"If" by Rudyard Kipling

Este poema de 1896 es una memorable evocación del estoicismo de la era victoriana y ha sido utilizado como motor ideológico de retos, las más recientes deportivos pues la perseverancia, el trabajo, el respeto, el equilibrio, la seguridad en uno mismo, la fortaleza de carácter, la humildad, la valentía, la independencia son los valores que definen al verdadero ser humano. Versión recitada por Michael Kaine:

If— 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; 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 imposters 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 wornout tools; If you can make one heap of all your winnings And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, And lose, and start again at your beginnings And never breathe 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"; 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!                   Si... Si puedes mantener la cabeza en su sitio cuando los que te rodean la han perdido y te culpan a ti. Si puedes seguir creyendo en ti mismo cuando todos dudan de ti, pero también aceptar que tengan dudas. Si puedes esperar y no cansarte de la espera; o si, siendo engañado, no respondes con engaños, o si, siendo odiado, no dejas lugar al odio Y aun así no te las das de bueno ni de sabio. Si puedes soñar sin que los sueños te dominen; Si puedes pensar y no hacer de tus pensamientos tu único objetivo; Si puedes experimentar el triunfo y la derrota, y tratar a esos dos impostores exactamente igual. Si puedes soportar oír la verdad que has dicho, tergiversada por villanos para engañar a los necios. O ver cómo se destruye todo aquello por lo que has dado la vida, y remangarte para reconstruirlo con herramientas desgastadas. Si puedes hacer un montón con todas tus ganancias y arriesgarlas a una sola tirada ; y perderlas, y empezar de nuevo desde el principio y no decir ni una palabra sobre tu pérdida. Si puedes forzar tu corazón, y tus nervios y tendones, a cumplir con tu deber mucho después de haberlos agotado, y resistir cuando ya no te queda nada más que la voluntad de decirles: "¡Resistid!". Si puedes hablar a las masas y conservar tu virtud. o caminar junto a reyes, y no perder el buen sentido. Si ni amigos ni enemigos pueden herirte. Si todos cuentan contigo, pero ninguno demasiado. Si puedes llenar el inexorable minuto, con una trayectoria de sesenta valiosos segundos Tuya es la Tierra y todo lo que hay en ella, y lo que es más: ¡serás un Hombre, hijo mío!

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: 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: If you can make one heap of all your winnings And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, And lose, and start again at your beginnings And never breathe 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!' 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!