If—

《If》是1907年英国第一位获得诺贝尔文学奖的诗人约瑟夫·鲁德亚德·吉卜林（Joseph Rudyard Kipling，1868-1936）在写给12岁儿子John的一首短诗，语言质朴，风格简约，平淡之中蕴含着深邃的哲理。
《If》一诗分为四个段落，其第一段“If you can keep your head when all about you , Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too; If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or being lied about, don't deal in lies, Or being hated, don't give way to hating, And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise”，大意为“如果众人失去理性责难于你，而你仍能保持冷静；如果众人对你心存猜疑，而你能相信自己，还能原谅他们的怀疑；如果你能耐心等待，而不厌倦，或遭人诽谤，而不以牙还牙，或遭人憎恨，却不怨天尤人；然而别看来太好，话也别讲得太聪明”。
其第二段为“If you can dream - and not make dreams your master; If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim; If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster, And treat those two impostors just the same; If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken, Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken, And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools”，大意为“如果你有梦想，而不为梦想所宰制；如果你能思考，勿只思考而不行动；如果你能坦然面对胜利和惨败，而把这两个骗子一视同仁；如果你听到你讲的真话遭小人扭歪 去诱陷无知，却仍能泰然自持，或者眼见你毕生心血毁于一旦，而仍能胼手胝足 凭堪用的资源去重建”。其中“If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster and treat those two impostors just the same.”还被刻在温布敦(Wimbledon) 球场入口的墙上，守护着这举世闻名的球赛。
其第三段为“If you can make one heap of all your winnings, And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, And lose, and start again at your beginnings, And never breathe a word about your losses; If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew, To serve your turn long after they are gone, And so hold on when there is nothing in you, Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'”；大意为“如果你把赢得的财富孤注一掷，而不幸失败，但仍能从头再来，并对你的失利三缄其口；如果你能强迫你的雄心、勇气和力量，在它们俱已枯竭时仍为你奋起效劳，因此当你一无所有，只剩下吩咐它们：“撑下去！”的意志时，你就这样撑下去 坚持到底”。
其第四段为“If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch, if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you, If all men count with you, but none too much; If you can fill the unforgiving minute， With sixty seconds' worth of distance run, Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it, And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!”大意为“如果你能跟群众交谈而仍保持你的美德，或者与权贵同行而不忘群众，如果敌人或挚友都伤不了你；如果众人对你信任有加，却不过分依赖；如果你能惜时善用六十刻度的每一秒钟，努力充实稍纵即逝的每一分钟，地球和它所有的一切，就是属于你的，而且，更重要的是--- 孩子，你将是个顶天立地之人!”。《If》曾被译成27国语言作为学习的教材，平淡之中蕴含着深邃的哲理，许多人特别是青少年常以此勉励自己，激发前进的动力。