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 60 more than a boy of 20. 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 spring back to dust.
Whether 60 or 16, there is in every human being’s heart the lure of wonder, the unfailing childlike 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 20, but as long as your aerials are up, to catch waves of optimism, there is hope you may die young at 80.
[翻译]
青春不是生命的一段时光，不是指红润的脸颊、红扑扑的嘴唇和柔软的双膝；它是一种精神状态，是指不懈的干劲、丰富的想象力和滚烫的情怀。它是生命春意正浓时鲜活的记忆。它是生命之源勃勃生机的涌泉。
青春意味着战胜懦弱的那股大丈夫气概和摈弃安逸的那种冒险精神。往往一个60岁的老者比一个20岁的青年更多一点这种劲头。人老不仅仅是岁月流逝所致，更主要的是懒惰、不思进取的结果。
光阴可以在颜面上留下印记，而热情之火的熄灭则在心灵上刻下皱纹。遗憾、恐惧、缺乏自信，会扭曲人的灵魂，并将青春化为灰烬。
无论是60岁还是16岁，你需要保持永不衰竭的好奇心，永不熄灭的孩提般求知的渴望和追求事业成功的欢乐与热情。在你我的心底，都有一座无线电台：它能在多长时间里接收到人间万物传递来的美好、希望、欢乐、鼓舞和力量信息，你就会年轻多长时间。
当天线倒塌时，你的精神就被玩世不恭和悲观厌世的冰雪所覆盖，你就会衰老下去，即使你只是20岁。而你的天线巍然矗立着的时候，凭着高昂的乐观主义，你就有希望在80岁死去时仍然韶华不逝。