Before my note arrived he had given up painting and taken a job in a department store.
在我的信到达之前，他已经放弃了绘画而且在一家百货公司做起了事。
"But," he wrote, "I decided that if your friend admired something I had done in the past, I could do just as
 well or better in the future. So I'm back at what I really want to do, free-lance painting, and this time
 I'm going to stay."
「但是，」他写着，「我下定决心，如果你的朋友欣赏我过去所做的事，我在未来可以做得一样好或更好。所以我回来做我
真正想要做的事 -- 自由投稿绘画，而且这一次我要持续下去。」
Some people find it difficult to pay a compliment directly; to do so embarrasses them.
有些人觉得很难直接说出恭维的话；这样做使他们难堪。
Just the other day I heard a friend tell a group of men proudly that his wife was the kindest person he had ever
 known.
就在前几天，我听到一位朋友骄傲地告诉一群男人，说他的太太是他所认识的最仁慈的人。
Later on, when I was able to repeat this to her, her face grew radiant.
以后当我能够把这件事重复给她听，她的脸变得洋溢着喜悦。
"Oh, thank you," she said. "He'd never be able to say that to me!"
「哦，谢谢你，」她说。「他绝不可能对我说那种话！」
In such cases, a passed-on compliment can be like rain on a drought-dried land.
在这些情况下，传达过去的称赞可能就像干旱土地上的甘霖。
Often, I think, the relayed friendly word is even more meaningful than a direct one.
我常想，友善的话被转达比直接说要来得更有意义。
After all, when someone says something pleasant to you directly, it's easy to discount it as mere politeness,
 or even flattery.
毕竟，当某人对你直接说一些好听的话，你很容易对它打点折扣而当做是礼貌或甚至当做是阿谀。
But if someone praises you behind your back, chances are he means exactly what he says.
但如果有人在你背后赞美你，很可能他的意思确实就是他所说的话。

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