《菜根谭》英译（拔去名根、融化客气）

名根未拔者，纵轻千乘甘一瓢，总堕尘情；客气未融者，虽泽四海利万世，终为剩技。<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

A man who has not uprooted his hankering for fame and fortune, even if he disdains enormous wealth and delights in plain living, will in the end descend to the level of the vulgar world. A man who has not eradicated all baleful external influences from his nature, even if his benevolence extends to all the world and for ten thousand generations, will show no more than futile gestures.

（保罗·怀特 译）

If a person cannot uproot from within the lust for fame, he will become frail in the long run even though he himself claims to despise riches and rank and be willing to live a scanty life. If a person cannot dispose of the external influences pernicious to his nature, his benefaction will finally become an uncalled-for trick even though he has done a lot to benefit both the world and the generations of all coming ages.

（周文标 译）