吉卜林的這首《如果》被英國民眾選為最受歡迎的詩歌之一，父親為了過12歲生日的兒子而寫，短短一首詩，卻包含了父親對兒子的諄諄教誨和殷切期待，以及他對于人生的深刻理解。
IF?《如果》
By：Rudyard Kipling
IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:
如果在眾人六神無主之時(shí),
你鎮(zhèn)定自若而不是人云亦云;
如果被眾人猜忌懷疑時(shí),
你能自信如常而不去枉加辯論;
如果你耐心等待，不輕言放棄，
即使被欺騙，也不以謊言回敬，
即使遭遇仇恨，也不被恨意沾染，
從不對人炫耀，也不自我標(biāo)榜；
If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:
如果你有夢想,
又能不迷失自我;
如果你有神思,
又不至于走火入魔;
如果在成功之中能不忘形于色,
而在災(zāi)難之后也勇于咀嚼苦果;
如果你能忍受你堅(jiān)信的真理
被人用做矇昧他人的工具，
抑或看到自己追求的美好破滅，
也會(huì)站在瓦礫中倔強(qiáng)重生不言放棄;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'
如果你畢生的積蓄，
在孤注一擲的豪賭中，
蕩然無存，你可以重新開始，
永遠(yuǎn)不提自己的損失；
如果你精疲力盡
但還能全力以赴，
或者當(dāng)你力量衰竭
只有你的意志力在提醒自己要堅(jiān)持；?
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!
如果你出入市井但能潔身自好,
和王侯散步而不露諂媚之顏;
如果他人的愛情左右不了你,
如果你與任何人為伍都能卓然獨(dú)立;
如果你能把每一分寶貴的光陰，
化作六十秒的奮斗，
那么，你的修養(yǎng)就會(huì)如天地般博大，
而你，我的孩子，就成為了真正頂天立地之人！
