擁有太多的渴望，因為即使無法實現自己的理想，你的努力也不會付諸東流，而是會收獲祝福。
終有一天，我們都會明白：財富、地位、權勢等一切世間的浮華僅僅是過眼雲煙，如果無法得到內心的那份寧靜，一切外在的優勢也不過是其悲慘境遇的笑柄而已。睿智的人會將心中自私的野心斬草除根。莎士比亞認為，應采取措施將這近乎罪惡的野心轉變為一種美德。
當一個笨拙、暴戾、無能、懶惰的人滿懷愛的力量，誰會注意不到呢？他會變得舉止優雅、言語謙和、精力充沛。愛會激發出他內心的詩意。那或許隻是一個念頭、一種情感，但它起到了神奇的作用。我們並不知道是什麽影響了他，但他發生了翻天覆地的轉變。
然而，不要為了那些不切實際的目標而努力。的確，你有著巨大的潛能，但不能因此就想成為國王。在勞動生涯中被選為美國總統或英國首相的人又有幾個呢？就算有無數年輕人想成為總統或首相，那又怎樣？當你有能力爭取這些令人向往的榮譽時，切記：你必須非常傑出，而且必須擁有最高等級的資格，否則，你就沒有希望得到它們。太多的人都被他們能力之外的野心所迷惑，或深受無法實現的渴望的折磨。當然，你可以滿懷信心地在能力與權力方麵變得傑出，前提是你必須在自身修養上打好堅實的基礎。然而，那些專注於雄心的人和專注於科學的人，都容易變得狹隘、片麵。達爾文年輕時，非常喜愛詩歌與音樂，然而當他投身於科學後，卻驚訝地發現莎士比亞曾感受到的沉悶與無聊。他說，如果上天再給他一次生命，他會每天朗讀詩歌，聆聽音樂，以防失去欣賞這些美好事物的能力。
人永遠無法超越他慣有的思維水平。偶爾騎上狂想的翅膀，暢遊在無限的宇宙，是遠遠不夠的。我們必須習慣在那裏居住。偉人之所以成為偉人，是因為他們能毫不費力地堅守在別人艱難且偶爾才能到達的高度。不要讓膽小懦弱的座右銘終日徘徊在你的耳旁，它們會壓低你雄心壯誌的聲音或阻礙你的渴望。在希望的引導下，我們一步步踏上神秘的階梯，而這階梯的頂端卻不曾有人見過。雖然我們並沒有發現希望的任何承諾，但在攀登中變得更為強壯，同時拓寬了生活的視野，這也是努力所得的回報。的確，如果不曾跟隨希望的引導，我們就會在絕望的階梯上慢慢滑落。因此要不斷奮鬥，讓自己達到最佳狀態。
心靈小語