The Two Roadsby John Ruskin

那些仍躑躅在人生路口的年輕人啊，當(dāng)你的青春已逝，心中充滿羞愧與悔恨的時(shí)候，才悲痛地呼喊：“請(qǐng)把美好的青春年華還給我吧！”這些都已經(jīng)是徒勞無(wú)用的了，當(dāng)你的面前有兩條路時(shí)，一定要仔細(xì)思考后再?zèng)Q定你會(huì)選擇哪一條。

It was New Year's Night. An aged man was standing at a window. He raised his mournful（悲傷的） eyes towards the deep blue sky， where the stars were floating like white lilies on the surface of a clear calm lake. Then he cast them on the earth， where few more hopeless people than himself now moved towards their certain goal—the tomb. He had already passed sixty of the stages leading to it， and he had brought from his journey nothing but errors and regret. Now his health was poor， his mind empty， his heart sorrowful， and his old age short of comfort.

The days of his youth appeared like dreams before him， and he recalled the serious moment when his father placed him at the entrance of the two roads—one leading to a peaceful， sunny place， covered with flowers， fruits and resounding（回響）with soft， sweet songs; the other leading to a deep， dark cave， which was endless， where poison flowed instead of water and where devils and poisonous snakes hissed （嘶嘶作聲） and crawled.

He looked towards the sky and cried painfully， “Oh youth， return！Oh my father， place me once more at the entrance to life， and I'll choose the better way！” But both his father and the days of his youth had passed away.

He saw the lights flowing away in the darkness. These were the days of his wasted life; he saw a star fall from the sky and disappeared， and this was the symbol of himself. His regret， which was like a sharp arrow， struck deeply into his heart. Then he remembered his friends in his childhood， who entered on life together with him. But they had made their way to success and were now honoured and happy on this New Year's Night.

The clock in the high church tower struck and the sound made him remember his parents' early love for him. They had taught him and prayed to God for his well-being. But he chose the wrong way. With shame and sorrow he dared no longer look towards that heaven where his father lives. His darkened eyes were full of tears， and with a despairing effort， he burst out a cry： “Come back， my early days！ Come back！”

And his youth did return， for all this was only a dream which he had on New Year's Night. He was still young though his faults were real; he had not yet entered the deep， dark cave， and he was still free to walk on the road which leads to the peaceful and sunny land.

Those who still linger （徘徊） on the entrance of life， hesitating to choose the bright road， remember that when years are passed and your feet stumble（絆倒） on the dark mountains， you will cry bitterly， but in vain： “Oh youth， return！Oh give me back my early days！”

除夕之夜，一位老人佇立窗前。他滿眼哀傷，仰望著深藍(lán)色的天空，那兒，星星如平靜清澈的湖面上的朵朵白蓮在漂移著;然后，他將目光投向地面，幾個(gè)比他更加絕望的人正在走向人生的終點(diǎn)——墳?zāi)?。在通往人生終點(diǎn)的道路上，他已走過(guò)了60多個(gè)驛站，除了過(guò)失和悔恨，他一無(wú)所獲?，F(xiàn)在，他健康欠佳，精神空虛，心情憂郁，缺少晚年應(yīng)有的舒適和安逸。

青春的歲月如夢(mèng)幻般浮現(xiàn)在他眼前，他回想起父親將他放在人生岔路口上的關(guān)鍵時(shí)刻，當(dāng)時(shí)，他面前有兩條路：一條通向和平寧?kù)o、陽(yáng)光燦爛的地方，那里到處是花果，到處回蕩著柔和甜美的歌聲;另一條則通向黑暗無(wú)底的深淵，那里流淌著毒液而不是清水，惡魔肆虐，毒蛇嘶嘶爬動(dòng)。

他仰望天空，痛苦地哭喊：“哦，青春，你回來(lái)吧！哦，父親，請(qǐng)把我重新放到人生的路口上吧，我會(huì)做出更好的選擇?！比欢母赣H和他的青春年華皆離他遠(yuǎn)去。

他看見(jiàn)燈光消逝在黑暗中，那便是他虛度的時(shí)光;他看見(jiàn)一顆星星從空中隕落、消失，那是他自身的象征?；诤奕缤恢Ю?，深深地刺進(jìn)他的心。接著，他想起童年時(shí)代的朋友，他們?cè)c他一同踏上人生的旅程，現(xiàn)已獲得成功，受到人們的尊敬，此刻正在幸福中歡度除夕。

教堂塔頂?shù)溺娐曧懥?，使他回憶起父母早年?duì)他的愛(ài)，他們?cè)o予他諄諄教誨，曾為他的幸福祈禱上帝。可他偏偏選擇人生的歧途。羞愧和憂傷使他再也不敢正視他父親所在的天堂。雙眼黯然無(wú)光，飽噙著淚水，在絕望中，他拼命高呼：“回來(lái)吧，我那逝去的青春年華！回來(lái)吧！”

青春真的回來(lái)了，因?yàn)橐陨纤l(fā)生的一切只是他在除夕所做的一場(chǎng)夢(mèng)。他依舊年輕，當(dāng)然他真的犯有過(guò)錯(cuò)，但還未墜入深淵;他仍然可以自由地走上通向?qū)庫(kù)o和光明的道路。

仍在人生路口徘徊，猶豫著該不該選擇光明大道的年輕人啊，你們千萬(wàn)要記住：當(dāng)你青春已逝，雙足在黑暗的群山中舉步維艱，跌跌撞撞之時(shí)，你才痛心疾首地呼喚：“哦，回來(lái)吧，青春！哦，把我的美好年華還給我！”這只會(huì)是徒勞無(wú)益的。

河南鎮(zhèn)平 龐先慶 供稿