书城外语英文爱藏:天使吻过那片海
2009400000046

第46章 流年故事 (11)

The errors of young men, are the ruin of business; but the errors of aged men, amount but to this, that more might have been done, or sooner. Young men, in the conduct and manage of actions, embrace more than they can hold; stir more than they can quiet; fly to the end, without consideration of the means and degrees; pursue some few principles, which they have chanced upon absurdly care not to innovate, which draws unknown inconveniences; use extreme remedies at first; and, that which doubleth all errors, will not acknowledge or retract them; like an unready horse, that will neither stop nor turn. Men of age object too much, consult too long, adventure too little, repent too soon, and seldom drive business home to the full period, but content themselves with a mediocrity of success. Certainly it is good to compound employments of both; for that will be good for the present, because the virtues of either age, may correct the defects of both; and good for succession, that young men may be learners, while men in age are actors; and, lastly, good for extern accidents, because authority followeth old men, and favor and popularity, youth. But for the moral part, perhaps youth will have the pre-eminence, as age hath for the politic.

一个人假使不曾虚度生活,年岁不大也可以表现得成熟老练,只不过这种情况少有发生罢了。深思未必出自风霜,岁月同样可见年轻,可一般的青年毕竟谋划不过长辈,智慧也不及他们少年老成的同龄人。

但青年的创造性是更为丰富的,想象力也如涌泉一样奔放灵活,这似乎更得益于神助。天性刚烈、心怀热望、情绪敏感的人不历经中年,行事总是青涩,恺撒和塞维拉斯即为例证……

青年擅长创造却缺乏判断,擅长行动却缺乏商讨,擅长革新却缺乏对经验的借鉴。日积月累的经验可以引导他们掌握旧事物,但也会遮盖他们看见新事物的视线。

青年人犯错往往毁坏大局,而老年人的错则是迈步太小或行动太缓。无论谋事还是操行,青年都骛远喜功,基调高,动幅大,好走极端,他们藐视前例,目空一切,革新的勇气绰绰有余,而欠方式和分寸上的考虑,结果反而招致意外的麻烦。他们有如不羁的野马,行事极端而不自知自救,一旦开蹄犯错,就泻至千里,不可复回。老年人呢?他们顾忌太多,议论过长,宁求安稳,不愿冒险,总是满足于平平成绩而不向往极致的辉煌。毫无疑问,最好是将两者特点结合。就现在来说,青年和老年可以互相取长补短。就发展来说,老年人是主事者,而青年可以学习取经。最后就社会来说,老年人以权威之姿指引方向,青年人则能振奋民心、鼓舞士气。但如果从政治上讲,老人的阅历是珍贵的,那么,青年人的纯真则在人性中熠熠闪光。

心灵小语

在人生的不同阶段,上帝赐予人不同的智慧,这智慧不分高下优劣,其价值在于彼此配合,往往能发挥出意想不到的力量。

记忆填空

1. Generally, youth is like the first cogitations, not so wise as the__ . For there is a youth in thoughts, as well as in__ .

2. Young men are fitter to invent,__ to judge; fitter for execution, than for counsel; and__ for new projects, than for settled business.

3. Men of age object too much, consult too long,__ too little, repent too soon, and__ drive business home to the full period, but content themselves__ a mediocrity of success.

佳句翻译

1. 深思未必出自风霜,岁月同样可见年轻。

译__________________

2. 青年人犯错往往毁坏大局,而老年人的错则是迈步太小或行动太缓。

译__________________

3. 老年人呢?他们顾忌太多,议论过长,宁求安稳,不愿冒险,总是满足于平平成绩而不向往极致的辉煌。

译__________________

短语应用

1. ...the errors of aged men, amount but to this, that more might have been done, or sooner.

amount to:等于;相当于

造__________________

2. Pursue some few principles, which they have chanced upon absurdly care not to innovate, which draws unknown inconveniences.

chance upon:偶然遇见;偶然发现

造__________________

青 春

Youth

塞缪尔·乌尔曼 / Samuel Ullman

塞缪尔·乌尔曼(1840—1920),犹太人,出生于德国,1851年随家人移民到美国密西西比。乌尔曼虽以教育家和社会活动家而闻名于世,但在文学创作方面也很有才华。他的《青春》因为麦克阿瑟将军的推崇而广为传颂。

Youth is not entirely a time of life; it is a state of mind; it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees; it is a temper of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions; it is the freshness of the deep springs of life.

Youth means the temperamental predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite of adventure over the love of ease. This often exists in a man of sixty more than in a boy of twenty. Nobody grows old by merely living a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals.

Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, doubt, self-distrust, fear and despair—these bow the heart and turn the spirit back to dust.

Whether sixty or sixteen, there is in every human being’ s heart the love of wonder, the sweet amazement at the stars and the star like things, the undaunted challenge of events, the unfailing child-like appetite for what-next, and the joy of the game of living.

You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubt; as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear; as young as your hope, as old as your despair.

In the central place of your heart there is a wireless station, so long as it receives message of beauty, hope, courage, grandeur and power from the earth, from man and from the Infinite, so long are you young.

When the wires are all down, and all the central places of your heart are covered with the snows of pessimism and the ice of cynicism, then, and only then, are you grown old indeed.

青春不是年华,而是一种心态;不是玫瑰般的脸庞、红润的嘴唇和敏捷的双腿,而是坚韧的意志、丰富的想象力,以及无穷的激情;青春是生命深处的一股清泉。

青春意味着勇气多于怯懦,青春意味着喜欢冒险而讨厌安逸。拥有此种品质的人之中,60岁的老人往往多于20岁的年轻人。没有人只因年龄的增长而变老,人们往往因放弃理想而迈入年老。

岁月可使肌肤长满皱纹,但放弃激情则使心灵布满灰尘。焦虑、疑惑、畏缩、恐惧和沮丧都会挫伤心灵,磨损意志。

不管是白发老人还是青春少年,每个人的心里对新奇事物皆充满着喜爱,对星星和类似星星的东西皆有好奇之心,敢于挑战,对未知事物的孩子般的渴求之心,乐于享受生活带来的乐趣。

我们因充满信心而变得年轻,因心存疑虑而变得年老;因自信而年轻,因心存恐惧而年老;因充满希望而年轻,因满怀沮丧而年老。

人人心里都有一座无线电台,只要接收到来自地球、人类和宇宙的美好、希望、勇气、庄严及力量,就会变得年轻。

当心灵的天线倒下,心如大雪般的悲观、如冰块般的愤世嫉俗时,那时,唯有那时,我们将真正老去。

心灵小语

青春是一种品质,每当你睁开双眼,决定以微笑迎接崭新的一天,青春就像小鸟,已经落在你心里了。

记忆填空

1. Nobody grows old by merely living a number of__ . We grow old by deserting our__ .

2. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to__ up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry,__ , self-distrust, fear and despair—these bow the heart and__ the spirit back to dust.

3. You are as young as your faith, as__ as your doubt; as young as your self-confidence, as old as your__ ; as young as your hope, as old as your despair.

佳句翻译