If I were a Boy Again
倘若我又回到了童年
Anonymous/无名氏
If I were a boy again, I would practice perseverance1 more often, and never give up a thing because it was or inconvenient2. If we want light, we must conquer darkness. Perseverance can sometimes equal genius in its results. There are only two creatures, says a proverb, who can surmount3 the pyramidsthe eagle and the snail4.
If I were a boy again, I would school myself into a habit of attention; I would let nothing come between me and the subject in hand. I would remember that a good skater never tries to skate in two directions at once.
The habit of attention becomes part of our life, if we begin early enough. I often hear grown up people say I could not fix my attention on the sermon or book, although I wished to do so , and the reason is, the habit was not formed in youth.
If I were to live my life over again, I would pay more attention to the cultivation5 of the memory. I would strengthen that faculty6 by every possible means, and on every possible occasion. It takes a little hard work at first to remember things accurately7; but memory soon helps itself, and gives very little trouble. It only needs early cultivation to become a power.
倘若我又回到了童年，我做事要更有毅力，决不由于事情艰难或者麻烦而松手不干，大家要光明，就得征服黑暗。
毅力在成效上有时能同天才相比。俗话说：能登上金字塔的生物，只有两种鹰和蜗牛。
倘若我又回到了童年，我就要培养一心一意的习惯；有事在手，就决不让任何东西让我分心。我要牢记：出色的滑冰手从不试图同时滑向两个不一样的方向。
假如及早培养这种一心一意的习惯，它将成为大家生命的一部分。我常听成年人说：虽然我期望能集中注意听牧师讲道或念书，但总是办不到。而缘由就是年轻时没培养这种习惯。
倘若我目前能重新开始我的生命，我就要更注意记忆力的培养。我要采取所有可能的方法，并且在所有可能的场所，增强记忆力。要正确无误地记住一些东西，在开始阶段的确要作出一番小小的努力；但要不了多长时间，记忆力本身就会起用途，使记忆成为易如反掌的事，仅需及早培养，记忆自会成为一种才能。
