倘若在眾人的慌亂與指責中,仍舊昂首挺立;
倘若在飽受質疑時,卻能笑罵由人。
倘若等待,卻不以等待為苦,受騙,不報以欺騙,遭恨,不還以憎恨,仍舊謙卑自抑。
倘若心懷夢想,卻不以夢想為主宰;
倘若抱持理想,卻不以理想為終點;
倘若面對勝利與苦難,卻能透視兩者虛假的表象。
倘若事實遭人扭曲,成為愚昧人失足的陷阱卻仍平心靜氣;
倘若心血遭人毀壞,卻能重拾鏽跡斑斑的斧鑿,俯身重建。倘若畢生累積的籌碼頃刻間輸個精光,卻能重頭再起隻字不提失去的一切。
倘若身心俱疲似失去一切,卻能喚醒自己用僅存的意志說:「撐下去!」
倘若走入群眾仍保有風骨,躋身權勢仍平易近人,
倘若仇敵或密友再不能形成傷害,
倘若看重他人,卻不迷失自己。
倘若能將原地含怒的一分鐘,化為自在奔馳的六十秒,轉瞬間一切將如天地般開闊,
更重要的是──我兒,如今你已是頂天立地的男兒了。
-吉卜林-
[IF]
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: 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: If you can make one heap of all your winnings And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,And lose, and start again at your beginnings And never breath 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!"
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!
--Rudyard Kipling