集美貌与智慧于一身的人不计其数、富裕之人随处可见、名望之人也不在少数。但是内心平静——是上帝对他的眷顾者的恩赐，是对他的偏爱者的最荣耀的奖赏，他从不慷慨给予。绝大多数人无缘此殊荣；另外的等待了一辈子——直到鬓发斑白，终于如愿以偿。

Joshua Loth Liebman "On my head pour only the sweet waters of serenity（宁静，沉着）. Give me the gift of the Untroubled Mind."

Once, as a young man full of exuberant¹（繁茂的，丰富的） fancy, I undertook to draw up a catalogue of the acknowledged "goods" of life. As other men sometimes tabulate²（制表，使成平面） lists of properties they own or would like to own, I set down my inventory³（详细目录，存货清单） of earthly desirables: health, love, beauty, talent, power,riches,and fame.

When my inventory was completed I proudly showed it to a wise elder who had been the mentor⁴ and spiritual model of my youth. Perhaps I was trying to impress him with my precocious⁵ wisdom. Anyway, I handed him the list. "This", I told him confidently, "is the sum of mortal（人世间的，致命的） goods. Could a man possess them all, he would be as a god."

At the corners of my friend's old eyes, I saw wrinkles（皱纹，折叠） of amusement gathering⁶ in a patient net. "An excellent list," he said, pondering it thoughtfully, "well digested in contented⁷ and set down in not-unresonable order. But it appears, my young friend, that you have omitted（省略，遗漏） the most important element of all. You have forgotten the one ingredient（成分，因素）, lacking which each possession becomes a hideous⁸（丑陋的，可怕的） torment（苦痛，拷问）."

"And what." I asked, peppering my voice with truculence⁹（凶猛，粗暴）, "is that missing ingredient?"

"With a pencil stub（断株，烟蒂） he crossed out my entire schedule. Then, haveing demolished¹⁰（毁坏，粉碎） my adolscent（青春期） dream structure at a single stroke, he wrote down three syllables¹¹: peace of mind. “This is the gift that God reserves for His special Proteges." he said.

"Talent and beauty He gives to many. Wealth is commonplace, fame not rare. But peace of mind - that is His final guerdon（报酬，奖赏） of approval, the fondest insignia（徽章，袖章） of His love, He bestows¹²（授予，适用） it charily¹³. Most men are never blessed with it; others wait all their lives- yes, far into advanced age - for this gift to descend¹⁴ upon them."