When I Was One‑and‑Twenty

I heard a wise man say, ‘Give crowns and pounds and guineas But not your heart away; Give pearls away and rubies But keep your fancy free.’ But I was one-and-twenty, No use to talk to me. When I was one-and-twenty I heard him say again, ‘The heart out of the bosom Was never given in vain; ’Tis paid with sighs a plenty And sold for endless rue.’ And I am two-and-twenty, And oh, ’tis true, ’tis true.

我二十一歲時 有一個長者告訴我 錢財權勢可以不要 但不能把自己的心給交出去 也可以不要 但要常保赤子之心 但我當時二十一 對我說甚麼我都聽不進去 當我二十一歲時 我又聽到他再一次告訴我 那未交出去的心 不能隨意給別人 不然你將付出許多的嘆息 和 而我現在二十二了 哀 他說的都是真的 是真的