第十二课 青春

Youth is not just a stage of life; it is a state of mind.

青春不只是人生的一个阶段;它是一种心境。

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

它不是指红润的脸颊、红色的嘴唇和柔软弯曲的膝盖;

it is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination，a vigor of the emotions.

而是指意志力、丰富的想象力、充沛的感情。

It is the freshness of the deep spring of life.

它是生命深泉之清新。

Youth means the predominance over of courage over timidity, of adventure over the love of ease.

青春意味着勇气胜过胆怯，冒险犯难胜过贪图安逸。

This often exists in a man of sixty more than in a boy of twenty.

六十岁的人往往要比二十岁的小伙子更持有这种精神。

Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years.

没有人只因活了若干年而变老。

We grow old by deserting our ideals.

我们变老是因为我们抛弃了自己的理想。

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

岁月可以使皮肤产生皱纹，但是放弃热诚则会消蚀灵魂。

Worry，doubt，self-distrust，fear and despair - these bow the head and turn the growing spirit back to dust.

忧虑、怀疑、缺乏自信、恐惧和绝望—这些都会让我们垂头丧气，而且会让成长的精神化为乌有。

Whether sixty or sixteen，there is in every numan being's heart the love of wonder,

每个人不管是六十岁或是十六岁，心中都有一股好奇心，

the sweet amazement of the stars and the starlike things, the undaunted challenge of events，

对星星及星状的东西会产生一种欢喜之情，不畏任何挑战，

the unfailing childlike appetite for what-next and the joy of the game of living.

对未知的事物有着一种像孩子般永不冷却的热望，以及游戏人生的喜悦之情。

You are as young as your faith，as old as your doubt, as young as your self-confidence,

你有信心、自信和希望时，就会年轻;

as old as your fear, as young as your hope, as old as your despair.

而你若怀疑、恐惧和绝望时，就会衰老。