约翰·罗斯金/ John Ruskin
约翰·罗斯金（1819—1900），英国作家和美术评论家。他对社会的评论使他被视为道德领路人或预言家。其著作《留给这个后来者》（Unto This Last）曾对甘地产生过影响。他先后于1870—1879年和1883—1884年两次担任牛津大学的美术教授。
Practicing for Better Learning
Think about the questions before you read this article.
1. Have you ever made a serious decision that you regret?
2. Write down some words to your future self.
It was New Year’s Night. An aged man was standing at a window. He raised his mournful 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 remorse. Now his health was poor, his mind vacant, his heart sorrowful, and his old age short of comforts.
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—he leading to a peaceful, sunny place, covered with flowers, fruits and resounding 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 and crawled.
He looked towards the sky and cried painfully,“O, youth, return! O, 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 remorse, 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.