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The Majesty of Calmness by William George Jordan, III. The Power of Personal Influence

III. The Power of Personal Influence

The only responsibility that a man cannot evade in this life is the one he thinks of least,--his personal influence. Man's conscious influence, when he is on dress-parade, when he is posing to impress those around him,--is woefully small. But his unconscious influence, the silent, subtle radiation of his personality, the effect of his words and acts, the trifles he never considers,--is tremendous. Every moment of life he is changing to a degree the life of the whole world. Every man has an atmosphere which is affecting every other. So silent and unconsciously is this influence working, that man may forget that it exists.

All the forces of Nature,--heat, light, electricity and gravitation,--are silent and invisible. We never see them; we only know that they exist by seeing the effects they produce. In all Nature the wonders of the "seen" are dwarfed into insignificance when compared with the majesty and glory of the "unseen." The great sun itself does not supply enough heat and light to sustain animal and vegetable life on the earth. We are dependent for nearly half of our light and heat upon the stars, and the greater part of this supply of life-giving energy comes from invisible stars, millions of miles from the earth. In a thousand ways Nature constantly seeks to lead men to a keener and deeper realization of the power and the wonder of the invisible.

Into the hands of every individual is given a marvellous power for good or for evil,--the silent, unconscious, unseen influence of his life. This is simply the constant radiation of what a man really is , not what he pretends to be. Every man, by his mere living, is radiating sympathy, or sorrow, or morbidness, or cynicism, or happiness, or hope, or any of a hundred other qualities. Life is a state of constant radiation and absorption; to exist is to radiate; to exist is to be the recipient of radiations.

There are men and women whose presence seems to radiate sunshine, cheer and optimism. You feel calmed and rested and restored in a moment to a new and stronger faith in humanity. There are others who focus in an instant all your latent distrust, morbidness and rebellion against life. Without knowing why, you chafe and fret in their presence. You lose your bearings on life and its problems. Your moral compass is disturbed and unsatisfactory. It is made untrue in an instant, as the magnetic needle of a ship is deflected when it passes near great mountains of iron ore.

There are men who float down the stream of life like icebergs,--cold, reserved, unapproachable and self-contained. In their presence you involuntarily draw your wraps closer around you, as you wonder who left the door open. These refrigerated human beings have a most depressing influence on all those who fall under the spell of their radiated chilliness. But there are other natures, warm, helpful, genial, who are like the Gulf Stream, following their own course, flowing undaunted and undismayed in the ocean of colder waters. Their presence brings warmth and life and the glow of sunshine, the joyous, stimulating breath of spring. There are men who are like malarious swamps,--poisonous, depressing and weakening by their very presence. They make heavy, oppressive and gloomy the atmosphere of their own homes; the sound of the children's play is stilled, the ripples of laughter are frozen by their presence. They go through life as if each day were a new big funeral, and they were always chief mourners. There are other men who seem like the ocean; they are constantly bracing, stimulating, giving new draughts of tonic life and strength by their very presence.

There are men who are insincere in heart, and that insincerity is radiated by their presence. They have a wondrous interest in your welfare,--when they need you. They put on a "property" smile so suddenly, when it serves their purpose, that it seems the smile must be connected with some electric button concealed in their clothes. Their voice has a simulated cordiality that long training may have made almost natural. But they never play their part absolutely true, the mask will slip down sometimes; their cleverness cannot teach their eyes the look of sterling honesty; they may deceive some people, but they cannot deceive all. There is a subtle power of revelation which makes us say: "Well, I cannot explain how it is, but I know that man is not honest." Man cannot escape for one moment from this radiation of his character, this constantly weakening or strengthening of others. He cannot evade the responsibility by saying it is an unconscious influence. He can select the qualities that he will permit to be radiated. He can cultivate sweetness, calmness, trust, generosity, truth, justice, loyalty, nobility,--make them vitally active in his character,--and by these qualities he will constantly affect the world.

Discouragement often comes to honest souls trying to live the best they can, in the thought that they are doing so little good in the world. Trifles unnoted by us may be links in the chain of some great purpose. In 1797, William Godwin wrote The Inquirer, a collection of revolutionary essays on morals and politics. This book influenced Thomas Malthus to write his Essay on Population, published in 1798. Malthus' book suggested to Charles Darwin a point of view upon which he devoted many years of his life, resulting, in 1859, in the publication of The Origin of Species,--the most influential book of the nineteenth century, a book that has revolutionized all science. These were but three links of influence extending over sixty years. It might be possible to trace this genealogy of influence back from Godwin, through generation and generation, to the word or act of some shepherd in early Britain, watching his flock upon the hills, living his quiet life, and dying with the thought that he had done nothing to help the world.

Men and women have duties to others,--and duties to themselves. In justice to ourselves we should refuse to live in an atmosphere that keeps us from living our best. If the fault be in us, we should master it. If it be the personal influence of others that, like a noxious vapor, kills our best impulses, we should remove from that influence,--if we can possibly move without forsaking duties. If it be wrong to move, then we should take strong doses of moral quinine to counteract the malaria of influence. It is not what those around us do for us that counts,--it is what they are to us. We carry our house-plants from one window to another to give them the proper heat, light, air and moisture. Should we not be at least as careful of ourselves?

To make our influence felt we must live our faith, we must practice what we believe. A magnet does not attract iron, as iron. It must first convert the iron into another magnet before it can attract it. It is useless for a parent to try to teach gentleness to her children when she herself is cross and irritable. The child who is told to be truthful and who hears a parent lie cleverly to escape some little social unpleasantness is not going to cling very zealously to truth. The parent's words say "don't lie," the influence of the parent's life says "do lie." No man can ever isolate himself to evade this constant power of influence, as no single corpuscle can rebel and escape from the general course of the blood. No individual is so insignificant as to be without influence. The changes in our varying moods are all recorded in the delicate barometers of the lives of others. We should ever let our influence filter through human love and sympathy. We should not be merely an influence,--we should be an inspiration. By our very presence we should be a tower of strength to the hungering human souls around us.


III. The Power of Personal Influence III. Síla osobního vlivu III. Die Macht des persönlichen Einflusses III. El poder de la influencia personal III. O poder da influência pessoal III. Сила личного влияния III.个人影响力的力量 III.个人影响力的力量

The only responsibility that a man cannot evade in this life is the one he thinks of least,--his personal influence. Jediná odpovědnost, které se člověk v tomto životě nemůže vyhnout, je ta, na kterou myslí nejméně – svůj osobní vliv. Man's conscious influence, when he is on dress-parade, when he is posing to impress those around him,--is woefully small. Vědomý vliv člověka, když je na přehlídce, když pózuje, aby zapůsobil na své okolí, je žalostně malý. Сознательное влияние человека, когда он дефилирует, когда он позирует, чтобы произвести впечатление на окружающих, прискорбно мало. But his unconscious influence, the silent, subtle radiation of his personality, the effect of his words and acts, the trifles he never considers,--is tremendous. Ale jeho nevědomý vliv, tiché, jemné vyzařování jeho osobnosti, účinek jeho slov a činů, maličkosti, o kterých nikdy neuvažuje, jsou ohromné. Но его бессознательное влияние, тихое, тонкое излучение его личности, действие его слов и поступков, мелочи, которые он никогда не учитывает, - огромны. Every moment of life he is changing to a degree the life of the whole world. Každý okamžik života mění do určité míry život celého světa. Every man has an atmosphere which is affecting every other. So silent and unconsciously is this influence working, that man may forget that it exists. Так тихо и бессознательно действует это влияние, что человек может забыть о его существовании.

All the forces of Nature,--heat, light, electricity and gravitation,--are silent and invisible. Все силы Природы — теплота, свет, электричество и гравитация — безмолвны и невидимы. We never see them; we only know that they exist by seeing the effects they produce. In all Nature the wonders of the "seen" are dwarfed into insignificance when compared with the majesty and glory of the "unseen." The great sun itself does not supply enough heat and light to sustain animal and vegetable life on the earth. We are dependent for nearly half of our light and heat upon the stars, and the greater part of this supply of life-giving energy comes from invisible stars, millions of miles from the earth. Почти половина нашего света и тепла зависит от звезд, и большая часть этого запаса живительной энергии исходит от невидимых звезд, находящихся в миллионах миль от Земли. In a thousand ways Nature constantly seeks to lead men to a keener and deeper realization of the power and the wonder of the invisible. Příroda se tisíci způsoby neustále snaží vést lidi k pronikavějšímu a hlubšímu uvědomění si síly a zázraku neviditelného. Тысячи способов природа постоянно стремится привести людей к более острому и глубокому осознанию силы и чуда невидимого.

Into the hands of every individual is given a marvellous power for good or for evil,--the silent, unconscious, unseen influence of his life. Do rukou každého jednotlivce je dána úžasná moc pro dobro i pro zlo – tichý, nevědomý, neviditelný vliv jeho života. В руки каждого человека дается чудесная сила добра или зла — молчаливое, бессознательное, невидимое влияние его жизни. This is simply the constant radiation of what a man really is , not what he pretends to be. To je prostě neustálé vyzařování toho, čím člověk skutečně je, ne toho, za co se vydává. Это просто постоянное излучение того, чем человек является на самом деле, а не тем, кем он притворяется. Every man, by his mere living, is radiating sympathy, or sorrow, or morbidness, or cynicism, or happiness, or hope, or any of a hundred other qualities. Каждый человек уже сам по себе излучает сочувствие, или печаль, или болезненность, или цинизм, или счастье, или надежду, или любое из сотен других качеств. Life is a state of constant radiation and absorption; to exist is to radiate; to exist is to be the recipient of radiations. Жизнь — это состояние постоянного излучения и поглощения; существовать значит излучать; существовать — значит быть получателем излучений.

There are men and women whose presence seems to radiate sunshine, cheer and optimism. Есть мужчины и женщины, чье присутствие, кажется, излучает солнечный свет, радость и оптимизм. You feel calmed and rested and restored in a moment to a new and stronger faith in humanity. There are others who focus in an instant all your latent distrust, morbidness and rebellion against life. Есть и другие, которые в одно мгновение концентрируют все ваше скрытое недоверие, болезненность и бунт против жизни. Without knowing why, you chafe and fret in their presence. Не зная почему, вы раздражаетесь и раздражаетесь в их присутствии. You lose your bearings on life and its problems. Вы теряете ориентиры в жизни и ее проблемах. Your moral compass is disturbed and unsatisfactory. Ваш моральный компас нарушен и неудовлетворителен. It is made untrue in an instant, as the magnetic needle of a ship is deflected when it passes near great mountains of iron ore. Это становится неверным в одно мгновение, как магнитная стрелка корабля отклоняется, когда он проходит мимо огромных гор железной руды.

There are men who float down the stream of life like icebergs,--cold, reserved, unapproachable and self-contained. Есть люди, которые плывут по течению жизни, как айсберги, — холодные, сдержанные, неприступные и замкнутые. In their presence you involuntarily draw your wraps closer around you, as you wonder who left the door open. В их присутствии вы невольно затягиваетесь вокруг себя, пытаясь понять, кто оставил дверь открытой. These refrigerated human beings have a most depressing influence on all those who fall under the spell of their radiated chilliness. But there are other natures, warm, helpful, genial, who are like the Gulf Stream, following their own course, flowing undaunted and undismayed in the ocean of colder waters. Their presence brings warmth and life and the glow of sunshine, the joyous, stimulating breath of spring. There are men who are like malarious swamps,--poisonous, depressing and weakening by their very presence. They make heavy, oppressive and gloomy the atmosphere of their own homes; the sound of the children's play is stilled, the ripples of laughter are frozen by their presence. They go through life as if each day were a new big funeral, and they were always chief mourners. Они идут по жизни так, как если бы каждый день был новыми большими похоронами, и они всегда были главными скорбящими. There are other men who seem like the ocean; they are constantly bracing, stimulating, giving new draughts of tonic life and strength by their very presence.

There are men who are insincere in heart, and that insincerity is radiated by their presence. They have a wondrous interest in your welfare,--when they need you. They put on a "property" smile so suddenly, when it serves their purpose, that it seems the smile must be connected with some electric button concealed in their clothes. Their voice has a simulated cordiality that long training may have made almost natural. But they never play their part absolutely true, the mask will slip down sometimes; their cleverness cannot teach their eyes the look of sterling honesty; they may deceive some people, but they cannot deceive all. There is a subtle power of revelation which makes us say: "Well, I cannot explain how it is, but I know that man is not honest." Man cannot escape for one moment from this radiation of his character, this constantly weakening or strengthening of others. He cannot evade the responsibility by saying it is an unconscious influence. He can select the qualities that he will permit to be radiated. He can cultivate sweetness, calmness, trust, generosity, truth, justice, loyalty, nobility,--make them vitally active in his character,--and by these qualities he will constantly affect the world.

Discouragement often comes to honest souls trying to live the best they can, in the thought that they are doing so little good in the world. Уныние часто приходит к честным душам, пытающимся жить как можно лучше, от мысли, что они приносят так мало добра в этом мире. Trifles unnoted by us may be links in the chain of some great purpose. Незамеченные нами мелочи могут быть звеньями в цепи какой-то великой цели. In 1797, William Godwin wrote The Inquirer, a collection of revolutionary essays on morals and politics. В 1797 году Уильям Годвин написал The Inquirer, сборник революционных эссе о морали и политике. This book influenced Thomas Malthus to write his Essay on Population, published in 1798. Malthus' book suggested to Charles Darwin a point of view upon which he devoted many years of his life, resulting, in 1859, in the publication of The Origin of Species,--the most influential book of the nineteenth century, a book that has revolutionized all science. Книга Мальтуса подсказала Чарльзу Дарвину точку зрения, которой он посвятил многие годы своей жизни, в результате чего в 1859 г. была опубликована «Происхождение видов» — самая влиятельная книга девятнадцатого века, книга, которая произвел революцию во всей науке. These were but three links of influence extending over sixty years. Это были всего лишь три звена влияния, продолжавшиеся более шестидесяти лет. It might be possible to trace this genealogy of influence back from Godwin, through generation and generation, to the word or act of some shepherd in early Britain, watching his flock upon the hills, living his quiet life, and dying with the thought that he had done nothing to help the world. Можно было бы проследить эту генеалогию влияния от Годвина, через поколение за поколением, к слову или поступку какого-нибудь пастуха в ранней Британии, наблюдавшего за своим стадом на холмах, жившего спокойной жизнью и умиравшего с мыслью, что он ничего не сделал, чтобы помочь миру.

Men and women have duties to others,--and duties to themselves. У мужчин и женщин есть обязанности по отношению к другим и обязанности по отношению к самим себе. In justice to ourselves we should refuse to live in an atmosphere that keeps us from living our best. Справедливости ради мы должны отказаться жить в атмосфере, которая мешает нам жить наилучшим образом. If the fault be in us, we should master it. Если вина в нас, мы должны совладать с ней. If it be the personal influence of others that, like a noxious vapor, kills our best impulses, we should remove from that influence,--if we can possibly move without forsaking duties. Если личное влияние других, подобно ядовитому испарению, убивает наши лучшие побуждения, мы должны избавиться от этого влияния, если только можем двигаться, не отказываясь от своих обязанностей. If it be wrong to move, then we should take strong doses of moral quinine to counteract the malaria of influence. Если двигаться неправильно, то мы должны принять большие дозы морального хинина, чтобы противодействовать малярии влияния. It is not what those around us do for us that counts,--it is what they are to us. Важно не то, что окружающие делают для нас, а то, чем они являются для нас. We carry our house-plants from one window to another to give them the proper heat, light, air and moisture. Мы переносим наши комнатные растения от одного окна к другому, чтобы дать им надлежащее тепло, свет, воздух и влагу. Should we not be at least as careful of ourselves?

To make our influence felt we must live our faith, we must practice what we believe. A magnet does not attract iron, as iron. Магнит не притягивает железо, как железо. It must first convert the iron into another magnet before it can attract it. Он должен сначала превратить железо в другой магнит, прежде чем сможет его притянуть. It is useless for a parent to try to teach gentleness to her children when she herself is cross and irritable. Родительнице бесполезно пытаться научить своих детей мягкости, когда она сама сердита и раздражительна. The child who is told to be truthful and who hears a parent lie cleverly to escape some little social unpleasantness is not going to cling very zealously to truth. Ребенок, которому говорят быть правдивым и который слышит, как родитель ловко лжет, чтобы избежать мелких социальных неприятностей, не будет слишком рьяно цепляться за правду. The parent's words say "don't lie," the influence of the parent's life says "do lie." No man can ever isolate himself to evade this constant power of influence, as no single corpuscle can rebel and escape from the general course of the blood. Ни один человек не может изолировать себя, чтобы уклониться от этой постоянной силы влияния, как ни одна крупица не может взбунтоваться и вырваться из общего течения крови. No individual is so insignificant as to be without influence. Ни один человек не настолько ничтожен, чтобы быть без влияния. The changes in our varying moods are all recorded in the delicate barometers of the lives of others. Все изменения нашего настроения отражаются в тонких барометрах жизни других людей. We should ever let our influence filter through human love and sympathy. Мы всегда должны позволять нашему влиянию просачиваться сквозь человеческую любовь и сочувствие. We should not be merely an influence,--we should be an inspiration. Мы не должны быть просто влиянием, мы должны быть вдохновением. By our very presence we should be a tower of strength to the hungering human souls around us.