490ページ中49ページ

The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the

invisible.... Yes, Mr. Gray, the gods have been good to you. But

what the gods give they quickly take away. You have only a few

years in which to live really, perfectly, and fully. When your

youth goes, your beauty will go with it, and then you will

suddenly discover that there are no triumphs left for you, or

have to content yourself with those mean triumphs that the memory

of your past will make more bitter than defeats. Every month as

it wanes brings you nearer to something dreadful. Time is jealous

of you, and wars against your lilies and your roses. You will

become sallow, and hollow-cheeked, and dull-eyed. You will suffer

horribly.... Ah! realize your youth while you have it. Don't

squander the gold of your days, listening to the tedious, trying

to improve the hopeless failure, or giving away your life to the

ignorant, the common, and the vulgar. These are the sickly aims,

the false ideals, of our age. Live!