lesson59Collecting收藏Peopletendtoamasspossessions,somewithoutbeingawareofdoingso.Indeedtheycanhaveadelightfulsurprisewhentheyfindsomethingusefulwhichtheydidnotknowtheyowned.Thosewhoneverhavetomovehousebecomeindiscriminatecollectorsofwhatcanonlybedescribedasclutter.Theyleaveunwantedobjectsindrawers,cupboardsandatticsforyears,inthebeliefthattheymayonedayneedjustthoseverythings.Astheygrowold,peoplealsoaccumulatebelongingsfortwootherreasons,lackofphysicalandmentalenergy,bothofwhichareessentialinturningoutandthrowingaway,andsentiment.Thingsownedforalongtimearefullofassociationswiththepast,perhapswithrelativeswhoaredead,andsotheygraduallyacquireavaluebeyondtheirtrueworth.Somethingsarecollecteddeliberatelyinthehomeinanattempttoavoidwaste.AmongtheseIwouldliststringandbrownpaper,keptbythriftypeoplewhenaparcelhasbeenopened,tosavebuyingthesetworequisites.Collectingsmallitemscaneasilybecomeamania.Iknowsomeonewhoalwayscutssketchesoutfromnewspapersofmodelclothesthatshewouldliketobuy,ifshehadthemoney.Assheisnotrich,thechancesthatshewilleverbeabletoaffordsuchpurchasesareremote;butsheisneversufficientlystrongmindedtobeabletostopthepractice.Itisaharmlesshabit,butitlittersupherdesktosuchanextentthateverytimesheopensit;loosebitsofpaperfalloutineverydirection.Collectingasaserioushobbyisquitedifferentandhasmanyadvantages.Itprovidesrelaxationforleisurehours,asjustlookingatone'streasuresisalwaysajoy.Onedoesnothavetogooutsideforamusement,sincethecollectionishousedathome.Whateveritconsistsof,stamps,records,firsteditionsofbooks,china,glass,antiquefurniture,pictures,modelcars,stuffedbirds,toyanimals,thereisalwayssomethingtodoinconnectionwithit,fromfindingtherightplaceforthelatestaddition,toverifyingfactsinreferencebooks.Thishobbyeducatesonenotonlyinthechosensubject,butalsoingeneralmatterswhichhavesomebearingonit.Therearealsootherbenefits.Onewantstomeetlike-mindedcollectors,togetadvice,tocomparenotes,toexchanges,toshowoffthelatestfind.Soone'scircleoffriendsgrows.Soonthehobbyleadstotravel,perhapstoameetinginanothertown,possiblyatripabroadinsearchofararespecimen,forcollectorsarenotconfinedtoanyonecountry.Overtheyears,onemaywellbecomeanauthorityonone'shobbyandwillveryprobablybeaskedtogiveinformaltalkstolittlegatheringsandthen,ifsuccessful,tolargeraudiences.Inthiswayself-confidencegrows,firstfrommasteringasubject,thenfrombeingabletotalkaboutit.Collecting,byoccupyingsparetimesoconstructively,makesapersoncontented,withnotimeforboredom.人们喜欢收藏东西，有时并没有意识到自己在这样做。确实，一旦无意之中从自己的收藏品中找到某件有用的东西时，可以给人一种惊喜的感觉。那些从来不必搬家的人们成了一种无所不容的收藏家。他们专门收藏那些只能被称作杂货的东西。他们在抽屉里、碗柜中、阁楼上堆放着一些不用的东西，一放就是好几年，相信总有一天需要的正好是那些东西。人们年老之后也喜欢收藏东西，不过是出于两个不同的原因：一是体力、精力均告不佳，这二者是清除无用的东西必不可少的因素；另一个原因是感情因素。东西搁得时间久了，便会充满着与过去岁月的联系，比方说与死去的亲戚有关。因此这些东西慢慢获得了一种超出它本身的价值。居家度日，有目的地收藏某些东西是为了防止浪费。这些东西中我想举出线绳和包装纸为例。节俭的人们打开包裹后便把这两样必备的东西收藏起来，省得日后去买。收集小玩艺儿很容易着迷。我认识一个人，她总喜欢从报纸上剪下流行服装的图样，等以后有钱时去买服装。由于她并不富裕，她买得起这些服装的可能性十分渺茫。但她又缺乏足够坚强的意志把...