论语经典句翻译.doc

Quotations from Confucius

知之者不如好之者，好之者不如乐之者。
TO be found of knowledge is better than to know it, to delight in it is better than to be fond of it.
君子以文会友，以友辅仁。
The superior man on grounds of culture meets with his friends, and by their friendship helps his virtue.
欲速则不达，见小利则大事不成。
If you have things done hastily, you will not reach the goal. If you only see small gains, you will not accomplish great tasks.
言必信，行必果。
Keep what you say and carry out what you do.
人而无信，不知其可也。
I do not know how a man without truthfulness is acceptable.
君子和而不同，小人同而不和。
The superior man aims at harmony but not at uniformity. The mean man aims at uniformity but not at harmony.
工欲善其事，必先利其器。
A craftsman who wishes to do his work well must first sharpen his tools.
君子不以言举人，不以人废言。
The superior man does not promote a man simply on account of his words, nor does he put aside goods words because of the man.
己所不欲，勿施于人。
What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.
过而不改，是谓过矣。
Not to mend the fault one has made it to err indeed.
当仁不让于师。
When it comes to benevolence, one need not give precedence even to his teachers.
有教无类。
In teaching there should be no distinction of classes.
性相近也，习相远也。
By nature, men are nearly alike; by practice, they get to be wide apart.
其身正，不令而行；其身不正，虽令不从。
When a ruler’s personal conduct is correct, he will be obeyed without the issuing of orders. If his personal conduct is not correct, he may issue orders, but they will not be followed.
为政以德，譬如北辰居其所而众星共之。
He who rules by means of his virtue may be compared to the north polar star, which keeps its place and all the stars turn towards it.
知之为知之，不知为不知，是知也。
When you know a thing, to hold that you know it; and when you do not know a thing, to allow that you do not know it;-- this is knowledge.
学而不思则罔，思而不学则殆。
Learning without thought is lost; thought without learning is perilous.
温故而知新，可以为师矣。
If a man keeps cherishing his old knowledge, so as continually to be acquiring new, he may be a teacher of others.
礼之用，和为贵。
In practicing the rules of propriety, harmony is the most valuable.
有朋自远方来，不亦乐乎?
Is it not a delight to have friends coming from afar?
学而时习之，不亦说乎？
Is it not a pleasure to learn something and put it into practice at due times?
见贤思齐焉，见不贤而内自省也。
When you meet a man better than you, you should try to equal him. When you meet a man not as good as you, you should examine yourself if you have the same defects.
听其言而观其行。
Hear their words, and look at their conduct.
敏而好学，不耻下问。
He was of an active nature and yet fond of learning, and he was not ashamed to ask and learn of his inferiors.
学而不厌，诲人不倦。
Learning without satiety; and instructing others without being wearied.
不愤不启，不悱不发。举一隅，不以三隅反，则不复也。
I never instruct anyone until he has really tried hard but failed to understand, nor enlighten anyone until he has tried to put his ideas into words but failed. If one cannot draw inferences from one instance, I will not teach him more.
三人行，必有我师焉。择其善者而从之，择其不善者而改之
When I walk along with two others, they may serve me as my teachers. I will select their good qualities and follow them, their bad qualities and avoid them.
后生可畏，焉知来者不如今也？
A youth is to be regarded with respect. How do you know that his future will not be equal to our present?
三军可夺帅也，匹夫不可夺志也。

The commander of the forces of a large State may be carried off, but the will of even a common man cannot be taken from him.
岁寒，然后知松柏之后凋也。
Only when the year becomes cold do we know how the pine and the cypress are the last to fade.

The First Snow (By Longfellow)
The first snow came. How beautiful it was, falling so silently all day long, all night long, on the mountains, on the meadows, on the roofs of the living, on the graves of the dead!
All white save the river, that marked its course by a winding black line across the landscape; and the leafless trees, that against the leaden sky now revealed more fully the wonderful beauty and intricacies of their branches.
What silence, too, came with the snow, and what seclusion!
Every sound was muffled, every noise changed to something soft and musical. No more tramping hoots, no more ratting wheels! Only the chiming of sleigh-bells, beating as swift and merrily as the hearts of children.