Red and Black The biggest tragedy in life is to give up happiness for the sake of desire

Desire should match ability, and you will enjoy great happiness as much as you have.

Have you ever seen such a person:

They have enough material resources, but they don't know how to feed them, and they fill themselves with misery.

They have good interpersonal relationships, but they don't know how to operate, so they suffer from gains and losses in their hearts.

Materially, they are successful, but spiritually, they are the most painful group of people.

In his work "Red and Black", the French writer Stendhal created such a character - Julien.

In the book, Julien is an ordinary young man from a small town, but he is ambitious and wants to become a nobleman.

For this reason, he forces himself to do the things he hates, and he also uses love as a tool for profit.

Later, he satisfies his ambitions, but he lives himself as a nasty person, and finally ends up committing suicide.

Why is that?

Because, excessive desire is never the theme of life, and inner feelings are the true meaning of life.

A person who only feeds greed, but never cares about inner pleasures, will inevitably cast a cloud over the soul and make life full of darkness.

Reading Yu Lian's story, you will find that the biggest tragedy in life is to give up happiness for the sake of desire.

Yu Lian was born into a family of carpenters, and he was supposed to make a living by doing carpentry like his father.

But when he heard about Napoleon's heroic deeds, he immediately made him an idol and determined to get ahead before the age of 30.

Since then, Yu Lian has carried a heavy cross on his back and has never put it down.

At that time, the only way for young people to cross classes was to become a clergyman.

Although Julien did not like the priesthood and did not believe in God at all, it was the only way to success.

So he joined the church without hesitation, despite the resentment in his heart.

In order to win the priest's appreciation, he forced himself to study the relevant knowledge of the Church, and he also memorized a Latin Bible.

It can be said that Julien did what he hated the most, but by memorizing the Bible, he became famous all over the city.

The mayor happened to be looking for a governess, and seeing this, he hired Julien for 400 francs a year.

This news made Yu Lian is excited and anxious, excited that he finally touched the edge of high society, and anxious about when he would become a real nobleman?

When he first arrived at the mayor's house, everyone saw that Yu Lian was very young and worried that he would not be able to take up the position of tutor.

In order to keep his position and prove himself, Yu Lian recited a large section of the Bible in Latin on the spot, which attracted the admiration of everyone.

In this way, he was recognized by the mayor's family.

However, he was not satisfied, and instead became more restless as he saw more aristocratic scenes.

He wondered all the time, how could he get into high society?

His friend Fouquet knew Yu Lian's thoughts and felt that it was unrealistic, so he invited him to join him in the timber business.

By buying and selling timber, you can earn 4,000 francs a year, and you can live without food and clothing for a few years.

But Yu Lian was reluctant to deal with wood, because he wanted not only money, but also identity and status, so he rejected his friend's kindness.

Under the torment of desire, although Yu Lian's living standard has greatly improved, the pain in his heart is increasing day by day.

His happiness dropped to freezing point. There's a good saying:

If excessive desires are allowed to take the first place in a person's heart, then they can only be accompanied by pain. ”

In fact, there is no right or wrong in desire.

However, in order to satisfy unrealistic desires, you must have gone astray by starting to suppress yourself and forcing yourself to do nasty things.

Because, desire should match ability, and how much ability you have, how much blessing you have. If you allow your desires to run rampant and fail to recognize your abilities, your life will inevitably be full of misery.

As the saying goes: if a person has unrealistic desires, he will derive the mind of calculating others. ”

This sentence seems to be tailor-made for Yu Lian.

It was when he was struggling to find out that Madame de Rennes received him, fearing for the children's schoolwork.

When Madame de Rennes saw that the children were treated gently by Julien, she developed feelings for the young man.

Julien keenly captured the change in her emotions and decided to go for Madame Panda Rainer.

One night, while walking in the garden, Julien grabbed Madame de Rennes's hand and slipped into her room in the middle of the night to confess his affection.

In this way, Madame de Rennes fell deeply in love with Julien and was willing to support his ideals.

But Yu Lian was not so affectionate, he just used her as a pedal for his career, hoping to jump onto the dragon gate.

The emperor came to parade around the city, and under the arrangement of Madame de Rennes, Julien became a member of the guard of honor and took part in solemn religious ceremonies.

These two appearances on aristocratic occasions suddenly made Yu Lian famous in high society.

However, calculating the benefits of others will not last long.

Just when Lian fantasized about becoming a nobleman, a report letter shattered his dream.

The letter revealed the exploitation of Madame de Rennes, and Julien was immediately transformed from a promising young man into a street rat that everyone shouted at.

In order to avoid the limelight, he left the mayor's wife behind and hid alone in the Paris seminary to study.

At the seminary, fate gave Yu Lian a second chance to be a good man, but he ruined his future because of his eagerness for quick success.

As on the previous occasion, Julien won the attention of the priest with his talent, and was then recommended to a marquis as a secretary.

At this moment, Yu Lian was still thinking about being a nobleman, and after seeing a lot of luxurious scenes between nobles, he also knew that it was hopeless to rely on hard work.

Therefore, he concocted the same method and once again used love as a springboard for his career.

This time, he successfully pursued the Marquis's daughter, Matilde, and made Matilde pregnant out of wedlock.

This made the marquis very angry, but for the sake of his daughter, he still gave Yu Lian the property and title, making Yu Lian a nobleman.

But the Marquis was always concerned about it. He felt that he was being used by Yu Lian, like eating a fly and couldn't swallow it.

A few days later, the Marquis could not bear it anymore, he thoroughly investigated Julien's origins, and also saw through Madame de Rennes the hypocrisy of Julien.

He also asked Madame de Rennes to write a letter exposing Julien's shameless face.

Yu Lian, who had just become a nobleman, fell to the bottom again before he had time to enjoy himself.

In fact, if a person's career is done by calculating others, it is like building a house on sand, and it will definitely not stand.

Because all calculations are a curse for yourself, and the arrows you shoot will eventually be pierced in yourself.

The greatest blessing for an adult is to live a happy and peaceful life by virtue of his ability.

And the biggest tragedy is to give up happiness for the sake of desire.

It's a pity that Yu Lian, who is in his 20s, still doesn't understand this truth.

Therefore, when he saw the letter of complaint written by Madame de Rennes, he could not help but be furious.

He immediately bought a pistol, found Madame de Rennes, and without hesitation shot her twice.

Madame de Rennes was hospitalized with injuries, while Julien was arrested and imprisoned by the police on charges of homicide.

After being imprisoned, Yu Lian's relatives and friends came to visit him, and he gradually began to reflect on himself during the visits of others.

He thought that it might have been a happy opportunity for Fouquet to partner him in the timber business, but it was unfortunately stifled by desire.

At the beginning, his status was high enough, but driven by desire, he still took advantage of the woman who admired him.

Even if he was not a nobleman, he could have an income of 3,000 francs a year and live a happy life, but in his anger, he shot and killed people.

It turns out that I am occupied by desires and forget that happiness is the purpose of life.

Thinking of this, Yu Lian regretted it, and calculated again and again, and his life was gone.

He began to hate his mercenary self-interest, because it was the source of his tragedy; He also does not want to be in high society again, because it is proof of his groveling.

Now, he just wants to die, and he doesn't want to live with a stain.

At the same time, Madame de Rennes was discharged from the hospital, and she and Matilde had been looking for a relationship, hoping that the prosecutor would give Lien a lenient sentence.

Yu Lian said resolutely: "I don't want to live for my desires anymore, I'd rather die a satisfying death." ”

He had the possibility of being released from prison, but he had no nostalgia for the world and chose to die calmly.

Julien's life is a tragedy, but he does not fall under the law, but is lost in desire.

In life, there are too many "Yu Lian" characters.

They think that as long as their desires are satisfied, they will be happy, so they will do everything to grab profits.

As everyone knows, improper means will distort people's hearts and keep happiness away.

Economist Samuelson said

Pleasure and desire are inversely related. The greater the desire, the less happiness there is, and the more distress ensues; If there is less desire, the benefits may not be as good as those of others, but the heart is happy.

While ambition is not a bad thing, and wanting to succeed is encouraged, know that they are only a process, not an end.

All pursuits have only one purpose, and that is happiness.

And the path to happiness is contentment, not greed.

Socrates once said, "Contentment is a precious treasure, and desire is artificial poverty." ”

All pain and anxiety are the product of desire; All happiness and tranquility are the fruits of contentment.

Only by keeping the bottom line and working steadily can we use our talents to create an ideal life.

Only by abiding by one's duty and controlling one's desires can one immerse one's life in happiness.

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