第53章 论青年与老年（1 / 1）

ofyouthandage

论青年与老年

francisbacon/弗朗西斯·培根

amanthatisyounginyears，maybeoldinhours，ifhehavelostnotime.butthathappenedrarely.generally，youthislikethefirstcogitations，notsowiseasthesecond.forthereisayouthinthoughts，aswellasinages.

andyettheinventionofyoungmen，ismorelivelythanthatofold；andimaginationsstreamintotheirmindsbetter，and，asitwere，moredivinely.naturesthathavemuchheat，andgreatandviolentdesiresandperturbations，arenotripeforaction，filheyhavepassedthemeridianoftheiryears；asitwaswithjuliuscaesarandseptimiusseverus...

youngmenarefittertoinvent，thantojudge；fitterforexecution，thanforcounsel；andfitterfornewprojects，thanforsettledbusiness.fortheexperienceofage，inthingsthatfallwithinthecompassofit，directeththem；butinnewthings，abuseththem.

一个人假使不曾虚度生活，年岁不大也可以表现得成熟老练，只不过这种情况少有发生罢了。深思未必出自风霜，岁月同样可见年轻，可一般的青年毕竟谋划不过长辈，智慧也不及他们少年老成的同龄人。

但青年的创造性是更为丰富的，想像力也如涌泉一样奔放灵活，这似乎更得益于神助。天性刚烈、心怀热望、情绪敏感的人不历经中年，行事总是青涩，恺撒和塞维拉斯即为例证……青年擅长创造却缺乏判断，擅长行动却缺乏商讨，擅长革新却缺乏对经验的借鉴。日积月累的经验可以引导他们掌握旧事物，但也会遮盖他们看见新事物的视线。

theerrorsofyoungmen，aretheruinofbusiness；buttheerrorsofagedmen，amountbuttothis，thatmoremighthavebeendone，orsooner.youngmen，intheconductandmanageofactions，embracemorethantheycanhold；stirmorethantheycanquiet；flytotheend，withoutconsiderationofthemeansanddegrees；pursuesomefewprinciples，whichtheyhavechanceduponabsurdlycarenottoinnovate，whichdrawsunknowninconveniences；useextremeremediesatfirst；and，thatwhichdoublethallerrors，willnotacknowledgeorretractthem；likeanunreadyhorse，thatwillneitherstopnorturn.menofageobjecttoomuch，consutoolong，adventuretoolittle，repenttoosoon，andseldomdrivebusinesshometothefullperiod，butcontentthemselveswithamediocrityofsuccess.certainlyitisgoodtocompoundemploymentsofboth；forthatwillbegoodforthepresent.becausethevirtuesofeitherage，maycorrectthedefectsofboth；andgoodforsuccession，thatyoungmenmaybelearners，whilemeninageareactors；and，lastly，goodforexternaccidents，becauseauthorityfollowetholdmen，andfavorandpopularity，youth.butforthemoralpart，perhapsyouthwillhavethepreeminence，asagehathforthepolitic.

青年人犯错往往毁坏大局，而老年人的错则是迈步太小或行动太缓。无论谋事还是操行，青年都婺远喜功，基调高，动幅大，好走极端；他们藐视前例，目空一切，革新的勇气绰绰有余，而欠方式和分寸上的考虑，结果反而招致意外的麻烦。他们有如不羁的野马，行事极端而不自知自救，一旦开蹄犯错，就泻至千里，不可复回。老年人呢，他们顾忌太多，议论过长，宁求安稳，不愿冒险，总是满足于平平成绩而不向往极至的辉煌。毫无疑问，最好是将两者特点结合。就现在来说，青年和老年可以互相取长补短。就发展来说，老年人是主事者，而青年可以学习取经。最后就社会来说，老年人以权威之姿指引方向，青年人则能振奋民心、鼓舞士气。但如果从政治上讲，老人的阅历是珍贵的，那么，青年人的纯真则在人性中熠熠闪光。（未完待续）