Aspirations of Youth
青春的渴望

Aspirations of Youth is a hymn poem written by James Montgomery (1771-1854). Montgomery was a British poet, hymn writer and editor. During his lifetime, he was particularly associated with humanitarian causes such as the campaigns to abolish slavery and to end the exploitation of child chimney sweeps. But Montgomery himself expected that his name would live, if at all, in his hymns. Some of these, such as Hail to the Lord's Anointed, Prayer is the Soul's Sincere Desire, Forever with the Lord and the carol Angels from the Realms of Glory, are still sung.
《青春的渴望》是詹姆斯·蒙哥马利(1771—1854)创作的一首赞美诗。蒙哥马利是一位英国诗人、颂歌创作者和编辑。他一生孜孜不倦地致力于人道主义事业，如参与废除奴隶制和童工清扫烟囱等运动。他曾预料自己的名字将通过他的圣诗长存。他的判断是准确的，其中一些诗歌，如《颂赞受膏的基督》《祷告乃是灵魂诚挚所愿》《永远与主同在》《荣耀天军》等至今仍为人吟唱。

The whole poem consists of eighteen lines, well divided into three stanzas of similar forms. The first two lines of each stanza are arranged in parallel both in content and form. The repetition of adverbs of “higher” “deeper” “onward” rings in audience's ears easily like a marching drum, delivering a sense of strength and vigor. Therefore, these lines are not only beautifully chanted and melodious to ears, but also conveying the speaker's heart-stirring message to fight and work. In the first stanza, the youth is encouraged to perpetuate their names in the history by following the nation's call for welfare. In the second stanza, the young people are advocated to pursue knowledge and “nature's wealth and learning's spoil” from schools and colleges. In the last stanza, the poet proposes that virtue and excellence should be always held true as they are the quintessence of happiness and beauty. The last line is most promising and optimistic as the poet advocates clearly: “Let us make a heaven of earth.”
全诗共18行，分三节，每节格式相似。每节诗的前两行不仅形式上相同，内容上也是平行结构。“更高”“更深”“向前”等副词的重复，听来铿锵有力，犹如战鼓擂声在耳。这些诗行不仅读来悦耳动听，更传达了叙述者激情澎湃的信息，鼓励年轻一代去奋斗拼搏。第一节中，诗人鼓励年轻人响应国家谋求福祉的号召，在滔滔史卷上留下自己的名字。第二节中，诗人号召年轻人从学校和研究院吸纳知识，探索“自然财富和学术精品”。最后一节中，诗人认为美德和卓越是真正的美和幸福，值得年轻人永远珍视。“让我们创造人间的天堂”，诗人用最乐观向上、最斗志昂扬的口号为全篇画上有力的句号。