The hours of a wise man are lengthened by his ideas as those of a fool are by his passions. The time of the one is long, because he does not know what to do with it; as is that of the other, because he distinguishes every moment of it with useful or amusing thoughts, or in other words, because the one is always wishing it away, and the other always enjoying it.
How different is the view of past life, in the man who is grown old in knowledge and wisdom, from that of him who is grown in ignorance and folly? The latter is like the owner of a barren country, that fills his eye with the [1] prospect of naked hills and plains, which produce nothing either profitable or [2] ornamental; the other [3] beholds a beautiful and spacious landscape, divided into delightful gardens, green meadows, fruitful fields, and can scarce [4] cast his eye upon a single spot of his possessions, that is not covered with some beautiful plant or flower.


lengthen // v. 延长
passion // n. 热情
amusing // adj. 有趣的
wisdom // n. 智慧
ignorance // n. 无知
folly // n. 蠢事
barren // n. 贫瘠
ornamental // adj. 装饰的
behold // v. 看见，注视
meadow // n. 草地

聪明人的时辰得以延长在于他们的思想，而蠢人的时辰得以延长在于他们的激情。蠢人的光阴是漫长的，因为他不知如何打发时光；聪明人的光阴也是漫长的，因为他用有益或有趣的想法来突出每寸光阴，或者换而言之，因为蠢人总是希望消磨时光，而聪明人总是在享受时光。
聪明人在知识和智慧中年龄渐长，蠢人在无知和愚蠢中年龄渐长，二者对于过去生活的看法有何差异？后者犹如拥有一片不毛之地，满目是光秃秃的丘陵平原，长不出任何有价值的或是美好的东西；前者则看到一派美丽广阔的田野，目光投向任何一处，拥有的一切处处总有美丽的芳草或鲜花，所以可谓美不胜收。

增值英语
1.prospect：景色，与近义词view、scene等相比，主要指从某一处所看到的辽阔景色。“a magnificent prospect of mountain peaks and lakes”，一片湖泊山巅的壮丽景色。

2. ornamental：装饰的，修饰的，它的同义词decorative，但decorative一般指为某个重要时节而进行的。

3. behold：看见，注视。它不同于see、watch或look，一般指看或注视一些不寻常的东西。

4. cast his eye upon：他的目光投向……，“cast one’s eye upon sth.”，这是一个词组，“目光投向某物”。