If, Rudyard Kipling
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:
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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:
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If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
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!"
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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!
Homo-Linguistic Translation
When everyone around you is losing control
you remain calm despite being accused for the chaos,
Despite what others say you stay convicted in
your beliefs
although you take into consideration others’ suspicions and reservations,
You know how to remain patient and endure,
and don’t give in to lying when others are lying about you,
and don’t become hateful when others hate you,
but you remain humble in all manners:
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You have goals and ambition⎯
but you don’t allow them to rule your life.
You solve problems with your mind⎯ but on unrealistic thinking
you don't waste your time;
You are not afraid to succeed or fail trying
nor are you fazed by the consequences of each;
You tolerate listening to your words
after they have been warped by ignorant people,
And can watch your goals and ideals,
destroyed,
but start over from the beginning with
experience:
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You could amass all of your achievements
and gamble it on a single game,
lose, and redo everything from the start
but never talk of the defeat;
You know how to summon passion, courage, and
strength
to guide you even after you’ve been dispirited,
so that when you don’t have anything left
your self-strength will cause these characteristics to
reemerge
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You know how to relate with common people but remain
noble,
but also join the ranks of the elite and retain your
humility,
Allies and enemies alike cannot penetrate your independent strength:
And everyone follows you with moderation.
You fill your life and deal with death
by accomplishing all you can while you can,
And by doing so you rule your world,
and can call yourself a man.
*I added the dashes between the stanzas because when I posted the page it got rid of the spaces between the stanzas.