金圣嘆說過：“人生三十不仕，不當再仕，五十不娶，不當再娶。何則？用非其時也。”這一種說法，可代表中國人一般的普通思想。中國人的事業觀，最羨慕“少年得志”，最傷感“大器晚成”。為了這個原因，便是有所成就的人，到了五十以上，便有退休的意思。六十七十的人若還在事業上努力，就有抽身不得的慨嘆了。照人生上壽不過八十而言，為私人作一番打算，這種作風好像也有點道理。只是就事業的觀點上說，就不對。因為越是有年紀的人，他的學識經驗也就越豐富，大事業正需要這種人撐持。而且為人作事，也必須有個自信心。一老就覺得自己不行，那也透著我們生命力不強。擴而充之，整個民族如此，那是我們一種自餒精神，對民族興衰大有關系。歐美人之成大事業總在晚年，恰與我們的觀點相反。最近有兩個老人的行為，值得借鑒，正可給我們打一針興奮劑。第一是美國務卿赫爾，以七十二歲之年，飛莫斯科開那全球注意的三國會議。第二是前英國首相勞合·喬治，八十一歲結婚。這可以證明他們的生命力強，也可以證明他們精神毫不衰老。老了還活潑的干，不必退休去等死，這人生才有意味，才沒枉過“吾生也有涯”的歲月。

現在我國的事業，多半在四五十歲的中年人手上。中年人干吧，我們的前途還遙遠著呢！

Jin Shengtan says, “People over 30 should not become an official, and people over 50 should not get married. Why? Because otherwise they would be doing the wrong thing at the wrong time.” That is representative of the mentality of people at large in China. According to the Chinese outlook on life, it is most enviable “to achieve success in one’s early years” but most sorrowful “to fail to achieve it until one’s old age”. Hence, even a successful man will feel like going to retirement when he is on the wrong side of 50. And those who continue to work out of necessity in their sixties or seventies must bemoan their plight. However, considering that men seldom live up to the age of 80, their personal concerns may seem to be impeccable. But, from the standpoint of a worthy cause, they are wrong. Because the older one is, the more knowledgeable and experienced he is and therefore the more indispensable he is to a great cause. Moreover, one should conduct oneself with self-confidence. Calling yourself a good-for-nothing on account of age manifests your lack of vitality. The same is true of a nation. Self-confidence has a lot to do with its rise and fall. Unlike us Chinese, Westerners usually go in for great undertakings in late life. The recent cases of two Western senior politicians set a good example for us and serve to give us a shot in the arm. One was 72-year-old US secretary of state Cordell Hull, who went to Moscow to attend the 3-power conference in the limelight of the world. The other was former British prime minister Lloyd George, who got married at the age of 81. Their activities afforded proof of their vitality and youthful spirit. The way to live a meaningful life and fully utilize the transient days of one’s life is by continuing to work vigorously in old age rather than retire.

Our national cause now rests, for the most part, on the shoulders of our middle-aged men—men in their forties or fifties. Middle-aged fellow countrymen, roll up your sleeves to strive for our distant goal!