A． Original 版
Youth Samuel Ullman
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.
Youth means a temperamental predominance
of courage over timidity of the appetite, for
adventure over the love of ease. This often
exists in a man of sixty more than a boy of
twenty. Nobody grows old merely by a number
of years. We grow old by deserting our
ideals.
Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up
enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, fear,
self‐distrust bows the heart and turns the spirit
back to dust.
Whether sixty or sixteen, there is in every
human being’s heart the lure of wonder, the
unfailing child‐like 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.
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
twenty, but as long as your aerials are up, to
catch the waves of optimism, there is hope you
may die young at eighty.
B． The Reader’s Digest 版
Youth Samuel Ullman
Youth is not a time of life ― it is a state of mind ;
it is a temper of the will, a quality of the imagina‐
tion, 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 amaze‐
ment 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.
When the wires are all down and all the central
place of your heart is covered with the snows of
pessimism and the ice of cynicism, then you are
grown old indeed and may God have mercy on your
soul.
Given to MacArthur some years agoby Jhon W. Lewis. It is based on a poem written by the late SamuelUllman of Birmingham, Ala.
青春とは人生の或る期間を言うのではなく、心の様相を言うのだ。
小児のように求めて止まぬ探究心
人は信念と共に若く 疑惑と共に老いる。
人は自信と共に若く 恐怖と共に老いる。
希望ある限り若く 失望と共に老い朽ちる。
写真は長男智哉の結婚式 2020年3月8日
