Ancients Discuss the Value of Time
 
An old saying about the preciousness of time goes like this, “A sage does not care for a foot-long piece of jade, but would value an inch of time.” One's life is composed of countless moments. History is also made up of countless moments. One moment is short, but moments add up to eternity. All the sages in history valued time. It was said in New Account of Tales: Public Affairs that even a sage like Emperor Da Yu valued every moment of time, and thus an ordinary person should value time even more.
 
Confucius said, “If one hears the Tao in the morning, he can die in the evening with no regret.” If one lives his entire life not knowing what he is doing and does not hear the truth, then he would waste an entire lifetime. On the other hand, if one continues to seek the truth and eventually hears the Tao, then he would not regret it even if he dies. This is saying that one should feel the urgency of pursuing the truth. If one stops learning and thinking, and stops pursuing the truth, then his life would become meaningless. The value of one's life is to study the Tao and pursue the truth. Confucius also said, “Without recognizing the ordinances of Heaven, it is impossible to be a gentleman. Without an acquaintance with propriety, it is impossible for the character to be established. Without knowing the force of words, it is impossible to know men.”
 
There are so many things that one needs to learn. One should know the Tao of the heavens, humans, and the world; one should know how to settle down to take care of self and family; one should know the proper conduct and the rules, understand the world, and correctly analyze and follow nature's rules and the ways of the world. Only by doing so could one become a person of good personality, high aspiration, and optimistic attitude toward life. If he is poor, he can still insist on his moral character, and if he is rich, then he will share it and help the rest of the world.
 
In order to cultivate one's moral character and bear great responsibilities, one must be diligent in studying and treasure the time for it. Confucius said as he was standing by the water, “It (time) passes just like this (the flow of water), day and night.” This has become a famous saying because so many people feel the same way. Confucius himself really valued time. He was always learning, and sometimes even forgot to sleep or eat. He said, “Studying is like chasing something and one would be afraid of not being able to get it; but once gotten, he would be afraid of losing it.” “One studies so hard that he would forget to eat; one is happy about learning that he doesn't even realize that he is aging.”
 
Xun Zi said, “There is never an end to learning.” “I used to think all day, but what I gained was less than what I could learn in an instant if I studied; I used to stand on my toes to look far away, but what I saw was far less than if I was standing in an elevated place.” “If one doesn't take steps, there is no way he will reach 1000 miles; if there are no small streams, then big rivers and oceans would not be accumulated [from them].” Xun Zi believed that for one's spiritual cultivation, there is nothing better than being influenced by great moral characters. If one doesn't have a selfish mind when confronted with a stronger force, doesn't get swayed just because one side has a lot of people, and nothing can shake his belief, then this is a person with virtue and ethics. A noble man should not stop pursuing the Tao of the sages, and learning needs to be accumulated over time. Zhuang Zi had also said, “There will be an end to my life, but there is no end to learning.” There is always more to learn.
 
古人咏惜时
 
古语云：“圣人不贵尺之璧，而重寸之阴”，强调时间的宝贵。人生的旅程是由无数个瞬间组成，历史的长河也是由无数个瞬间汇成；瞬间是短暂的，却由此把握永恒。古之圣贤无不惜时，“大禹圣人，犹惜寸阴，至于凡俗，当惜分阴”（《世说新语﹒政事》），是说像大禹那样的圣人都珍惜每一寸光阴，一般人更应当珍惜每一分光阴。
 
孔子说：“朝闻道，夕死可矣”。一个人如果一生浑浑噩噩，糊里糊涂，与真理无缘，那就等于白活了；如果坚持不懈地追求真理，一朝得道，死而无憾。这里形容对真理的信仰和追求的迫切。一个人停止了学习思考，停止了对真理的叩问追求，就失去了存在的意义。人生的价值在于闻道求真，学以致道。孔子还说：“不知命，无以为君子也。不知礼，无以立也。不知言，无以知人也”。仁人君子要学习的东西实在是太多了，要懂得天道、人道、世道，要知安身立命，要知礼明法，要知人论世，正确分析和把握自然规律、天下大势，这样才能成为人格完美、胸有大志、知命乐天，穷则独善其身、达则兼济天下的君子。
 
要能修养自身，承担大任，就必须抓紧时间学习。孔子感叹：“子在川上曰：逝者如斯夫，不舍昼夜”，孔子这里描述出消逝的时光就像这东流的河水一样，日夜不停流去，这句话成为千古名言，是因为人们心中也都有这样的感慨。孔子以身作则，惜时如金，求知若渴，废寝忘食，乐此不疲，他说：“学如不及，犹恐失之”，“其为人也，发愤忘食，乐以忘忧，不知老之将至”。
 
荀子说：“君子曰：学不可以已”；“吾尝终日而思矣，不如须臾之所学也；吾尝跂而望矣，不如登高之博见也”；“不积跬步，无以至千里；不积小流，无以成江海”。荀子认为，精神修养没有比受道德薰陶感染更大了，福份没有比无灾无祸更长远了。在权利面前没有私欲邪念，人多势众也不会屈服，天下万物都不能动摇信念，这就叫做有德行、有操守。君子的可贵则在于他德行的完美无缺。因此君子学圣贤之道是不能停止的，整天地思考，却不如片刻学习的收获大；踮起脚眺望，却不如登上高处看的广阔，学习是需要日积月累、持之以恒的啊。庄子也曾说：“吾生也有涯，而知也无涯”，知识是永远也学不完的。