郑燮·《潍县寄舍弟墨第四书》英译

潍县寄舍弟墨第四书

郑燮

凡人读书，原拿不定发达。然即不发达，要不可以不读书，主意便拿定也。科名不来，学问在我，原不是折本的买卖。愚兄而今已发达矣，人亦共称愚兄为善读书矣，究竟自问胸中担得出几卷书来？不过挪移借贷，改窜添补，便尔钓名欺世。人有负于书耳，书亦何负于人哉！

昔有人问沈近思侍郎，如何是救贫的良法？沈曰：读书。其人以为迂阔。其实不迂阔也。东投西窜，费时失业，徒丧其品，而卒归于无济，何如优游书史中，不求获而得力在眉睫间乎！信此言，则富贵，不信，则贫贱，亦在人之有识与有决并有忍耳。

Fourth Letter to Brother Mo from Weihsien

From Family Letters of a Chinese Poet

Cheng Panchiao

When a man goes to school, he cannot be certain that he will become an official. But whether he becomes an official or not, he should not forget the true object of study. If one fails in the examinations, the knowledge gained still remains his own and it should not be regarded as a losing investment. I, for instance, have become successful and am reputed to have a good knowledge of books. But when I ask myself, I cannot say how many books I have really absorbed into my heart. All we do usually is to borrow from one book and adapt from others, thus gaining a reputation by cheating. The scholars owe a debt to the books, while the books owe nothing to them.

Formerly someone asked Shen Chinsze what to do to avoid poverty, and his reply was to read books. The man thought Shen’s advice was impractical, but it is practical. A man loses his character by rushing about and attending to worthless affairs and in the end gains nothing. It would be better for him to wander about in the land of books and history, without any object of seeking benefit, but suddenly coming upon some truth before his very eyes. Who believes in this advice will become successful and who does not will remain poor. It all depends on whether one has the wit to realize it and whether he has persistence.