盛年不重来，1日难再晨。
准时当勉励，岁月不待人。
晋陶渊明《杂诗》十二首之一
The exuberant1 years of life will not return,
The morning of the day does not repeat itself.
Seize your time and brace2 yourself up,
For time does not sTOP to wait for you.
Tao Yuanming , poet of the Jin Dynasty
青春须早为，岂能长少年！
唐孟郊《劝学》
Do something worthy3 while you are young, for youth does not stay long.
Meng Jiao , poet of the Tang Dynasty
少则志一而难忘，长则神放而易失。
《抱朴子勖学》
As a childs mind is focused, he is not apt to forget what he learns; as an adults mind is pided, what he has learned easily escapes his memory.
Baopuzi by Ge Hong of the East Jin Dynasty
生也有涯，而知也无涯。
《庄子养生主》
Life is finite, but knowledge is infinite.
Zhuangzi by Zhuang Zhou and his followers4 of the Warring States Period
圣人不贵尺之璧而重寸之阴，时难得而易失也。
《淮南子原道训》
A sage5 cherishes an inch of time instead of a foot of jade6, because time is hard to attain7 and easy to lose.
Huainanzi by Prince Huainan Liu An and some of his followers of the Western Han Dynasty
子在川上曰：逝者如斯夫，不舍昼夜。
《论语子罕》
The Master, standing8 by the river, said, Time passes by like this, flowing away day and night.
The Analects, A Confucian classic recording9 the words and deeds of Confucius and his dialogues with his disciples10
去者日以疏，来者日以亲。
汉无名氏《古诗十九首》之十四
The days gone by are fading further and further away, and old age is getting nearer day by day.
Collection of 19 Poems by anonymous11 poet of the Han Dynasty
生活天地之间，若白驹之过郤，突然而已。
《庄子知北游》
The existence of man between heaven and earth is like a white colt bolting past a chink.
Zhuangzi by Zhuang Zhou and his followers of the Warring States Period
少年安得长少年，海波尚变为桑田。
唐李贺《嘲少年》
How can the young stay young for good,
Even oceans can become cropland.
Li He , poet of the Tang Dynasty
百川东到海，何时复西归？
少壮不努力，老大徒伤悲。
汉无名氏《长歌行》
All rivers flow into the East Sea.
They never flow back to the west.
If you do not work hard when young,
Its no use crying over spilt milk when old.
An anonymous poet of the Han Dynasty
