Vanity Fair is the famous work of the British nineteenth-century novelist Thackeray.
The book tells the story of two girls from very different backgrounds, floating and sinking in the vanity fair of open and dark fighting.
Rebecca, the daughter of a poor painter, used flattery and unscrupulous means to reach the peak of her life, but finally fell quickly to the bottom.
And the rich businessman's daughter Amelia, with kindness and generosity, sincerity and frankness, gradually survived the ordeal of her father's bankruptcy and the death of her husband, and finally became rich and happy.
As the saying goes, "All the world is for profit, and the world is bustling, all for profit." ”
Everyone in the world loves wealth, but they do not know the fame and fortune in fate, and they have their own arrangements in the dark.
Reading the ups and downs of "Vanity Fair", you will suddenly be shocked:
There is no sudden wealth in life, and there is no eternal poverty.
Whether a person is rich or not is already hidden in your thoughts and deeds.
Ten dollars in life, it is difficult to ask for a hundred gold
Rebecca was born beautiful and clever, but came from a poor background and had a low status.
Her father was an unknown painter, her mother was a downcast dancer, and the family was poor.
Later, her parents died of illness one after another, and she entered Pinkerton Girls' School with half-time work and half-study.
There, she met Amelia, the daughter of a securities dealer.
Emilia's family is well-off, generous, and sympathetic to the helpless Rebecca.
She often gave her clothes and jewelry to Rebecca, and invited them to stay at her home when she left school.
Seeing emilia's lavishly decorated mansion, endless costumes, and endless jewelry, Rebecca was envious.
Knowing that Emilia's brother Joss is well-paid and unmarried, Rebecca immediately resolves to conquer the other.
Joss was bloated and lacked manhood, but Rebecca complimented him in public on his handsome appearance, painted portraits of him, and sewed his wallet.
In the face of her enthusiasm and initiative, Joss was powerless to resist.
But Jos's parents saw Rebecca's ulterior motives and casually found a reason to send her away.
After failing to become a rich lady, Rebecca went to work as a governess at the home of Baron Crowley.
The baronet's family relationship was complicated, and he had two sons, the eldest son, Pete, who was a strict believer in etiquette, and the younger son, Roden, who was addicted to gambling.
He also had a half-sister, Miss Crowley, who was not married and had inherited a large inheritance from her mother.
The elderly Miss Crowley was so fond of her little nephew Rodon that she almost treated him like a son and decided to leave her possessions to him.
Although Rebecca did not look up to the promiscuous Rodden, in order to get the money, she once again made a small calculation.
She did everything in her power to please Miss Crowley as she found an opportunity to be alone with Rodden.
Soon, Rodden fell in love with her and secretly registered his marriage with her.
Rebecca had thought that out of love for her nephew, Miss Crowley would accept their private life.
In this way, she can rise to the top and become a rich man in high society.
Unexpectedly, Miss Crowley was furious when she heard this, and refused to forgive them.
With little time running out, she quickly made a will and left all her property to her eldest nephew Pete.
Rebecca, who calculated everything for money and profit, did not catch a penny in the end.
The I Ching has a cloud: "A drink and a peck, can not be predetermined, all have a cause." ”
Instead of staring into the pockets of others, it is better to be diligent and earnest in doing what is in front of you.
Wealth is not stolen from others, but by hard work and accumulation of virtue.
With righteous thoughts, take the right path, and fate will not treat you badly.
Ill-gotten gains will invite calamities
Rebecca, who lost the right to inherit the estate, did not stop there.
She lingered in various social occasions with great interest, either going out to attend aristocratic gatherings or entertaining celebrities at home.
Over time, questions became about her lifestyle.
Neither she nor Rodden had a serious job, nor did they have a lot of savings, so why did they live more freely than anyone else?
It turned out that Rebecca, who had been groping at the bottom since childhood, had long learned all kinds of despicable means of making money.
The first means is credit.
Rebecca, who holds the title of noble wife, is deeply trusted by the traders.
Without spending anything, she and her husband moved into a small luxury building, bought expensive clothing, and hired maids, housekeepers, and coachmen.
But every time the payment came, she would find a reason to delay again and again, and use the prestige of her husband's family to appease the other party.
The second means is camouflage.
Rebecca has a cheerful personality and outstanding appearance, and still has many admirers after marriage.
When she couldn't hide from the debt collectors, she would pretend to be in trouble and cry to some dignitary who liked her.
The other party will often be impressed by her pitiful appearance and generously send her a sum of money.
The third means is calculation.
Rebecca, who is good at speculating on people's hearts, can always easily gain the favor of others.
After Miss Crowley's death, the maid who had served her for many years was paid a large sum of money.
When Rebecca learned about it, she took the initiative to find a maid and warmly invited the other party to live in her home.
As the relationship grew closer, she cheated on all the assets of the other party on the pretext of investment.
Relying on these disgraceful ways of survival, Rebecca lived a life of fine clothes and food, and became a wide wife in the eyes of outsiders.
But she was not satisfied with this, and wanted to be the most powerful celebrity in high society.
She tried her best to find connections and connections, and got the opportunity to enter the palace to meet the king.
She was also ambiguous with the prominent Lord, and even secretly had an affair with Rodden behind his back.
Once, Rodden happened to bump into two people having a private meeting at home, and in a moment of anger, he punched the Lord.
Afterwards, in order to protect his reputation, the Lord severed contact with Rebecca and forcibly sent her abroad.
But the bad things that Rebecca has done have long spread throughout the European social circles, and no matter which city she goes to, she will be blinded and ostracized.
In order to fill the emptiness in her heart, she became addicted to the vices of alcoholism and gambling, and because of this, she owed a large debt and wandered around to avoid creditors.
She also mixed with the three religions and nine streams, lived by pit abduction and deception, and lived like a pool of mud.
Blinded by money and unscrupulous for the sake of profit, she eventually suffered the consequences of herself and rebelled against her.
The world panicked, and the picture was only a few pieces of broken silver.
However, money and finance cannot be calculated, and greed cannot be tolerated.
As the "University" said: "Those who enter the goods in contradiction also come out of the contradiction." ”
A gentleman who loves wealth should have a way to get it, and ill-gotten wealth will invite misfortune.
Money that is obtained in an improper way is like a ticking time bomb buried in life.
The cycle of cause and effect, the accumulation of blessings and wealth
Rebecca's best friend, Emilia, has also experienced the ups and downs of her life.
Shortly after Rebecca left, Emilia's father went bankrupt.
Emilia's fiancé, George, secretly fulfilled his marriage contract with her despite the objections of both parents.
But just over a month after the marriage, George, as a captain in the army, died on the battlefield.
Except for the child in his belly, he left no belongings for Emilia.
George's father, Mr. Osborne, was a wealthy but cold and selfish businessman.
He dislikes Amelia in the middle of the family road, cannot forgive his son's self-assertion, and resolutely refuses to recognize the identity of Emilia's mother and son.
In desperation, Emilia can only live in the slum with her parents and raise her children with frugality.
However, no matter how bad the environment was, she did not complain.
She always remembers the good of others and is kind and kind to anyone.
The landlady often harassed her for trivial matters, and scolded her when she was in a bad mood or could not receive rent.
Not only did she laugh it off, but she also mingled with the landlady's daughter and distributed the toys and food that her friend had given to her son.
In order to get rich, Amelia's father took out a loan to do business, but once again lost all his money, and the family could not open the pot for a while.
Instead of blaming her father, she tried to find a job and sell clothes and jewelry behind his back to supplement the family.
No matter how difficult life is, she would rather not have enough to eat and wear warmly than arbitrarily owe money to others on credit.
Kind-hearted and frank, she has won the favor of everyone around her.
George's close friend, Lieutenant Colonel Duo Bing, often secretly received her.
Mr. Osborne also gradually accepted her, took her son back home, and regularly compensated her for living expenses.
A few years later, Mr. Osborne died, leaving a large part of his fortune to her and her son.
Duo Bing also fell in love with her, confessed to her, proposed marriage, and became a solid and reliable destination for the rest of her life.
In this way, Amelia, who had been hungry and poor, returned to high society and became a decent noblewoman.
Not caring about fame and fortune, she did not covet enjoyment, but instead gained the money and status that Rebecca dreamed of.
I am reminded of this sentence: "The whole world knows to take what is taken, and the unknown knows to take what is taken." ”
Many people regard what they take as gain, but they don't know that giving to others is also a gain.
Good generosity yields wealth, and accumulation of virtue can be rich.
Many times, the key to determining a person's wealth is not ingenuity, but in their own conduct.
Virtue is the foundation of life, and wealth, fame, and status are the fruits of flowers and flowers.
Only by irrigating the soil with kindness and sincerity can we grow a towering tree with lush leaves.
Some say that Rebecca and Emilia go around and finally go back to the beginning of the story.
One lives a depressed life, and the other is wandering around alone; the other is carefree, hugging back and forth wherever he goes.
The disparity in their life circumstances depends at first on different family circumstances, but later they fight for character.
As Lin Yutang said in "Jinghua Smoke and Clouds":
"In a person's life, there are some subtle things that are meaningless in themselves, but have great importance.
After the passage of time, looking back at its causal relationship, it is found that the impact is amazing. ”
Everything in the world has a cause and effect, and the so-called fixed numbers are the result of their respective practices; all gains are refractions of the heart.
If you want to make friends with heart and gallbladder, you must first learn to be honest and honest with others;
If you want the joy of money rolling in, you must first be down-to-earth and work hard, and make good friends.
Dealing with things honestly, treating people sincerely, doing good deeds and accumulating virtue will reap good luck from all directions.
Give it a thumbs up and encourage your friends.
Author: Insight Xu Zhaohui