文:李大钊 译:张培基
Of all things in the world, I think, the present is the most precious, and also the most apt to slip through our fingers.
我以为世间最可宝贵的就是“今”,最易丧失的也是“今”。
We, therefore, treasure it all the more because of its transience.
因为他最容易丧失,所以更觉得他可以宝贵。
Why is the present so precious? The following quotation from the philosopher Emerson best serves for an answer:"Make use of time if you love eternity; yesterday cannot be recalled; tomorrow cannot be assured; only today is yours.One today is worth two tomorrows."
为什么“今”最可宝贵呢?最好借哲人耶曼孙所说的话答这个疑问:“尔若爱千古,尔当爱现在。昨日不能唤回来,明天还不确实,尔能确有把握的就是今日。今日一天,当明日两天。”
Why is the present so easily lost? Because the universe as well as human life is changing non-stop all the time.
为什么“今”最易丧失呢?因为宇宙大化刻刻流转,绝不停留。
Time never tarries with us a bit longer because we treasure and love it.
时间这个东西,也不因为吾人贵他爱他稍稍在人间留恋。
It is hard to tell which moment in the ups and downs of life is our present or now.
试问吾人说“今”说“现在”,茫茫百千万劫,究竟哪一刹那是吾人的“今”,是吾人的“现在”呢?
What we call our present or now at one time will at the next be quickly gone and become the past.
刚刚说他是“今”是“现在”,他早已风驰电掣的一般,已成“过去”了。
Isn't it a pity to unthinkingly idle away the present?
吾人若要糊糊涂涂把他丢掉,岂不可惜?