緇門警訓 1.41

1.41

If jade is not carved, it does not become a vessel; if a person does not study, he does not know the Way. At fifteen I set my heart on study. The fleeting scenery passed by, and suddenly old age arrived. As the months and years deepened, I roughly came to know its purport, but in turn sighed that in past days I had utterly lost this aim. My time is pressed toward the mulberry and elm [of sunset], and study can no longer catch up. Therefore I have composed these ten gates to bequeath abundance to posterity, causing them to apply themselves to study to achieve success, and assisting in propagating the teachings so that they are manifested anew.