Enlarged Collection of Mottoes

--A Primary Textbook for Children-----

（五）

Revised by Zhou Xitao

Translated by Zhang Hongyan and Chen Shuiming

重订《增广贤文》 （五）

原作者 佚名；周希陶（明）改编； 陈水明 张鸿雁英译

得意不宜再往，凡事当留馀步。
宁使人讶其不来，勿令人厌其不去。

When succeed, stop before going too far; in doing things, think over the unexpected circumstances.
Rather have people wonder why you don’t come than have them hate you for you do not leave.

有生必有死，孽钱归孽路。
不怕无来处，只怕多去处。
务要见景生情，切莫守株待兔。
丧家亡身，多言占了八分；
世微道替，百直曾无一遇。

Where there is life there is death; Ill-gotten, ill-spent.
It isn’t terrible to gain less, but is terrible to spend more.
Be sure to act according to circumstances, but not to wait by a tree for the luck of getting another hare.
A family’s ruin 80% lies in speaking more; while public morals of the world decline, the honest men are very little appreciated.

得忍且忍，得耐且耐，不忍不耐，小事变大。
事以密成，语以泄败。

Be patient as possible as you can when conditions ask, or a trifle will cause you a serious trouble.
Secret leads to success, while divulgence leads to failure.

相论逞英雄，家计渐渐退。
贤妇令夫贵，恶妇令夫败。

Boasting of luxury is the cause of the decline of family financial situation.
A good wife helps her husband succeed, while a bad one causes her husband to fail.

一人有庆，兆民永赖。
富贵家，宜宽厚，反而忌克，如何能享？
聪明人，宜敛藏，反而炫耀，如何不败。

One leader is fortunate and most of his followers depend on him.
The rich and honorable family should be generous, but on the contrary, it isn’t so, then how can it enjoy its wealth and honor?
The clever man should be reserved, but on the contrary, he shows off, how can’t he fail?

见怪不怪，怪乃自败。
一正压百斜，少见必多怪。
君子之交淡以成，小人之交甘以坏。
视寝兴之早晚，知人家之兴败。

Face the fearful with no fears and its fearfulness naturally disappears.
A little sense of justice will overcome much wickedness；
Seeing too little of the world surely leads to wondering much.
The relation between honest men seems light, yet is close; the relation between vicious people seems close, yet is estranged in their hearts.
By observing the time when a family gets up and goes to bed, you may judge whether it is shriving or declining.

寂寞衡茅观燕寝，引起一段冷趣幽思；
芳菲园圃看蝶忙，觑破几般尘情世态。

Watching the swallows sitting in their nests on the cross beam of a lonely cottage can remind you of a gloomy feeling and melancholy contemplation;
Watching the butterflies busily flying in the flourishing park may cause you to see through the ways of the world.

言忠信，行笃敬。
君子安贫，达人知命。
惟圣罔念作狂，惟狂克念作圣。

Be as good as your words and act sincerely and respectively.
The virtuous man is happy while leads a simple life; the wise person understands the will of Heaven.
The clever man who harbors wrong intentions may be regarded as crazy; the crazy man who can cherish good intentions may be regarded as clever.

爱人者，人恒爱；
敬人者，人恒敬。

He who loves others is always loved；
He who respects others is always respected.

好讼之子，多致终凶；
和善之家，必有馀庆。
损友敬而远，益友亲而近。
善与人交，久而能敬。
过则相规，言而有信。

The man who likes to bring cases to court often results badly; the family that accumulates good deeds will certainly enjoy surplus favorable auspices.
For bad companions, respect but keep away from them; for beneficial friends, respect and be close to them.
He who is good at making friends can keep friendship long and respect one another.
Advise each other if one of you commits mistakes; match your words with your deeds.

贫士养亲，椒水承欢；
严父教子，义方是训。
不为昭昭信节，不为冥冥堕行。

A dutiful son, though poor, still tries his best to make his parents please even serve them with simple meals as bean and grain porridge; the strict father teaches his son only by just ways.
Don’t do good deeds only in public, nor do evil deeds in secret place.

勤，懿行也，君子敏于德义，世人则借勤以济其贪；
俭，美德也，君子节于货财，世人则假俭以饰其吝。 

Diligence and frugality is a kind of moral excellence，the honest man cultivates himself with it, but men of the world are often greedy for money by the name of it;
Thrift is also a kind of virtue, the honest man is careful in use of money and goods, but men of the world often use it to cover their stingy deeds.

于临死而无挂碍，先在生时事事看得轻；
欲于变而无仓忙，须向常时念念守得定。

He who wants to be at ease while dying must have no inordinate ambition while he lives;
He who wants to be calm when troubles happen must usually understand the principles of the world.

视得破，任不过；说得硬，守不定。
笑前辙，忘后跌；轻千乘，豆羹兢。

Man often can see through things but can’t tolerate them; still often expresses himself in strong terms, but can’t be as good as his words；
Man often laughs at the past mistakes but still commits them.
It is easy for a man to make light of the power of a big state, but strive for immediate interests.

子有过，父当隐；父有过，子当诤。
木受绳则直，人受谏则圣

When the son commits a mistake, his father should teach him but not publicize it; when the father commits a mistake, his son should gently advise him.
The wood that has been marked by a line can be processed into straight boards; the man who accepts advice can be clever.

良药苦口利于病，忠言逆耳利于行。
家丑不可外传，流言切莫轻信。
下情难于达上，君子不耻下问。

Bitter medicine cures sickness, so unpalatable advice benefits conduct.
Domestic shame should not be made public (It means don’t wash your dirty linen in public.); rumors shouldn’t be readily believed.
It is hard to make the situation at the lower levels known to the higher levels; as an honest man he should not feel ashamed to ask and learn from his subordinates。

芙蓉白面，不过带肉骷髅；
美艳红装，尽是杀人利刃。

Beautiful lotus flower (a metaphor referring to a beauty) is nothing but the skeleton with flesh;
Young beauties with gorgeous dresses are all sharp swords.

读书而寄兴于吟咏风雅，定不深心；
修德而留意于名誉事功，必无实证。

He who takes reading as means to find sustenance in sentimental verse cannot study hard;
He who cultivates his moral character but takes it as means to win fame can never achieve his goal.

一人非之，便立不定，只见得有是非，何曾知有道理；
一人不知，便就不平，只见得有得失，何曾知有义命。

If a man worries about a single man’s criticism, it may be said that he only knows how to squabble over trifles but doesn’t know the reason.
If a man is unhappy because only one man doesn’t know his fame, it may be said he only worries about his personal gains and loses but doesn’t know natural principles.

智生识，识生断，当断不断，反受其乱。

Wisdom broadens knowledge and knowledge leads to decision; he who is indecisive when decision is needed will be insulted.

人各有心，心各有见。
有盐同咸，无盐同淡。
人间私语，天闻若雷；
暗室亏心，神目如电。

Everyone has his own ideas and every idea is shaped by certain reasons.
With salt everyone shares the salty flavor; without it everyone has the fresh taste (referring to sharing bliss and misfortune together).
Whispers in the world are surely heard in the heaven as loud as the thunder there; a guilty conscience in a dark room is surely seen by God, whose eyes are as bright as the flash.

一毫之恶，劝人莫作；一毫之善，与人方便。
终身让路，不枉百步；终身让畔，不失一段。

Don’t advise people to do any evil, even do it a little; help people do good works, even do a single one.
Always make way for people you can’t go the way round longer than several hundreds of steps longer all your life; always be conciliatory to fixing the boundary of your field, you can’t lose even several square meters.

难合亦难分，易亲亦易散。
口说不如身行，耳闻不如目见。

Hard join, hard separate too; easily get close, easily become estranged as well.
Example is better than precept; hearing is not better than seeing. (i.e. Seeing is believing).

只见锦上添花，未闻雪里送炭。

It is only heard of to add flowers to the brocade, but it is not seen to send charcoal in snowy weather.

传家二字耕与读，防家二字盗与奸。
倾家二字淫与赌，守家二字勤与俭。

Two words for the family heirloom are “farm” and “read”, two words for precaution against disasters of the family are “being stolen” and ‘losing virginity”;
Two words that can make the family ruined are “lewdness” and “gambling”; two words for keeping the family prosperous are “diligence” and “thrifty”.

作种种之阴功，行时时之方便。
不汲汲于富贵，不戚戚于贫贱。
素位而行，不尤不怨。

Do various kinds of unpublicized virtues and do people favors everywhere.
Do not often eagerly hope for honor and wealth, nor always worry about being poor and lowly.
Adapt yourself to different circumstances。Do not blame god and man.

先达之人可尊也，不可比媚；
权势之人可远也，不可侮慢。

You may respect the virtuous people but not curry favor with them;
 You may keep bigwigs at arm’s length, but not offend them.

祖宗富贵，自诗书中来，子孙享富贵而贱诗书；
祖宗家业，自勤俭中来，子孙得家业而忘勤俭。

The ancestor’s wealth and honor flowed from the classics (generally referring to “the book of Odes and the Book of History) but the following generations often enjoy wealth and honor and look down upon the classics;
The ancestor’s property flowed from diligence and thrifty but the following generations often inherit the property and forget diligence and thrifty.

以孝律身，即出将入相，都做得妥妥停停；
以忍御气，虽横祸飞灾，也免脱千千万万。
善有善报，恶有恶报，若有不报，日子未到。

Cultivate yourself with filial duty then you’ll be able to handle everything well, even you are in the high official position;
Control yourself with patience then you’ll be able to get rid of troubles, even they are unexpected disasters or sudden calamities.
Good will be rewarded with good, and evil with evil, it is only a question of time.

水不紧，鱼不跳。
年年防饥，夜夜防盗。
祸福无门，惟人自召。

The fish doesn’t jump in slow flow.
Prevent famine every year and guard against theft every night.
Good fortune or bad fortune does not come from a definite door it comes at the invitation by man.

好义固为人所钦，贪利为鬼所笑。
贤者不炫己之长，君子不夺人所好。

Just action is hoped to do by all people;
Insatiable greed is even mocked at by ghosts.
The virtuous man doesn’t flaunt his strong points; the gentleman doesn’t seize other man’s favorite.

受享过分，必生灾害之端；
举动异常，每为不祥之兆。

Enjoying too much is the beginning to invite disaster; acting cunningly is often the omen of misfortune.

救既败之事，如驭临岩之马，休轻加一鞭；
图垂成之功，如挽上滩之舟，莫稍停一棹

To retrieve a defeat is like to manage a horse that faces a cliff, don’t rashly whip it;
To seek an approaching success is like to draw a counter-stream boat, don’t stop a moment.

窗前一片浮青映白，悟入处，尽是禅机；
阶下几点飞翠落红，收拣来，无非诗料。

The green plants and white clouds that reflect before the window are all Buddhist allegorical gesture if you are aware of it;
Several flying leaves and faded petals of flowers can all be used for poem materials if you can collect the scene of them.

种麻得麻，种豆得豆。天网恢恢，疏而不漏。

Plant hemp and you get hemp; sow beans and you get beans [It means as you sow, so will you reap.] The net of Heaven stretches everywhere, but it lets nothing through (It means that the mills of God grind slowly but surely, or justice has a long arm.)

见官莫向前，做客莫在后。

Don’t step forward when seeing the government officials; nor step back when you act as a guest.

会数而理勤，物薄而情厚。

Meet friends many times but should not have few manners; the gift itself may be light, but conveys deep feeling.

大事不糊涂，小事不滲漏。
内蒼勁名，外示渾厚。

Don’t be muddled in important matters, nor be careless in handling minor matters.
Hide the cleverness and appear simple an honest. (It means a man of great wisdom often appears slow-witted.)

佳人傅粉，誰識白刃當前；螳螂捕蟬，豈知黃卻在後？

A beauty with fine dressed flirts with you, how can you know she is nothing but a sharp sword! A mantis is stalking a cicada, how can it know there is an oriole behind it and wants to catch it!  (It means to covet gains ahead without being award of danger behind.)

天欲祸人，必先以微福骄之，所以福来不必喜，要看会受；天欲福人，比先以微祸警之，所以祸来不必忧，要看会救。

When God wants to punish you, He often gives a little good fortune to you so as to lower your guard. Therefore, don’t be over joyous when good fortune occurs, but carefully enjoy it. When God wants to give good fortune to you, He often warns you with a little misfortune. Therefore, don’t be too worried when it happens, but manage to escape it.

算什么命，问什么卜？
欺人是祸，饶人是福。
鹪鹩巢林，不过一枝；鼹鼠饮河，不过满腹。

What’s the use to have your fortune told or to seek guidance from divination?
To insult people is misfortune and forgive people is good fortune.
It is just one twig for a wren to perch on and it is enough for a rat only to drink its fill in the river.

大俭之后，必有大奢；大兵之后，必有大疫。

After great thrift, there will be great extravagance; after war, there will be pestilence.

天眼恢恢，报应甚速。

God’s eyes watch everywhere and soon the judgement is formed.

人欺不是辱，人怕不是福。
人亲财不亲，人熟礼不熟。

Being injured isn’t a kind of shame; being feared isn’t a kind of good fortune.
People may be close to each other, but they can’t be so for wealth affairs; people may be familiar to each other, but they can’t take liberties with each other without manners.

百病从口入；百祸从口出。

By the mouth illness finds its way in, and all misfortunes find their way out.

片言九鼎，一公百服。

A solemn promise is as heavy as nine big pots. Keep your words and you’ll be trusted by all。

点石化为金，人心犹未足。

Man’s avarice knows no bounds, he can never be satisfied even he could turn the stone into gold.

不肯种福田，舍财如割肉。
临时空手去，突向阎君哭。

If you don’t farm blessing field but take wealth as dear as your flesh, then when you are going to the other world, you’ll find you can do nothing but weep before the King of Hell.

积产遗子孙，子孙未必守；积财遗子孙，子孙未必读。

Even you accumulate property and give it to your sons and grandsons, they don’t necessarily maintain it, or you collect books and hand down to them, they don’t necessarily read.

莫把真心空计较，唯有大德享百福。
不作无益害有益，不贵异物贱用物。

Don’t make empty plans with your heart, you should know only those who have great moral conducts can enjoy various kinds of good fortunes.
Don’t do useless works and let them harm the useful works; nor pay special attentions to curiosities and make light of the useful things.

谁人不爱子孙贤，谁人不爱千钟粟，奈五行不是这般题目。

Can anyone do not want his sons and grandsons to be able and virtuous? Can anyone do not love wealth? But the five primary elements (i.e. metal, wood, water, fire and earth, which stands for natural law) don’t arrange so as his will.

恩宜自淡而浓，先浓后淡者，人忘其惠；威宜自严而宽，先宽后严者，人怨其酷。

While you treat people with kindness, gradually increase kindness, or the kindness is easily forgotten; while you treat people with strictness, gradually decrease strictness, or you’ll be considered cruel.

以积货财之心积学问，则盛德日心；以爱妻子之心爱父母，则孝行自笃。

If you accumulate knowledge with the desire to accumulate wealth, then you’ll be able to make progress in moral character; if you love your parents with the heart to love your wife, then you’ll naturally make progress in filial conducts.

学须静，才须学。非学无以广才，非静无以成学

Learning requires one to concentrate energy and one’s ability requires one to learn.
Without learning, one’s ability cannot be increased; without concentrating energy one cannot learn.

行义要强，受谏要弱。
生于忧患，死于安乐。

To do good deeds require one to be generous; to accept advice requires one not to shield one’s shortcomings.
He who was born in the difficult circumstances often dies in the happy circumstances.

闲时不烧香，急时抱佛脚。

Don’t do the work as not burning joss stick at ordinary times in worship of Buddha but embracing His feet and praying for help in time of emergency.

不患老而无成，只怕幼而不学。
咬得菜根香，寻出孔颜乐。

What you should worry about does not lie in the fact that you have no achievements in your old age but lies in that you don’t study in your youth days.
He who can taste the flavor of the vegetable soup will be able to find the happiness of Confucious and Yanyuan. (Both the two were famous sages.)

富贵如刀兵戈矛，稍放纵便销膏靡骨而不知；贫贱如针砭药石，一忧勤即砥节砺行而不觉。

Wealth and honor is like sword and spear, if you are self-undisciplined a little, you’ll be unconsciously have your body smashed to pieces by it. Poverty and low position is like acupuncture and herb, if you are self-disciplined and firm in hard times, you’ll be unconsciously cured of your trouble by it.

送君千里，终须一别。

Even to walk with you one thousand li [One li equals 500 meters.], eventually we must separate.

不矜细行，终累大德。

If you are careless in small matters, eventually you will corrupt your own virtue.

亲戚不悦，无务外交；事不终始，无乌多业。

If you cannot get along with your own family members in good terms, you had better not indulge in making friends with strangers; if you always do things by halves, you had better not engage in several works at the same time.

临难无苟免，临财无苟得

If it happens that an unexpected disaster comes before you, don’t escape it luckily; if it happens that unexpected money comes before you, don’t acquire it illicitly.

气死莫告状，饿死莫做贼。

Don’t file a lawsuit even you get indignant, nor act as a thief even you were hungry to death.

醉后思仇人，君子避酒客。

While a man is tipsy, he is liable to recall his enemies; the gentleman escapes the man in drink.

智者千虑，必有一失；愚者千虑，必有一得。

Even the wise are not always free from error; even a fool occasionally hits on a good idea.

千年田地八百主，田是主人人是客。

In one thousand years a farm may have eight hundred masters, so the farm is the master and people are guests.

良田不由心田置，产业变为冤业折。

If one buys good farms by mean ways and the farms, then one will get into one’s misfortune debt.

真士无心邀福，天即就无心处牖其 衷；险人著意避祸，天即就著意处夺其魄。

The honest man doesn’t specially invite good fortune but God gives it to him because he hasn’t purposefully invited it; the evil man specially averts misfortune but God strips him of his intelligence because he has specially averted it.

权贵龙骧，英雄虎战，以冷眼观之，如蝇竞血，如蚁聚膻；
是非蜂起，得失猬兴，以冷情当之，入冶化金，如汤消雪。

Bigwigs make rapid advance in their career, martial leaders bravely fight in the battle fields, if you coldly watch them, it is just like a cloud of flies striving for the blood, a swarm of ants gathering around the smell.
Right or wrong, gain or lose maybe they are and have, if you calmly turn them over in your mind, you may find they are nothing but a kind of instantaneous phenomenon, just like the metal melted in the furnace and the snow thawed with hot soup.

客不离货；财不露白。

The businessman shouldn’t leave his commodities. Your wealth shouldn’t show to others.

谗言不可听，听之祸殃结。君听臣遭诛，父听子遭灭。夫妇听之离，兄弟听之别，朋友听之疏，亲戚听之绝。

Don’t be convinced of calumnies, or they will bring you misfortunes.
If the ruler believes calumnies, his subjects will be wrongly punished; if the father does so, his son will suffer disaster; if a couple of husband and wife do so, they will divorce each other; if the brothers do so, they will no longer love each other; if friends do so, they will get estranged; if kinsfolk do so, their relationship will be broken off.

鬼神可敬不可谄；冤家宜解不宜结

Spirits and gods can be respected but not toadied; better turn an enemy into an ally than into a mortal one.

人生何处不相逢，莫因小事动声色。

People may have the chance to meet anywhere。Don’t quarrel with each other for trifles.

心思如青天白日，不可使人不知；才华如玉蕴珠含，不可使人易测。

One’s thought should be as bright as the blue sky and the sun, but one’s talent and ability are like a jade concealed and pearl reserved should be hidden and not let them be easily deduced.

性天澄澈，即饥餐渴饮，无非廉济身肠；心地沉迷，纵演偈谈玄，总是播弄精魄。

He who has an optimistic nature will be always happy and able to keep fit even leads a simple life; he who is perverse will always rack his brain no matter how he preaches profound theories and talks about metaphysics.

芝兰生于深林，不以无人而不芳；君子修其道德，不为穷困而改节。

Irises and orchids grow in the deep woods still give off intoxicating scents and don’t care for whether they are enjoyed of not; virtuous man cultivates his virtue and doesn’t change his will on account of poverty and difficulty.

满招损，谦受益

Haughtiness invites losses, while modesty brings profits.

百年光阴，如驹过隙。

One hundred years passes as swiftly as a horse leaps a gap----How time flies.

世事明如镜，前程暗似漆。

The affairs of the world are as bright as the glass, while their future is as dark as the lacquer.

有麝自然香，何必当风立？

Naturally where there is musk there is sweet smell, why should you stand at the way the wind blows from it?

良田万顷，日食三餐；大厦千间，夜眠八尺。

Even you have ten thousand hectares of farm, at most you have meals three times a day; even you have one thousand brilliant buildings, you can only take several square meters to lie on at night.

救生不救死，寄物不寄失。

Save the living but not the dead; leave things to somebody-else but not leave things that other man has lost.

人生孰不需财，匹夫不可怀璧。
廉官可酌贪泉水，志士不受嗟来食。

Can anyone not want money in his life, but a common people had better not to hold precious jaded --- (as an innocent man often gets into trouble because of his wealth).
The honest and upright government official may drink the water from the spring named covetousness; the just and proud man will never eat the meal offered from pity mixed with contempt.

适志在花柳灿烂，笙歌沸腾处，那都是一场幻景界；得趣于木落草枯，声稀味淡中，才觅得以写真消息。

The time when you enjoy blooming flowers and green willows, singing and dancing, is nothing but an empty dream; from the place where you are content with faded leaves and withered grass, simple meals, peace and quiet, you can get some true colors of the world.

圣贤言语，雅俗并集，人能体此，万无一失。

The above are mottoes from sages and virtuous men. They are both refined and popular ones; if you can learn the meaning of them, few mistakes can you make.

（全书完）