Never handle firearms carelessly. The sorrow and suffering that have been caused through the innocent but heedless handling of firearms by the young! Only four days ago, right in the next farm house to the one where I am spending the summer, a grandmother, old and gray and sweet, one of the loveliest spirits in the land, was sitting at her work, when her young grandson crept in and got down an old, battered, rusty gun which had not been touched for many years and was supposed not to be loaded, and pointed it at her, laughing and threatening to shoot. In her fright she ran screaming and pleading toward the door on the other side of the room; but as she passed him he placed the gun almost against her very breast and pulled the trigger! He had supposed it was not loaded. And he was right—it wasn’t. So there wasn’t any harm done. It is the only case of that kind I ever heard of. Therefore, just the same, don’t you meddle with old unloaded firearms; they are the most deadly and unerring things that have ever been created by man. You don’t have to take any pains at all with them; you don’t have to have a rest, you don’t have to have any sights on the gun, you don’t have to take aim, even. No, you just pick out a relative and bang away, and you are sure to get him. A youth who can’t hit a cathedral at thirty yards with a Gatling gun in three quarters of an hour, can take up an old empty musket and bag his grandmother every time, at a hundred. Think what Waterloo would have been if one of the armies had been boys armed with old muskets supposed not to be loaded, and the other army had been composed of their female relations. The very thought of it makes one shudder.
There are many sorts of books; but good ones are the sort for the young to read. Remember that. They are a great, an inestimable, and unspeakable means of improvement. Therefore be careful in your selection, my young friends; be very careful; confine yourselves exclusively to , and works of that kind.
But I have said enough. I hope you will treasure up the instructions which I have given you, and make them a guide to your feet and a light to your understanding. Build your character thoughtfully and painstakingly upon these precepts, and by and by, when you have got it built, you will be surprised and gratified to see how nicely and sharply it resembles everybody else’s.
得知人们希望我在这里讲几句时，我问他们我该讲些什么。他们说，希望我讲些适合年轻人的东西——一些有教诲性、能教育人的东西，或是一些好的建议。这太好了！我倒是一直想给年轻人提点儿建议呢，因为人在年轻时期，好的建议极易在心底扎根，并能终身受用。那么，首先，年轻朋友们——我要真诚地告诫你们——
一定要听父母的话。从长远来讲，这是最聪明的做法，如果你不听话，他们就会逼着你听话。大多数父母认为他们知道的比你们多，在这种情况下，与其自行其是，倒不如迎合他们的想法，这样你会收获更多。
如果你有上级的话，请尊重他们，对陌生人和他人也是如此。如果某个人得罪了你，而你不知道他是否是故意的，那就不要采取极端做法，而是要等待时机，给他当头一棒，这就够了。如果发现他并非有意伤害你，那么，你就应该站出来，承认教训他的事，要像一个男子汉一样承认错误，并说明自己并非有意。还有就是，切勿使用暴力，在和平友好的年代，暴力已经过时。让我们谴责这些低俗的举止，粉碎暴力吧！
早睡早起——这是十分明智的。有些人主动起床，也有些人被迫起床。当然，在百灵鸟的歌声中起床最惬意不过了。当人们都知道你与百灵鸟同迎清晨时，你便会备受称赞；如果你得到一只中意的百灵鸟，并以正确的方式训练它，让它九点半，甚至是任何时候起床就不是件难事了——当然，这并不是说要耍诡计。
现在，我们来谈谈说谎吧。要说谎，就得小心谨慎，否则很容易穿帮。一旦被揭穿，别人就不再认为你是善良和纯洁的了，你在别人眼中就不是从前的你了。很多年轻人就因为一个拙劣的谎言永远地伤害了自己，原因在于他们不够谨慎且缺乏经验。有些人认为，年轻人不能撒谎。当然，这有些偏激。我不会这么偏激，而且我认为我是有道理的。我认为，年轻人应适当运用这门伟大的艺术，通过训练和实践，他们将变得自信、优雅和精确，恰恰是这些可以使他们完美出色地达到目标。耐心、勤奋和对细节的认真揣摩，都是年轻人必须具备的条件。随着时间的流逝，这些要素将会使你们臻于完美，而你们也只有仰仗这些要素，才能成就日后的辉煌。
想想那位无可匹敌的大师吧，多年沉闷乏味的学习、思考、实践和练习才使他得以在世人面前说出这样的经典语句——“真理有着巨大的力量，并将战胜一切。”——这是最伟大的悖论，是凡人所能达到的最高境界。历史和个人的经历都深刻地表明：真理易被推翻，但绝妙的谎言永远颠扑不破。波士顿立有一座纪念麻醉术发明者的纪念碑。后来，很多人发现，这个人根本不是麻醉术的发明者，他不过是窃取了他人的成果。真理的力量真的很强大吗？它能战胜一切吗？哦，不，朋友们，制作那座纪念碑的材料固然很坚固，但它所承载的谎言将比纪念碑本身还要久一百万年。笨拙、无说服力和漏洞百出的谎言是你应当通过不断学习去避免的，这样的谎言还不及一般真理长久。为什么呢？你还是说出真相吧，现在就说。一个没有说服力、可笑、荒谬的谎言不会持续两年——除非它是对某人的诽谤。当然，这样的谎言牢不可破，但对你的名誉没有什么好处。一句话：尽早练习这门高尚而美丽的艺术吧——现在就开始。要是我当年入门早，现在就已经学会了。
不要随便玩弄枪械。年轻人因为无知或不小心摆弄枪械而造成痛苦和伤害的例子太多了！我避暑的农舍隔壁住着一位满头银发、和蔼可亲的老奶奶，她可以说是世界上最可亲的老人家之一了。就在四天前，她正在干活，她的小孙子蹑手蹑脚地溜了进来，还拿着一支陈旧扭曲、锈迹斑斑的枪，这支枪好多年没用了，大家都以为里边没装子弹。孙子用枪指着她，笑着威胁她，她十分害怕，惊叫着跑开，躲到门的另一侧求饶。但当她从他身边走过时，他几乎用枪顶着她的胸膛，并且扣动了扳机！他以为枪膛里没子弹，的确——枪里确实没子弹，所以并没有造成什么伤害。这是我听过的唯一例外，因此，同样地，不要去碰没有装子弹的枪。枪是人类制造出的最精确的杀人工具，不要在上面浪费精力，不要给枪装支架，不要装瞄准器，甚至不要去瞄准，绝对不要，你只要拿起一样类似的东西并且“乒乒”两下，保证你会击中目标。一个在四十五分钟之内都无法用加特林击中三十码开外的教堂的年轻人，可能会用一支破旧的没装子弹的枪在一百码处次次击中他的奶奶。想想看，如果滑铁卢战役中的一方是拿着没装子弹的枪的孩子们，另一方是他们的女性亲戚，结果会如何呢？只要想想，就会让人不寒而栗。
书籍名目繁多，但只有好书才适合年轻人阅读。请记住，好书能让你不断完善自身，这种作用强大、不可估量且难以捉摸。因此，年轻的朋友们，请谨慎选择你们的读物，要十分谨慎。你们应该专门读诸如罗伯逊的《道德启示录》、巴克斯特的《圣徒的安息》和《傻瓜出国记》之类的作品。
我说得已经够多了。我希望你们能珍惜这些建议，让它们成为你们的向导，点燃你们思想的火花。按照这些建议去培养自己的性格吧，慢慢地，一旦你塑造好了，就会惊讶而欣慰地发现，自己和他人是如此相似。
1. Always_________your parents, when they are present. This is the _________ policy in the long run, because if you don’t, they will_________ you. Most parents think they know better_________you do, and you can generally make _________by humoring that superstition than you can by acting on your own better_________ .
2. Think_________Waterloo would have been if one of the armies had been _______ armed with old muskets supposed not to be_________, and the other army had been composed of_________female relations. The very thought of it makes_________shudder.
1. 因为人在年轻时期，好的建议极易在心底扎根，并能终身受用。
2. 耐心、勤奋和对细节的认真揣摩，都是年轻人必须具备的条件。
3. 书籍名目繁多，但只有好书才适合年轻人阅读。
1. ...I inquired what sort of talk I ought to make.
sort of：有几分；稍微；有点儿
2. ...such things will best take root and be most enduring and most valuable.
take root：生根；被牢固树立
