YOUTH

这是德裔美籍人塞缪尔·厄尔曼70多年前写的一篇只有四百多字的英文散文诗，行文极尽优美，蕴含哲理。首次在美国发表的时候，曾引起全美国轰动效应，成千上万的读者把它抄下来当作座右铭收藏。美国的麦克阿瑟将军在指挥整个太平洋战争期间，办公桌上始终摆着装有短文《Youth》复印件的镜框。后来此文传到日本，文章的观点成为许多日本人生活哲学的基础。松下公司的创始人松下幸之助说：“多年来，《Youth》始终是我的座右铭。”

中文翻译引自王佐良老先生，自己做了一定程度的修改，希望大家喜欢，如有不足，还望包涵(#^.^#)

       

Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind.

青春不是年华，而是心境；

It is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees.

青春不是桃面、丹唇、柔膝，

It is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination, vigor of the emotions;

而是深沉之意志、宏伟之想象、炽热之情感；

It is the freshness of the deep spring of life.

青春是如生命般涌流的深泉。

Youth means a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity,

它气贯长虹，勇锐盖过怯弱，

of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease.

进取压倒苟且，血气方刚，

This often exits in a man of 60, more than a boy of 20.

二十后生有之，六旬老翁亦更多见。

nobody grows merely by the number of years;we grow old by deserting our ideas.

年岁有加，并非苍老；若弃理想，方堕暮年。

Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.

岁月悠悠，衰微只及肌肤；热忱抛却，颓唐却至灵魂。

Worry, fear, self-distrust bows the heart and turns the spirit back to dust.

烦忧、惶恐、卑怯，心灵扭曲如蛆，意气如灰。

Whether 60 or 16, there is in every human being's heart the lure of wonders,

无论花甲，抑或芳龄，心中皆有，山间明月，江上清风，

the unfailing childlike appetite of what's next and the joy of the game of living.

天真烂漫，久盛不衰。

In the center of your heart and my heart there is a wireless station;

众生心中皆存领悟，

so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, courage and power from men and from infinite,

愿悟世间美好、希望、欢乐、勇气、力量，

so long as you are young.

便风华永驻，峥嵘常存。

When the aerials are down, and your spirit is covered with the snows of cynicism and the ice of pessimism,

若不再感念世间美好，任冰雪覆灭锐气，黑暗由心滋长，便玩世不恭、自暴自弃，

then you've grown old, even at 20, but as long as your aerials are up,

即使年方二十，实已垂垂老矣；

to catch waves of optimism, there's hope you may die young at 80.

愿你心中永怀炽热，纵然千山万水，离去之时，此生不悔。