A Historical View of Procrastination

The study of history offers two competing 1)outlooks on human nature. On the one hand， the past reveals 2)continuity in our psychological makeup. People thousands of years ago were much like we are today. Human 3)foibles， including the tendency to put off vitally important commitments， are universal. Ancient wisdom remains relevant for our confrontation with procrastination.

On the other hand， human attitudes vary profoundly because they are rooted in different cultures. Ideas about success， just like ideas about what is beautiful， are 4)embedded in the larger value systems of different groups. Some nations have a tradition of doubting modernity’s 5)preoccupation with the efficient organization of time. For them， procrastination is not a problem but a solution!

“If Not Now， When?”

A sense of timelessness arises when we read Chapters of the Fathers， a collection of Jewish ethical teachings 6)compiled around200 7)C.E. The text repeatedly advises readers not to put off important duties. 8)Rabbi 9)Hillel， who was born around 100 B.C.E.， says， “Do not say， ‘When I am free I will study’， for perhaps you will not become free.”

10)Punctuality is the essence of ethics. As Hillel， again， says in one of the most famous expressions in the entire Jewish tradition: “If I am not for myself， who will be for me? But if I am only for myself， who am I? And if not now， when?”

Numerous 11)admonitions in the Christian Bible also speak to humankind’s 12)perennial tendency to put things off. Jesus taught that 13)reconciling with our 14)adversaries should be done immediately. “Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry，” echoes 15)Ephesians.

From these ancient sources we learn that procrastination is a 16)spoiler of morality. It’s not enough to know what is right. Personal discipline must close the gap between a good intention and a good deed. This is no less true today than in ancient times.

Urgent to Procrastinate

But history also shows us that cultures vary. Over time and across societies， one person’s fish becomes another person’s poison. The French word for fish is poisson. And when it comes to procrastination， French culture is a good place to look if you want to find a playful 17) twist in favor of it.

Under the Old Regime， France was an 18)aristocratic society. Physical labor was a sign of low status. The original role of the nobles was to be the warrior class. But that was in the Middle Ages. Under the 19)absolute monarchy of Louis XIV and his 20)successors， 21)nobility became a leisure class， defined by 22)courtly manners and elegant consumption. Before the French Revolution of 1789， the values of hard work and efficiency were characteristics of the 23)bourgeoisie but not of the cultural 24)elite.

Then came 1789 and everything changed， and did not change. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries， French 25)Marxists， Romantics， and 26)Anarchists 27)decried the discipline of the industrial factory. The aristocratic 28)disdain for work became the radical’s 29)hostility to economic 30)exploitation.

Frenchman David Equainville recently proclaimed March 26， 2011 to be International Procrastination Day. A joke circulating on the Internet is that it was originally scheduled for March 25. “Procrastination Day Put Off Till Tomorrow” was an April 3， 2011 headline in The Telegraph.

Combining classic attitudes of the old nobility with the modern French intellectual’s hostility toward 31)capitalism， Equainville has written a 32)pamphlet in favor of procrastination. It is called 33)Manifesto for a Day Put Off. It is currently available only in French. The publisher’s 34)blurb says， “It is urgent to procrastinate against all the trends breathing down our neck. Procrastination is an art that brings doubt and 35)skepticism to 36)unquestioned standards of efficiency.”

拖延癥歷史觀

歷史的研究體現(xiàn)出對人性兩種互相矛盾的看法。一方面，過去反映出我們心理需求方面的延續(xù)性。幾千年前的人們其實很像今日的我們。人類有著普遍的弱點，比如傾向于推遲極其重要的承諾。古人的智慧對我們現(xiàn)今抵抗拖延仍有一定作用。

另一方面，人類的態(tài)度又發(fā)生了很大變化，因為人們扎根于不同的文化之中。對成功的定義，就像對美麗的看法，植根于不同群體的更廣泛的價值觀體系之中。一些民族有這樣的傳統(tǒng)，他們會懷疑現(xiàn)代社會對高效管理時間的執(zhí)著。對他們來說，拖延不是一種問題，反倒是一種解決方法！

“如果不是現(xiàn)在，那是什么時候？”

當我們閱讀《先祖?zhèn)惱怼贰槐炯s編撰于公元200年的猶太道德教義精選集時，永恒的感覺便會油然而生。此書不斷建議讀者不要拖延重要的職責。出生于約公元前100年的猶太學者希勒爾曾經(jīng)說道：“不要說，‘當我有空時，我便會學習’，因為也許你會沒空。”

守時是道德規(guī)范的核心，就像希勒爾所說過的，在整個猶太傳統(tǒng)中都享負盛名的言論：“如果我不為自己，那誰會為我？但如果我只為自己，那我是誰？如果不是現(xiàn)在，那是什么時候？”

基督教的《圣經(jīng)》中也有無數(shù)的箴言提及人類耽擱事情的長期傾向。耶穌曾在《以非所書》中教導道，與我們對手的和解應該馬上進行，“不要等太陽下山了還只顧自己生氣。”

綜觀這些古代資料，我們可以得知，拖延有損美德。知道什么是正確的還不夠。……