Youth is not 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, a predominance

of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over love of ease.

Nobody grows old by merely living a number of years; people grow

old only by deserting their ideals. Years wrinkle the skin, but to give up

enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, doubt, self-distrust, fear, and despair

-- these are the long, long years that bow the head and turn the growing spirit

back to dust.

Whether seventy or sixteen, there is in every being's heart the love

of wonder, the sweet amazement at the stars and the starlike things and

thoughts, the undaunted challenge of events, the unfailing childlike appetite

for what next, and the joy and the game of life.

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.

So long as your heart receives messages of beauty, cheer, courage,

grandeur and power from the earth, from man, and from the Infinite, so long

you are young.

-- Samuel Ullman



This essay is so beautiful.I want to share it with everyone.You can also try to translate it in Chinese.



Lullaby

[ 本帖最后由 lullaby 于 2007-1-17 12:46 编辑 ]

really a wonderful article,i like it

Nobody grows old by merely living a number of years; people grow

old only by deserting their ideals.

we desert the ideals following our growing old

Youth is just a state of mind.Don't be afraid to grow up.

青春

塞缪尔·厄尔曼

Youth is not 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 matter of the will, a

quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions; it is the freshness of

the deep springs of life.

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。

Youth means a tempera-mental predominance of courage over timidity, of the

appetite for adventure over the love of ease. This often exists in a man of

60 more than a boy of 20.　Nobody grows old merely by a number of years.　We

grow old by deserting our ideals.

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。

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

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

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。

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

the unfailing childlike appetite of what’s next and the joy of the game of

living.　In the center of your heart and my heart there is a wireless

station: so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, courage and

power from men and from the Infinite, so long are you young.

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。

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

and the ice of pessimism, then you are grown old, even at 20, but as long as

your aerials are up, to catch waves of optimism, there is hope you may die

young at 80.

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。

oh.....

reading...

原帖由 lullaby 于 2007-1-17 12:43 发表

青春

塞缪尔·厄尔曼

Youth is not 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 matter of the will, a

quality of the imaginat ...

翻译得太好了，叹为观止！

Youth is not a time of life, it is a state of mind

Love the sentence very much ---Youth is not a time of life ,it is a state of mind .