A person looks his ugliest when angry. In anger, a face that is normally as beautiful as a lotus blossom will tun livid and pale, even ashen. This, plus the contorted muscles on his face, his staring eyes and bristling hair, will indeed make a person’s countenance more than repulsive. As the saying goes, “When anger rises in the heart, evil intent is bound to start.” Anger brings about a change that is both psychological and physiological. Very few people can control their tempers when their purposes are crossed. Young people are prone to anger and one cross word is enough to start a quarrel. However, many elderly people are just as irascible and touchy.
一个人在发怒的时候,最难看。纵然他平素面似莲花,一旦怒而变青变白,甚至面色如土,再加上满脸的筋肉扭曲,眦裂发指,那副面目实在不仅是可憎而已。俗语说,“怒从心上起,恶向胆边生”,怒是心理的也是生理的一种变化。人逢不如意事,很少不勃然变色的。年少气盛,一言不合,怒气相加,但是许多年事已长的人,往往一样的火发暴躁。
I had an older relative by marriage who was over eighty and hemiplegic. He had the habit of reading newspapers in the morning. Each day he would put on his glasses and lay out the newspapers before him. Moments later, he would be pounding the table, fuming with rage and letting loose a torrent of abuse. He did not like what he read in the newspapers. He could not do without the newspapers, but they only made him angry. At such an hour, everyone in his family would stay out of his sight and nobody wanted to be caught by his rage which, like a thunderstorm, would go as quickly as it had come.
我有一位姻长,已到杖朝之年,并且半身瘫痪,每晨必阅报纸,戴上老花镜,打开报纸,不久就要把桌子拍得山响,吹胡瞪眼,破口大骂。报上的记载,他看不顺眼。不看不行,看了呕气。这时候大家躲他远远的,谁也不愿逢彼之怒。过一阵雨过天晴,他的怒气消了。
According to the Book of Poems,1 “When the ruler shows his anger, the rebellion of his subjects will quickly stop; when the ruler creates public well-being, the rebellion of his subjects will quickly end.” This means that, in a fit of anger, a person in power can crush a rebellion and cause things to return to normal. For ordinary people, however, it will be better if they keep their temper under control and avoid getting into trouble. A person in a fury loses countless blood cells in his body and causes a sharp rise in his blood pressure. In short, anger is bad for a person’s health. Worse still, when his blood boils with rage, his mind becomes muddled, and he is likely to speak or act out
|