THE SUPREME MOMENT

 “But Leonardo,” says one writing upon the genius of the incomparable da Vinci, “will never work till the happy moment comes—that moment of bien-etre (feeling just fit) which to imaginative men is a moment of invention. On this moment he waits; other moments are but a preparation or after-taste of it.”

 

There are two kinds of work to be done in the world, which may be called routine work and creative work.

 

By routine work we mean the tending of machines, the discharge of office duties, and the maintenance of the ordinary; which includes care of engines, ploughing, housework, answering letters and keeping accounts, 72 tending the sick, digging mines, building bridges, and the like. All these—and the lives of all of us comprise such functions—are to be done whether we feel like it or not. The trombone-player in the band must go on, though his heart is lead. The servant must sweep the floors, no matter how the listless Spring has got into her blood. And the doctor must make his calls, the policeman walk his beat, and the elevator-boy run his car, for they are cogs in the social wheel.

 

By creative work we mean the writing of stories, the composition of music, the painting of pictures, the modelling of statues, the singing of songs, and doings of such quality.

 

These acts should await the supreme¹ moment. Leonardo used to rush clear across Milan, when he was engaged in painting “The Last Supper” in the little out-of-the-way 73 church of S. M. delle Grazie, just to make three or four strokes with his brush, to add a touch that had occurred to him. That is one reason why the picture, now faded, is yet epochal in art.

 

One trouble with story magazines is that they are issued regularly. The ideal publication would appear “every little while.” One does claim to, but it is a fraud, for it is a regular monthly.

 

What a blessing² if nobody wrote a story unless he had a story to write; if no parson preached unless the fire burned within him; if nobody made a political speech unless he were as white-hot as Patrick Henry when he gave his “Liberty or death” oration³; if nobody played the piano or gave forth⁴ a song unless the compelling inspiration were there; if nobody built a house except to realize a beautiful dream, nor painted a picture 74 except to grasp and fix an entrancing vision.

 

Creative work is the scarcest in the world. And the most underpaid. And the amount of hard work a man puts upon a thing is no gauge⁵ of its value—often quite the contrary—for it is the same shrewd Leonardo who observed, Quante piu un’ arte porte seco fatica di corpo, tanto piu e vile⁶, or “The more bodily fatigue⁷ goes into a work of art, the viler⁸ it is.”

 

Men must work. In the forepart of the Scriptures⁹ it is laid down that “in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread,” and such labor¹⁰ perhaps will always be the most part of the world’s work.

 

But in the latter part of the Scriptures it is said that “man shall not live by bread alone,” and that sustenance¹¹ other than bread, that diviner food that sustains souls, 75 and the ghost-wine that cheers them, is not produced by sweating labor at all, should not be called work, but is a sort of glorious PLAY.

 

Art, craftsmanship¹², inspiration—no one can work at such things; they are essentially¹³ play, the joy (and not work, the pain) of self-forthputting.

 

And one supreme moment is worth a lifetime.

1 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

2 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

3 oration   

n.演说，致辞，叙述法

参考例句：

• He delivered an oration on the decline of family values.他发表了有关家庭价值观的衰退的演说。
• He was asked to deliver an oration at the meeting.他被邀请在会议上发表演说。

4 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

5 gauge   

v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器

参考例句：

• Can you gauge what her reaction is likely to be?你能揣测她的反应可能是什么吗？
• It's difficult to gauge one's character.要判断一个人的品格是很困难的。

6 vile   

adj.卑鄙的，可耻的，邪恶的；坏透的

参考例句：

• Who could have carried out such a vile attack?会是谁发起这么卑鄙的攻击呢？
• Her talk was full of vile curses.她的话里充满着恶毒的咒骂。

7 fatigue   

n.疲劳，劳累

参考例句：

• The old lady can't bear the fatigue of a long journey.这位老妇人不能忍受长途旅行的疲劳。
• I have got over my weakness and fatigue.我已从虚弱和疲劳中恢复过来了。

8 viler   

adj.卑鄙的( vile的比较级 )；可耻的；极坏的；非常讨厌的

参考例句：

• Ever viler screamsshot forth, cutting through my head like cold, sharp blades. 是那尖啸，像冰冷的，锋利的刀一样穿过我的头脑。 来自互联网

9 scriptures   

经文，圣典( scripture的名词复数 )； 经典

参考例句：

• Here the apostle Peter affirms his belief that the Scriptures are 'inspired'. 使徒彼得在此表达了他相信《圣经》是通过默感写成的。
• You won't find this moral precept in the scriptures. 你在《圣经》中找不到这种道德规范。

10 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

11 sustenance   

n.食物，粮食；生活资料；生计

参考例句：

• We derive our sustenance from the land.我们从土地获取食物。
• The urban homeless are often in desperate need of sustenance.城市里无家可归的人极其需要食物来维持生命。

12 craftsmanship   

n.手艺

参考例句：

• The whole house is a monument to her craftsmanship. 那整座房子是她技艺的一座丰碑。
• We admired the superb craftsmanship of the furniture. 我们很欣赏这个家具的一流工艺。

13 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。