塞繆爾·斯邁爾斯/Samuel Smiles
Bernard Palissy is supposed to have been born in the south of France, in the diocese of Agen, about the year 1510. His father was probably a worker in glass, to which trade Bernard was brought up. His parents were poor people—too poor to give him the benefit of any school education. "I had no other books," said he afterwards, "than heaven and earth, which are open to all." He learnt, however, the art of glass-painting, to which he added that of drawing, and afterwards reading and writing.
When about eighteen years old, the glass trade becoming decayed, Palissy left his father's house, and went out into the world to search whether there was any place in it for him. He first traveled towards Gascony, and then he traveled northwards, sojourning for various periods at different places in France.
Thus Palissy occupied about ten more years of his life, after which he married, and ceased from his wanderings. There children were born to him; and not only his responsibilities but his expenses increased, while, do what he could, his earnings remained too small for his needs. He was induced to turn his attention to the kindred art of painting and enameling earthenware. Yet on this subject he was wholly ignorant; for he had never seen earth baked before he began his operations. He had therefore everything to learn by himself, without any helper. But he was full of hope, eager to learn, of unbounded perseverance and inexhaustible patience.
It was the sight of an elegant cup of Italian manufacture—which first set Palissy thinking about the new art. The sight of this cup disturbed his whole existence; and the determination to discover the enamel with which it was glazed thenceforward possessed him like a passion. Had he been a single man he might have traveled into Italy in search of the secret; but he was bound to his wife and his children, and could not leave them; so he remained by their side groping in the dark in the hope of finding out the process of making and enameling earthenware.
At first he could merely guess the materials of which the enamel was composed; and he proceeded to try all manner of experiments to ascertain what they really were. He pounded all the substances which he supposed were likely to produce it. Then he bought common earthen pots, broke them into pieces, and, spreading his compounds over them, subjected them to the heat of a furnace which he erected for the purpose of baking them. His experiments failed; and the results were broken pots and a waste of fuel, drugs, time, and labor.
The first furnace having proved a failure, he proceeded to erect another out of does. There he burnt more wood, spoiled more drugs and pots, and lost more time, until poverty stared him and his family in the face. After the operation he went to see the pieces taken out; and, to his dismay, the whole of the experiments were failures. But though disappointed, he was not yet defeated; for he determined on the very spot to "begin afresh."
For two more years he went on experimenting without any satisfactory result, he was reduced to poverty again. But he resolved to make a last great effort.
He proceeded to build the furnace with his own hands, carrying the bricks from the brick-field upon his back. He was bricklayer, laborer, and all. At last the furnace was built and ready for use. He had been for some time accumulating a great store of fuel for the final effort: and he thought it was enough. At last the operation proceeded.
All day he sat by the furnace, feeding it with fuel. He sat there watching and feeding all through the long night. But the enamel did not meet. A third day and night passed—a fourth, a fifth, and even a sixth,—yes, for six long days and nights did the unconquerable Palsy watch and toil, fighting against hope; and still the enamel would not melt.
So he set to work to pound and compound fresh materials for a new experiment. But how to buy more pots? His money was now all spent; but he could borrow. His character was still good, though his wife and the neighbors thought him foolishly wasting his means in futile experiments. Nevertheless he succeeded. He borrowed sufficient from a friend to enable him to buy more fuel and more pots, and he was again ready for a further experiment.
It was the last and most desperate experiment of the whole. The fire blazed up; the heat became intense; but still the enamel did not melt. The fuel began to run short!
Wife and children then rushed from the house, and went frantically through the town, calling out that poor Palissy had gone mad, and was breaking up his very furniture for firewood!
He proceeded from one step of improvement to another; always aiming at the greatest perfection possible. His ornamental pieces are now regarded as rare gems in the cabinets of virtuosi.
1510年，伯納德·帕裏希出生於法國南部的一個主教郊區。他的父親可能是一位玻璃商人，帕裏希從小就跟隨父親做生意。他家境貧窮——太窮了，以至於無力供他上學。帕裏希後來說：“除了從天地萬物中學習知識，我再也沒有可以翻閱的書籍了。”然而，他學會了將素描加入到玻璃繪畫中，然後又學會了讀書和寫字。
大約在帕裏希18歲的時候，玻璃生意變得越來越不景氣，於是他離開父母，外出去尋找自己的落腳之處。帕裏希首先來到加斯頓，隨後又向北部遷移，就這樣輾轉走遍了法國的各個地方。
直到十年後，帕裏希因為結婚才停止了“流浪”生涯。盡管這並不是他的過錯，但孩子的出生還是增加了生活的負擔。帕裏希盡自己最大的努力經營生活，可是他的收入實在太少了，根本不能滿足生活所需。後來，他將精力集中到了陶器畫的創作上。然而，帕裏希對這一行卻是一竅不通，在開始製作之前，他從來沒有看過陶器畫的製作流程。所以，他必須在沒有任何幫手的情況下，一切從頭開始。盡管如此，帕裏希還是滿懷希望，始終帶著恒心和毅力如饑似渴地學習製作知識。
帕裏希偶然看到了一隻做工精美的意大利杯子，這促使他開始考慮進行新藝術的創作。對那隻杯子的一瞥徹底打亂了帕裏希的生活，從那以後，研究瓷釉的決心占據了他的全部身心。也許帕裏希本該隻身一人前往意大利探尋瓷釉的奧秘，但是他無法丟下妻兒不管，於是就帶上他們同行。滿懷著找到陶器的製作與上釉方法的希望，帕裏希在家人的陪伴下向前摸索著。
起初，帕裏希幾乎連瓷釉的調配原料都弄不清，於是他開始了各種試驗，以確定瓷釉中的原料到底是什麽。他將所有有可能製出瓷釉的材質搗碎，然後買來普通的陶瓷罐，也把它們打碎，將自己混合的材料塗抹在碎片上，最後放到高溫爐裏燒製。他的試驗一次次失敗，結果隻是白白摔碎了罐子，浪費了燃料、藥物、時間和努力。
結果證實了帕裏希的第一個爐窯是失敗的，他又繼續建造了另一隻爐窯。在這個爐窯裏，他燃燒了更多的燃料、損耗了更多的藥物和罐子，同樣也浪費了更多的時間，直至生活一貧如洗。每次試驗做完後，帕裏希都要拿出碎片察看，然而，令他沮喪的是，所有的實驗都失敗了。但是，失敗的他並沒有氣餒，而是下定決心重新開始。
兩年來，帕裏希的實驗始終沒有取得可喜的成果，他的生活也再一次窘困不堪。不過，他下定決心再做最後一次嚐試。
帕裏希從磚場背回磚頭，既做磚匠又做磚工，親自建造了一個爐窯。最後爐窯建好，一切就緒。他為最後的努力積聚了大量的燃料，認為一切都準備就緒了。實驗終於開始了。
帕裏希一整天都守在爐窯旁，往裏麵添加燃料。整個晚上他就這樣看著、不斷地添加燃料，但是瓷釉並沒有熔化。三天三夜過去了，接著第四天、第五天、第六天也過去了，六天六夜之後，不服輸的帕裏希依然觀望著、不停地添加燃料，然而瓷釉還是沒有熔化。
於是，帕裏希開始為自己的新實驗準備原料和添加劑。但是，他拿什麽來買罐子？他現在已身無分文，不過他可以向別人借錢。盡管妻子和鄰居都認為帕裏希將錢浪費在毫無意義的實驗上是很愚蠢的行為，但他的品性還是受到認可的。帕裏希成功了，他從朋友那裏借到的錢，足夠買更多的罐子和燃料，他又開始準備下一步的實驗。
這是最後一次，也是最令人絕望的一次實驗。爐窯中的火在燃燒，爐窯中的溫度在上升，可是瓷釉依然沒有熔化的跡象。燃料開始不足了！
帕裏希的妻子和孩子跑出家門，發瘋般地在鎮上呼喊著帕裏希瘋了。因為他們發現帕裏希把家具當木材燒了。
帕裏希還在逐步對實驗做著改進，他要盡最大可能創造出最完美的作品。如今，他的作品被古玩家們公認為“櫥櫃中的寶石”。
A man is not old as long as he is seeking something. A man is old until regrets take the place of dreams.
—Barrymore
隻要一個人還有追求，他就沒有老。直到後悔取代了夢想，一個人才算老。
——巴裏摩爾
sojourn[?s?ud??:n]v.旅居；逗留
He sojourned with a friend in Wales for two weeks.
他在威爾士一個朋友那兒住了兩個星期。
perseverance[?p?:si?vi?r?ns]n.毅力；忍耐；不屈不撓
You need perseverance to win in politics and I doubt if he can go the distance.
在政治上，需要矢誌不移才能取勝，我懷疑他能否堅持到底。
desperate[?desp?rit]adj.不顧一切的；絕望的
The state of that country is desperate.
那個國家的形勢非常危急。
ornamental[??:n??mentl]adj.裝飾的
Ornamental copper pans hung on the wall.
牆上掛著裝飾性的銅盤。
除了從天地萬物中學習知識，我再也沒有可以翻閱的書籍了。
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盡管如此，帕裏希還是滿懷希望，始終帶著恒心和毅力如饑似渴地學習製作知識。
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失敗的他並沒有氣餒，而是下定決心重新開始。
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His father was probably a worker in glass, to which trade Bernard was brought up.
bring up：教育；培養；撫養
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At first he could merely guess the materials of which the enamel was composed; and he proceeded to try all manner of experiments to ascertain what they really were.
proceed to：往下進行（另一件事）
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