I have been told that when a mirror is bright,

The dust and dirt do not rest on it so far;

Otherwise, the mirror is not regarded as bright.

When one dwells long with a man of virtue,

He comes to be without faults himself.

Most criminals, in describing their offences,

Would make it out that they ought not

To be punished for them; and only very few

Would describe them so as to make it appear

That they should not have escaped their penalty.

When men stand before a skilful archer

With his bow bent tightly, if they are

In the field where they should surely be hit,

And if they be not hit, that also is appointed goal.

In a word, they are only the virtuous who know

That their calamity has been unavoidable thing,

And hence rest in it as what's appointed for them.