My message: From other people’s stories, experience other people’s lives, feel different strengths from the stories of celebrities, learn how to face difficulties, face setbacks, and welcome a better life.
Part One: Inspirational Stories of Foreign Celebrities
Archimedes
In 215 BC, the Roman general Marcellus led an army and arrived in the warship At the foot of the historic city of Syracuse, Marcellus thought that the small ancient city of Syracuse would collapse without an attack. After hearing the great reputation of the Roman army, the people in the city still didn't open the city and surrender? However, the Roman army was asked questions for a while. A dense array of terrifying darts, arrows and stones.
The small shields of the Romans could not withstand countless large and small stones. They were beaten to the point of despair and scrambled for their lives. Suddenly, countless huge crane-like mechanical hands stretched out from the city wall. They grabbed the Roman warships, hoisted the ships in mid-air and swung them around, and finally threw them on the rocks on the seaside, or put them on the ground. The boat fell heavily into the sea. The ship was destroyed and people died. Marcelas was not injured by luck, but he was so frightened that he completely lost the pride and arrogance he had when he first arrived, and became helpless. Finally, we had to order a retreat and drive the ship to a safe area. The Roman army suffered numerous casualties and was beaten dizzy by the Syracusans.
But where are the enemies? They can't even find their shadows. Marcelas finally said to the soldiers around him with emotion: How about it? In front of this geometric giant with a hundred hands, we have to give up the battle. He was playing with our warships as a game. In an instant, he threw so many darts, arrows and stones at us. Isn't he more powerful than the hundred-handed giant in mythology? Marcellus said? The hundred-handed giant? Who is it? It turns out that all the people at that time were Educated people all know that there lived a human wizard named Archimedes in the ancient city of Syracuse. Archimedes, who was over seventy years old, was a world-famous great scientist.
In defending the ancient city of Syracuse, he used levers, pulleys, cranks, screws, and gears. He not only used human power to operate the machines that threw darts and stone projectiles, but also used wind and water power, knowledge of balance and center of gravity, knowledge of curves, and knowledge of the use of force at long distances. No wonder Marcelas found the reason for his disastrous defeat without any difficulty. That night, Marcellus approached the city wall overnight. He thought Asmid's machine was no longer functioning.
Unexpectedly, Asmid had already prepared short-range equipment such as trebuchets, and once again forced back the Roman army's attack. The Romans were so frightened that they became pale. As soon as they saw wooden beams or ropes appearing on the city wall, they scurried away and screamed: "Here comes Archimedes." ?Archimedes was born in a noble family in Syracuse, and his father was an astronomer. Under the influence of his father, Asmid loved learning, was good at thinking, and liked debating since childhood. When he grew up, he traveled across the ocean to study in Alexandria, Egypt. He learned philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, physics and other knowledge from Conon, a student of Euclid, a famous scientist at the time. Finally, he learned about ancient times and the present, and mastered the rich Greek cultural heritage.
After returning to Syracuse, he insisted on maintaining contact with scholars in Alexandria and exchanging scientific research results. He inherited Euclid's rigor in proving theorems, but his intelligence and achievements were far higher than Euclid's. He closely linked mathematical research with mechanics and mechanics, and used mathematics to study mechanics and other practical problems. The protection of the giant mechanical hands and trebuchets in the Battle of Syracuse is the most vivid example, which strongly proves the truth that "knowledge is power". While studying in Alexandria, he often went for walks along the Nile River. During the long drought season, he saw farmers struggling to lift buckets of water from the Nile River to irrigate their fields. He created a spiral The water lifter lifts water from the river through the rotation of the screw, saving farmers a lot of effort. Not only is it still in use today, but it is also the original prototype of all contemporary propellers used in water and air.
Hugo
Victor Hugo was the leader of the French Romanticism movement and one of the greatest writers in the history of French literature.
His life spanned almost the entire 19th century, his literary career lasted for 60 years, and his creativity is enduring. His romantic novels are exciting, powerful and have a permanent charm on readers. Hugo was born in 1802 in Chanson, a city in southern France.
His grandfather was a carpenter, and his father was an officer in the French Army. He was awarded the rank of general by Napoleon's brother, King Joseph Bonaparte of Spain, and was a close confidant of the king.
Hugo was talented and started writing poetry at the age of 9. When he was 15 years old, he wrote "The Joy of Reading" and was awarded by the French Academy; when he was 20 years old, he published the collection of poems "Odes and Miscellaneous Poems", and King Louis XVIII gave him an annuity.
In 1827, Hugo published the script "Cromwell" and its preface. Although the script was not performed, the preface was considered a declaration of French Romanticism and became an epoch-making document in the history of literature. It played a great role in promoting the development of French romantic literature.
In 1830, Victor Hugo's play "Onani" was performed at the Grand Theater of the French Academy, which had a huge impact and established the dominant position of Romanticism in the French literary world. "Onani" tells the story of Onani, a robber born in a noble family in Spain who rebelled against the king in the 16th century. Hugo praised the robber's chivalry and nobility and showed a strong anti-feudal tendency.
In July 1830, the "July Revolution" occurred in France, and the feudal restoration dynasty was overthrown. Hugo enthusiastically praised the revolution, praised those revolutionaries, and wrote poems to mourn those heroes who died in street fighting.
"The Hunchback of Notre Dame" published in 1831 is Hugo's most romantic novel. The plot of the novel is twists and turns, tense, vivid, unpredictable, dramatic and legendary. The story takes place in the Middle Ages. On April Fool's Day, wandering Gypsy entertainers performed songs and dances in the square. A Gypsy girl named Esmeralda attracted passers-by. She was beautiful and danced very gracefully. At this time, Claude Frollo, the deputy bishop of Notre Dame de Paris, was suddenly fascinated by the beautiful Meralda. The fire of lust burned in his heart and he fell madly in love with her. So he ordered the church bell ringer, the extremely ugly Quasimodo, to snatch Esmeralda away.
As a result, Fabi, the French king's archer captain, rescued Esmeralda and captured Quasimodo. He took the bell ringer to the square to be whipped. The kind-hearted Gypsy girl did not care about her past grudges, but instead gave Quasimodo more water to drink. Although the bell ringer is ugly in appearance, he is pure and noble in his heart. He is very grateful to Esmeralda and falls in love with her. The innocent Esmeralda fell in love with Fabi at first sight. When they were dating, Frollo followed quietly. Out of jealousy, he stabbed Fabi with a knife and ran away. Emeslada was sentenced to death for murder.
Quasimodo snatched Esmeralda from the gallows and hid it in Notre Dame de Paris. Frollo took the opportunity to threaten the gypsy girl and asked her to satisfy his lust. After being rejected, , handed her over to the king's army, and the innocent girl was hanged. Quasimodo angrily pushed Frollo off the church and fell to death. He also died hugging Esmeralda's body. The novel shows Hugo's strong hatred for the feudal government and the church, and also reflects his deep sympathy for the lower class people. After the July Revolution, France established the July Dynasty ruled by the big bourgeoisie headed by the financier Louis Philippe. The July Monarchy continued to win over Hugo. In 1841, Hugo was elected to the French Academy. In 1845, Louis Philippe made him the Minister of the French Nobility, and he also became a member of the House of Nobles. Hugo's passion for struggle in his creation weakened. In 1843, he wrote a mystical play "The Garrison", which was booed by the audience when it was performed and failed. Hugo remained silent for nearly 10 years without writing.