【原文】

子曰：〝譬如为山，未成一篑，止，吾止也。譬如平地，虽覆一篑，进，吾往也。〞

【參考译文】

孔子说：〝好比用土堆山，只差一筐土就堆成了，如果停下来，山就堆不出来了。又好比用土填坑，虽然刚倒一筐土，只要坚持下去，平地就填出来了。〞

【English Translation】

Confucius said: "Just like the building of a mound, if I choose to stop before the last basket of earth has been poured, the job will never be complete. And just like levelling the ground, even if only one bucketful of earth has been poured in initially, I will progress because I choose to go ahead. "

【原文】

子曰：〝苗而不秀者有矣夫！秀而不实者有矣夫！〞

【參考譯文】

孔子说：〝有的人就像一些庄稼苗一样，虽发牙却不扬花，有的虽扬花却不结实。〞

【English Translation】

Confucius said: "Some seedlings spring up but never flower while others flower but do not bear fruit. "

      Note: These images allude to the problem of giving up halfway.

【原文】

子曰：〝后生可畏，焉知来者之不如今也？四十、五十而无闻焉，斯亦不足畏也已。〞

【参考译文】

孔子说：〝年轻人是大有作为的，谁能断定他们将来不如我们这一代呢？如果一个人到了四、五十岁还没有名声，也就不会有什么作为了。〞

【English Translation】

Confucius said: "Young people are full of potential. Who can predict if they will not surpass our generation? But if by the age of 40 or 50, a person does not establish a name for himself, he will never do so. "