君子而诈善，无异小人之肆恶；君子而改节，不及小人之自新。

 

【译文】身为君子却具有伪善的恶行，那么他们的行为与邪恶的小人作恶多端没有什么两样；行仁义的正人君子如果放弃自己的志向落入浊流，那还不如一个改过自新的小人。

 

【英文译文】A supposedly virtuous man who pretends to do good deeds is no better than a selfish scoundrel. When a virtuous man abandons his moral principles, he is not worth as much as a mean person who has turned over a new leaf. 

（保罗·怀特 译）

 

If an accomplished man feigns virtue, he is not different from a villain who has done all manners of evil. If an accomplished man changes his aspiration and abandons himself to vice, he is no better than a scoundrel that has corrected his errors and made a fresh start.

（周文标 译）

 

The junzi gentleman feigning virtue is no different from the xiaoren petty man running wild; the junzi gentlemen changing his moral principles is not worth the xiaoren petty man turning over a new leaf.

（蒋坚松 译）

 

问祖宗之德泽，吾身所享者是，当念其积累之难；问子孙之福祉，吾身所贻者是，要思其倾覆之易。

【译文】如果问祖先给我们留下什么恩德，只要看我们现在所享幸福的厚薄就可以知道，因此应当时时感谢祖先们创造积累的艰辛；如果要问我们的子孙后代将来会享受到什么样的幸福，那么只要看我们所留下恩泽究竟有多少就可以知道，同时，要考虑到这些家业是很容易遭受衰败的厄运的。 

 

【英文译文】When we consider that the merits which we benefit from today were earned by our forefathers, we should reflect on the difficulties they had to undergo in order to acquire those merits. When we wonder what happiness our descendants will enjoy, we should consider how easy it will be for them to squander the legacy we bequeath to them.

（保罗·怀特 译）

 

The life we have today is just the bounties our forefathers had left over to us. Therefore, we should appreciate all the time the hardships they had gone through to accumulate them. The fortune our descendants will inherit from us lies in the wealth we have created. Therefore, we should constantly remind them of the aptness there might be to ruin it.

（周文标 译）

 

To know the merits and favours left by one’s ancestors, one needs only to look at what one is enjoying at present; one must not forget all the trouble they went to in order to accumulate them. To know the happiness to be received by one’s descendants, one needs only to look at what one is leaving behind; one must remember all the risk they may run of losing it.

（蒋坚松 译）