论勤奋(On Diligence)
it is the duty of every man to work. the life of a lazy man is of no use to himself and to others. the man who is too lazy to work is the man who's generally most ready to beg or to steal. every boy when he is young should learn some useful work.
but it is not enough that a boy should learn some kind of work. he should put his heart and soul completely into his work, and not waste his spare time. "work while you work and play while you play" is as good a rule for young people as for the old.
there is no better help to diligence than the habit of early rising, which just like all other good habits is most easily formed in youth. there is an english saying, "lost time never returns." this means that everybody must be diligent, and make good use of his time. one must study hard when he is
young so that he may make great progress, succeed in life and become useful to his country. therefore, we say that diligence is the mother of success.
