All of us have read thrilling stories in which the hero had only a limited and specified time to live. But always we were interested in discovering just how the doomed man chose to spend his last days or his last hours.

我們都讀過這樣振奮人心的故事：主角余日不多。但我們總是想知道這個死命難逃的人是如何選擇過他剩下的時光的。

Sometimes I have thought it would be an excellent rule to live each day as if we should die tomorrow. Such an attitude would emphasize sharply the values of life. We should live each day with gentleness, vigor, and keenness of appreciation which are often lost when time streches before us in the constant panorama of more days and months and years to come. There are those, of course, who would adopt the motto of "Eat, drink, and be merry"...

把每一天當成最后一天去過，有時，我想這將是一條完美的規則。這樣一個態度能尖銳地強調生命的價值。我們應該溫柔地，充滿活力地，含著對感恩的的敏銳活著，當時間以日、月、年的全景圖持續地展現在我們的面前時，這種敏銳經常被我們弄丟。當然，也有一些人會信奉“吃好喝好開心就好”的信條。

Darkness would make him mere appreciative of sight；silence would teach him the joys of sound.

黑暗讓他對光明更加感恩；寂靜告訴他聲音的樂趣。