Sentences from Ten Ancient Scrolls

#2010-0917

Following are ten sentences from the so-called "Ten Ancient Scrolls," which are Chapters 8-17 of The Greatest Salesman in the World written by Og Mandino:

 1.  I will form good habits and become their slave.
 2.  I will greet this day with love in my heart.
 3.  I will persist until I succeed.
 4.  I am nature's greatest miracle.
 5.  I will live this day as if it is my last.
 6.  Today I will be master of my emotions.
 7.  I will laugh at the world.
 8.  Today I will multiply my value a hundredfold.
 9.  I will act now.
10. I will pray.

The first of the above sentences is quoted from Chapter 8: The Scroll Marked I. The second sentence is from Chapter 9: The Scroll Marked II. The third, from Chapter 10: The Scroll Marked III; the fourth, from Chapter 11: The Scroll Marked IV; and, in the same way, the other sentences are from Chapters 12-17 (The Scrolls V-X) respectively. Well, from each of the ten "ancient scrolls" I've just taken one sentence, just like the topic sentence, which is simply-worded but very, very meaningful.

I like these ten sentences very much. I can recite them quickly and clearly in the right order. And, you know, for more than twenty years I've been repeating them as my favorite mottoes!

The novel The Greatest Salesman in the World has had several Chinese translations (although I haven't seen any at local bookstores for a long time).

I remember buying the version translated by Ms. Liu Pinghua (劉蘋華). I bought that particular version for three times at least, because I considered it the best-translated, and because . . . . Well, I've given out all of the Chinese versions that I bought as gifts, one of which I gave my younger sister living in Caotun!

If my memory serves me right, the above ten sentences are put into Chinese by Ms. Liu Pinghua as follows:

 1.  我要養成好的習慣，做它的奴隸。
 2.  我懷著滿心的愛，向今天致意。
 3.  我將堅持到底，直到成功之時。
 4.  我是自然界最偉大的奇蹟。
 5.  即令今天是我最後一天，我也要好好度過。
 6.  今天我要做我情緒的主人。
 7.  我以滿心的笑意，迎迓眼前的世界。
 8.  今天我要增加我百倍的價值。
 9.  我現在立刻就做。
10. 我心祈求。

The Lord bless all readers of these valuable quotations. Amen.



Footnote:
According to Wikipedia, Mandino composed The Legend of the Ten Scrolls. They are:

    Scroll I - Commitment
    Scroll II - Love
    Scroll III - Persistence
    Scroll IV - Miracle
    Scroll V - Time
    Scroll VI - Emotion
    Scroll VII - Laughter
    Scroll VIII - Value
    Scroll IX - Action
    Scroll X - Guidance

Mandino's primary message was to "do it now". In the marking of Scroll IX, "I will act now" is written 18 times. While his messages did have Christian undertones (by referring to Paul as the greatest salesman in the world), it was still a message of repetitive actions to build good habits.

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