This sentence comes from Hemingway's prose "True Nobility" (Chinese name: "True Nobility")

The original sentence expression:

The true nobility is in being superior to your previous self.

True Nobility

In a calm sea every man is a pilot.

But all sunshine without shade, all pleasure without pain, is not life at all. Take the lot of the happiest—it is a tangled yarn. Bereavements and blessings, one following another, make us sad and blessed by turns. Even death itself makes life more loving. Men come closest to their true selves in the sober moments of life, under the shadows of sorrow and loss.

In the affairs of life or of business, it is not intellect that tells so much as character, not brains so much as heart , not genius so much as self-control, patience, and discipline, regulated by judgment.

I have always believed that the man who has begun to live more seriously within begins to live more simply without. In an age of extravagance and waste, I wish I could show to the world how few the real wants of humanity are.

To regret one's errors to the point of not repeating them is true repentance. There is nothing noble in being superior to some other man. The true nobility is in being superior to your previous self.

Original translation:

"True Nobility" -------Hemingway< /p>

In a calm sea, everyone is a pilot.

However, only sunshine without shadows, only joy without pain, is not life. Take the life of the happiest person - it is a tangled mass of twine. The grief of losing a mother and the blessings of happiness follow each other, making us sad and happy at one time, and even death itself makes life more lovable. It is in life's waking moments, under the shadow of grief and sadness, that people are closest to their true selves.

In all matters of life or career, character plays a much greater role than intelligence, brain less than mood, and talent less than self-control, patience, and discipline regulated by judgment.

I have always believed that people who begin to live more seriously on the inside will also begin to live more simply on the outside. In an age of luxury and waste, I wish to show the world how few things mankind really needs.

Repenting for one's mistakes and striving not to repeat them again is true repentance. Being better than others is not noble. True nobility should be better than one's past self.

About the author: Ernest Miller Hemingway (Ernest Miller Hemingway, July 21, 1899 - July 2, 1961), an American writer and journalist, is considered one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. One of the most famous novelists. Born in Oak Park, a suburb of Chicago, Illinois, USA, he committed suicide at his home in Ketchum, Idaho in his later years.

Hemingway had complicated emotions throughout his life and was married four times. He was a representative figure among the "Lost Generation" writers in the United States. His works showed confusion and hesitation about life, the world, and society. Hemingway won many awards during his lifetime. He was awarded the Silver Medal of Valor during World War I; in 1953, he won the Pulitzer Prize for his book "The Old Man and the Sea"; in 1954, "The Old Man and the Sea" won Hemingway the Nobel Prize for Literature . In 2001, Hemingway's "The Sun Also Rises" and "A Farewell to Arms" were included in the "100 Best English Novels of the 20th Century" by the Modern Library of America. Hemingway has always been known as a tough guy in the literary world. He is a spiritual monument to the American nation. Hemingway's works mark the formation of his unique creative style and occupy an important position in the history of American literature and even the history of world literature.