Mencius

Translation: There was a man who stole a chicken from his neighbor's house every day. Someone advised him, "This is not the morality of a person with upright behavior and noble character." He replied, "Then let me reduce this behavior and steal a chicken every month. I will not steal next year." If you know that stealing chickens is wrong, you should correct it immediately. Why wait until next year? 译文：从前有一个每天都要偷邻居家一只鸡的人。有人劝告他说：“这不是行为端正、品德高尚的人所拥有的道德。”他回答说：“那就让我减少这种行为吧，(以后)每个月偷一只鸡，等到明年我就不偷了。”如果知道偷鸡不对，就应该马上改正，为什么还要等到明年呢。 《古代寓言·偷鸡的人》 今有人，日攘邻之鸡者。或告之曰：“是非君子之道。”曰：“请损之，月攘一鸡。以待来年，然后已。”如知其非义，斯速已矣，何待来年？——《孟子》 The Chicken Thief There was a man who used to steal a chicken from his neighbours every day."It is wrong to steal," someone told him."I'll cut down on it," promised the chicken thief. "I shall steal one chicken a month from now on, and stop altogether next year."Since he knew he was wrong, he ought to have stopped at once. Why wait for another year?Mencius

Translation: Now you regard playing chess as a skill, which is a small skill; if you don't concentrate, you won't be able to learn it. Yiqiu is a chess master in the country. Someone asked him to teach two people how to play chess. One of them was very focused and only listened to Yiqiu's words; the other one, although also listening to Yiqiu's teachings, was thinking about a swan flying in the sky and wanted to draw his bow and arrow to shoot it down. Although the two of them studied together, the latter one did not learn as well as the former one. Was it because his intelligence was not as good as others? Someone said: "That's not the case." 译文：现在你把下棋作为技艺，是小技艺；不专心致志，就学不到手。弈秋是全国的下棋高手，有人让他教两个人下棋，其中一个人专心致志，只听弈秋的话；另一个人虽然也在听弈秋的教导，但是心里却想着天上有天鹅飞过，想要拉弓搭箭把它射下来。虽然他俩在一起学习，但后一个人不如前一个人学得好。难道是因为他的智力不如别人好吗?有人说:“不是这样的。” 《古代寓言·学棋》 弈之为数，小数也。不专心致志，则不得也。弈秋，通国之善弈者也。使弈秋诲二人弈。其一人，专心致志，惟弈秋之为听。一人，虽听之，一心以为有鸿鹄将至，思援弓缴而射之。虽与之俱学，弗若之矣。——为是其智弗若与？曰：“非然也。”——《孟子》 Learning to Play Draughts Playing draughts is a minor art; yet even so, you must give your whole attention to it to learn it. Qiu, the best draughts-player in the country, had two pupils. One of them concentrated entirely on what Qiu told them, while the other, though he also listened to his master, was thinking all the time of the wild geese in the sky, and itching to get his bow and arrows to…

Translation: There was a man who stole a chicken from his neighbor's house every day. Someone advised him, "This is not the morality of a person with upright behavior and noble character." He replied, "Then let me reduce this behavior and steal a chicken every month. I will not steal next year." If you know that stealing chickens is wrong, you should correct it immediately. Why wait until next year? 译文：从前有一个每天都要偷邻居家一只鸡的人。有人劝告他说：“这不是行为端正、品德高尚的人所拥有的道德。”他回答说：“那就让我减少这种行为吧，(以后)每个月偷一只鸡，等到明年我就不偷了。”如果知道偷鸡不对，就应该马上改正，为什么还要等到明年呢。 《古代寓言·拔苗助长》 宋人有闵其苗之不长而揠之者。芒芒然归，谓其人曰：“今日病矣！予助苗长矣。”其子趋而往视之，苗则槁矣。——天下之不助苗长者寡矣：以为无益而舍之者，不耘苗者也；助之长者，揠苗者也。非徒无益，而又害之。——《孟子》 Helping Young Shoots to Grow A man in the state of Song felt the shoots in his fields were not growing fast enough. So he pulled them all up, then went home quite exhausted."I'm tired out today," he told his family. "I've been helping the young shoots to grow."His son ran out to the fields to have a look, and found all their seedlings were dead.Most people would like to help young shoots to grow; but some think all efforts useless and make no attempt, not even weeding the fields; others try to help the shoots grow by pulling them up. This, of course, is worse than useless.Mencius