The Moon and Sixpence - The Story Of Paul Gauguin

I confess that when first I made acquaintance with Charles Strickland I never for a moment discerned that there was in him anything out of the ordinary. Yet now few will be found to deny his greatness. I do not speak of that greatness which is achieved by the fortunate politician or the successful soldier; that is a quality which belongs to the place he occupies rather than to the man; and a change of circumstances reduces it to very discreet proportions. The greatness of Charles Strickland was authentic. It may be that you do not like his art, but at all events you can hardly refuse it the tribute of your interest. His faults are accepted as the necessary complement to his merits. The adulation of his admirers is perhaps no less capricious than the disparagement of his detractors; but one thing can never be doubtful, and that is that he had genius.

There was in his soul some deep-rooted instinct of creation, which the circumstances of his life had obscured, but which grew relentlessly, as a cancer may grow in the living tissues, till at last it took possession of his whole being and forced him irresistibly to action.

Conversion may come under many shapes, and it may be brought about in many ways. With some men it needs a cataclysm, as a stone may be broken to fragments by the fury of a torrent; but with some it comes gradually, as a stone may be worn away by the ceaseless fall of a drop of water.

《月亮和六便士》：保罗·高更的故事

老实说，我刚刚认识查理斯·思特里克兰德的时候，从来没注意到这个人有什么与众不同的地方。但是今天却很少有人不承认他的伟大了。我所谓的伟大不是走红运的政治家或是立战功的军人的伟大；这种人显赫一时，与其说是他们本身的特质倒不如说沾了他们地位的光；一旦事过境迁，他们的伟大也就黯然失色了。但是查理斯·思特里克兰德的伟大却是真正的伟大。你可能不喜欢他的艺术，但无论如何你不能不对它感到兴趣。他的瑕疵在世人的眼中已经成为他的优点的必不可少的派生物。 崇拜者对他的赞颂同贬抑者对他的诋毁固然都可能出于偏颇和任性；但是有一点是不容置疑的，那就是他具有天才。

在他的灵魂中深深埋藏着某种创作的欲望，这种欲望尽管为他的生活环境掩盖着，却一直在毫不留情地膨胀壮大，正象肿瘤在有机组织中不断长大一样，直到最后完全把他控制住，逼得他必须采取行动，毫无反抗能力。

皈依能以不同的形态出现，也可以通过不同的途径实现。有一些人通过激变，有如愤怒的激流把石块一下子冲击成齑粉；另一些人则由于日积月累，好象不断的水滴，迟早要把石块磨穿。

今日感悟

有的人认为思特里克兰德这种人很可恨，因为他的眼里似乎只有自己，没有别人，自私自利，毫无责任心，也不屑和这个社会有任何的瓜葛。但反过来说，思特里克兰德又很无辜，因为与其说是他选择了梦想，倒不如说他只不过是被梦想击中，抵不过内心的冲动，服从了宿命。就像他讲的那句话一样：“我告诉你我必须画画儿。我由不了我自己。一个人要是跌进水里，他游泳游得好不好是无关紧要的，反正他得挣扎出去，不然就得淹死。”

“梦想”这两个字，到底拥有着多大的震慑力，让我们去看看周围每天都在不断逃避内心的声音，进而只选择追名逐利的那些人，就自然一清二楚了。但是思特里克兰德却选择了一条少有人走的路，拒绝成为他们其中的一员，在满地都是六便士的世界，他却抬头看见了月亮。孰好孰坏，我们不必评价，因为衡量伟大和渺小的判断标准，就隐藏在我们每个人的内心深处。