Balzac once said artistic creation was “an exhausting strug-gle”.
巴爾扎克說過,藝術創造是“一場累人的斗爭”。
He believed that only by tenacious work and fearing notafraid of difficulties could you show your talent.
他認為,只有頑強地工作,不怕困難,才能把自己的才華表現出來。
It was just likethe soldiers charging the fortress,not relaxing your effort foreven a moment.
這就好象向堡壘沖擊的戰士,一刻也不能松勁。
Once Balzac wrote for hours on end, he was so tired that hecould not hold out any longer.
有一次,巴爾扎克一連寫了好幾個小時,累得實在支持不住了,
He ran to a friend's home andplunged headlong on the sofa.He wanted to sleep,but he told hisfriend he must be woken up within an hour.
跑到一個朋友家里,一頭倒在沙發上。他想睡一覺,但他告訴朋友,一定要在一小時之內叫醒他。
His friend,seeinghim so tired,did not wake him up on time.After he woke up,Balzac got very angry at his friend.Fortunately his friend had anintimate understanding of him and did not quarrel with him.
他的朋友見他非常疲勞,就沒有按時叫醒他。他醒來后,對朋友大發脾氣。幸好他的朋友很了解他,沒有和他爭吵。
Balzac did not smoke cigarettes,nor did he drink any alco-hol.
巴爾扎克既不抽煙,也不喝酒。
But he got one habit:while he was writing he always drankvery strong coffee that could almost anaesthetize his stomach.
但他有個習慣:當他寫作的時候,總是呷著幾乎可以使胃麻痹的濃咖啡。
Hedidn't add milk,nor did he add sugar in his coffee.It would notsatisfy him until it was made bitter.
他的咖啡里既不加牛奶,也不加糖,要熬得發苦才滿意。
People generally did not liketo drink such bitter coffee.That had strange stimulus effect tohim,and could help him drive the sleepiness away,according to himself.
象這樣苦的咖啡,一般人都不愿意喝。據他自己說,這樣對他有奇異的刺激作用,可以驅走睡魔。