It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumphs of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.
Excerpt From The Honorable People
By Theodore Roosevelt
［参考译文］
有作为的人
西奥多·罗斯福
真正令人尊敬的并非那些评论家和那些指出强者是如何跌倒、实干家该于何处做得更好的人。
荣誉属于那些亲临竞技场，满面污泥、汗水和鲜血的人。他们不懈地努力，他们曾犯过错，并一再失败。因为有付出就会有错误和失败。他们满怀激情，执著不懈，将生命奉献于崇高的事业。他们为经过艰辛努力最终所取得的伟大成就而自豪，若是失败，他们也虽败犹荣。因而，这样的人永远不应与那些没有胜利过、也未失败过的冷淡而胆怯的人相提并论。
［注释］
-arena [əˈriːnə] n. 竞技场，舞台 an area of activity that forces contend
-valiantly [ˈvælɪəntlɪ] adv. 勇猛地，英勇地 bravely or determinedly
-enthusiasm [ɪnˈθjuːzɪæzəm] n. 狂热，热心，积极性 great excitement for or interest in a subject or cause
［作者简介］
西奥多·罗斯福（Theodore Roosevelt, 1858-1919），政治家、经济学家，美国第26任总统（1901—1909），因调停日俄战争（1904—1905）而获1906年诺贝尔和平奖。罗斯福总统是一个热衷于户外生活的人，而在他的全部政策中，保护美国自然资源的政策具有最持久的意义。