Chapter One: An Exhortation to Learning
The gentleman says: Learning must never stop. Blue dye is gotten from the indigo plant, and yet it is bluer than the plant. Ice comes from water, and yet it is colder than water. Through steaming and bending, you can make wood straight as a plumb line into a wheel. And after its curve conforms to the compass, even when parched under the sun it will not become straight again, because the steaming and bending have made it a certain way. Likewise, when wood comes under the ink-line, it becomes straight, and when metal is brought to the whetstone, it becomes sharp. The gentleman learns broadly and examines himself thrice daily, and then his
knowledge is clear and his conduct is without fault.
And so if you do not climb a high mountain, you will not know the
height of Heaven. If you do not approach a deep ravine, you will not know the depth of the earth. If you do not hear the words passed down from the former kings, you will not know the magnificence of learning. The children of the Han, Yue, Yi, and Mo peoples all cry with the same sound at
birth, but when grown they have different customs, because teaching makes them be this way. . . .
I once spent the whole day pondering, but it wasn’t as good as a moment’s worth of learning. I once stood on my toes to look far away, but it wasn’t as good as the broad view from a high place. If you climb to a high place and wave, you have not lengthened your arms, but you can be seen from farther away. If you shout from upwind, you have not made your voice
stronger, but you can be heard more clearly. One who makes use of a chariot and horses has not thereby improved his feet, but he can now go a thousand li . One who makes use of a boat and oars has not thereby become able
to swim, but he can now cross rivers and streams. The gentleman is not different from others by birth. Rather, he is good at making use of things. . . .
If you accumulate enough earth to form a mountain, then wind and rain will arise from it. If you accumulate enough water to form a deep pool, then dragons will come to live in it. If you accumulate enough goodness to achieve Virtue, then you will naturally attain to spiritlike powers and enlightenment, and the heart of a sage is complete therein.
And so,
If you do not accumulate little steps,
You will have no way to go a thousand li .
If you do not accumulate small streams,
You will have no way to form river or sea.
Even the famous horse Qi Ji could not go more than ten paces in a
single leap, but with ten days of riding even an old nag can equal him,
because accomplishment rests in not giving up. If you start carving and
give up, you won’t even be able to break rotten wood, but if you start carving and don’t give up, then you can engrave even metal and stone. The earthworm does not have sharp teeth and claws, nor does it have strong bones
and muscles. Yet, above, it eats of the earth, and below, it drinks from the Yellow Springs, because it acts with single-mindedness. In contrast, the crab has six legs and two pincers. Yet were it not for the abandoned holes of water-snakes and eels, it would have no place to lodge, because it is frenetic-minded.
Chapter One: An Exhortation to Learning
The gentleman says: Learning must never stop. Blue dye is gotten from the indigo plant, and yet it is bluer than the plant. Ice comes from water, and yet it is colder than water. Through steaming and bending, you can make wood straight as a plumb line into a wheel. And after its curve conforms to the compass, even when parched under the sun it will not become straight again, because the steaming and bending have made it a certain way. Likewise, when wood comes under the ink-line, it becomes straight, and when metal is brought to the whetstone, it becomes sharp. The gentleman learns broadly and examines himself thrice daily, and then his
knowledge is clear and his conduct is without fault.
And so if you do not climb a high mountain, you will not know the
height of Heaven. If you do not approach a deep ravine, you will not know the depth of the earth. If you do not hear the words passed down from the former kings, you will not know the magnificence of learning. The children of the Han, Yue, Yi, and Mo peoples all cry with the same sound at
birth, but when grown they have different customs, because teaching makes them be this way. . . .
I once spent the whole day pondering, but it wasn’t as good as a moment’s worth of learning. I once stood on my toes to look far away, but it wasn’t as good as the broad view from a high place. If you climb to a high place and wave, you have not lengthened your arms, but you can be seen from farther away. If you shout from upwind, you have not made your voice
stronger, but you can be heard more clearly. One who makes use of a chariot and horses has not thereby improved his feet, but he can now go a thousand li . One who makes use of a boat and oars has not thereby become able
to swim, but he can now cross rivers and streams. The gentleman is not different from others by birth. Rather, he is good at making use of things. . . .
If you accumulate enough earth to form a mountain, then wind and rain will arise from it. If you accumulate enough water to form a deep pool, then dragons will come to live in it. If you accumulate enough goodness to achieve Virtue, then you will naturally attain to spiritlike powers and enlightenment, and the heart of a sage is complete therein.
And so,
If you do not accumulate little steps,
You will have no way to go a thousand li .
If you do not accumulate small streams,
You will have no way to form river or sea.
Even the famous horse Qi Ji could not go more than ten paces in a
single leap, but with ten days of riding even an old nag can equal him,
because accomplishment rests in not giving up. If you start carving and
give up, you won’t even be able to break rotten wood, but if you start carving and don’t give up, then you can engrave even metal and stone. The earthworm does not have sharp teeth and claws, nor does it have strong bones
and muscles. Yet, above, it eats of the earth, and below, it drinks from the Yellow Springs, because it acts with single-mindedness. In contrast, the crab has six legs and two pincers. Yet were it not for the abandoned holes of water-snakes and eels, it would have no place to lodge, because it is frenetic-minded.