It is not difficult to imagine a world short of ambition. It would probably be a kinder world: without demands, without abrasions, without disappointments. People would have time for reflection. Such work as they did would not be for themselves but for the collectivity. Competition would never enter in. Conflict would be eliminated, tension become a thing of the past. The stress of creation would be at an end. Art would no longer be troubling, but purely celebratory in its functions. Longevity would be increased, for fewer people would die of heart attack or stroke caused by tumultuous endeavor.Anxiety would be extinct. Time would stretch on and on, with ambition long departed from the human heart.

一個(gè)缺乏抱負(fù)的世界將會(huì)怎樣，這不難想象。或許，這將 是一個(gè)更為友善的世界：沒有渴求，沒有磨擦，沒有失望。人們將有時(shí)間進(jìn)行反思。他們所從事的工作將不是為了他們自身，而是為了整個(gè)集體。競(jìng)爭(zhēng)永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)介入;沖突將被消除。人們 的緊張關(guān)系將成為過往云煙。創(chuàng)造的重壓將得以終結(jié)。藝術(shù)將不再惹人費(fèi)神，其功能將純粹為了慶典。人的壽命將會(huì)更長(zhǎng)，因?yàn)橛杉ち移礌?zhēng)引起的心臟病和中風(fēng)所導(dǎo)致的死亡將越來越少。焦慮將會(huì)消失。時(shí)光流逝,抱負(fù)卻早已遠(yuǎn)離人心。

Ah, how unrelievedly boring life would be?

啊，長(zhǎng)此以往人生將變得多么乏味無聊!

There is a strong view that holds that success is a myth, and ambition therefore a sham. Does this mean that success does not really exist? That achievement is at bottom empty? That efforts of men and women are of no significance alongside the force of movements and events? Now not all success, obviously, is worth esteeming, nor all ambition worth cultivating. Which are and which are not is something one soon enough learns on one’s own. But even the most cynical secretly admit that success exists; that achievement counts for a great deal; and that the true myth is that the actions of men and women are useless. To believe otherwise is to take on a point of view that is likely to derange.It is, in its implications, to remove all motives for competence, in attainment, and regard for posterity.