Original text:

When Gaishi people study, they must first have ambition, secondly have knowledge, and thirdly have perseverance. If you have ambition, you will not be willing to be inferior; if you have knowledge, you will know that knowledge is endless, and you will not dare to be self-sufficient in one thing. You are like a riverboy looking at the sea, like a frog in a well peeping into the sky. They are all ignorant; if you have perseverance, you will be able to accomplish anything. All three are indispensable. At this time, my brothers, I can only understand that it cannot be sudden; as for having ambition and perseverance, I can only encourage them.

——Quoted from "The Complete Works of Zeng Wenzhenggong"

Translation:

When scholars study, they must first have ambition, secondly have knowledge, and thirdly Third, we must have perseverance. If you are ambitious, you will not be willing to be a mean person; if you are knowledgeable, you will know that there is no end to learning, and you will not dare to be complacent with a little experience, just like a river boy looking at the sea, or a frog in a well looking at the sky, these are people without knowledge; if you have perseverance, you will not be successful. Things that can't be solved. These three things are indispensable. Dear brothers, you can't rush to gain knowledge right now. As for ambition and perseverance, I hope you can work hard.

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