作者:Samuel Ullman
青春不是年华,而是心境;青春不是桃面、丹唇、柔膝,而是深沉的意志、宏伟的想象、炽热的感情;青春是生命的深泉在涌流。
经典英语文章《青春》背后的故事:
太平洋战争打得正酣之时,麦克阿瑟将军常常从繁忙中抬起头,注视着挂在墙上的镜框,镜框里是篇文章,名为《青春》。这篇文章一直伴随着他,也跟着他到了日本。后来,日本人在东京的美军总部发现了它,《青春》便开始在日本流传。
一位资深的日本问题观察家说,在日本实业界,只要有成就者,没有哪一个不熟知不应用这篇美文的,就连松下电器的创始人松下幸之助几十年来也把《青春》当作他的座右铭。
还有这么一件趣事,足以证明《青春》在日本的魅力。一天,美国影片销售协会主席罗森菲尔德参加日本实业界的聚会,晚宴之前的谈话,他随意说了一句:“《青春》的作者,便是我的祖父。”在座的各位实业界领袖大为惊讶,其中有一位一边激动地说“我一直随身带着它呢”,一边从口袋里掏出了《青春》。
Youth is not a time of life; itis a state of mind. It is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and suppleknees. It is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination, vigor of theemotions; it is the freshness of the deep spring of life.
Youth means a temperamental predominance of courage overtimidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease. This often exitsin a man of 60, more than a boy of 20.nobody grows merely by the number ofyears; we grow old by deserting our ideas. Years may wrinkle the skin, but togive up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, fear, self-distrust1 bows theheart and turns the spirit back to dust.
Whether 60 or 16, there is in every human being’s heart thelure of wonders, the unfailing childlike appetite of what’s next andthe joy of the game of living.In the center of your heart and my heart there is a wireless station; so longas it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, courage and power from men andfrom infinite, so long as you are young.
When the aerials are down, and your spirit is covered with thesnows of cynicism and the ice of pessimism, then you’ve grown old,even at 20, but as long as your aerials are up, to catch waves of optimism,there’s hope you may die young at 80.
青春不是年华,而是心境;青春不是桃面、丹唇、柔膝,而是深沉的意志,恢宏的想象,炙热的恋情;青春是生命的深泉在涌流。
青春气贯长虹,勇锐盖过怯弱,进取压倒苟安。如此锐气,二十后生而有之,六旬男子则更多见。年岁有加,并非垂老,理想丢弃,方堕暮年。
岁月悠悠,衰微只及肌肤;热忱抛却,颓废必致灵魂。忧烦,惶恐,丧失自信,定使心灵扭曲,意气如灰。
无论年届花甲,拟或二八芳龄,心中皆有生命之欢乐,奇迹之诱惑,孩童般天真久盛不衰。人人心中皆有一台天线,只要你从天上人间接受美好、希望、欢乐、勇气和力量的信号,你就青春永驻,风华常存。、
一旦天线下降,锐气便被冰雪覆盖,玩世不恭、自暴自弃油然而生,即使年方二十,实已垂垂老矣;然则只要树起天线,捕捉乐观信号,你就有望在八十高龄告别尘寰时仍觉年轻。
《Youth 青春》中英文精校典藏版作者:萨缪尔·厄尔曼翻译:王佐良