译文：现在你把下棋作为技艺，是小技艺；不专心致志，就学不到手。弈秋是全国的下棋高手，有人让他教两个人下棋，其中一个人专心致志，只听弈秋的话；另一个人虽然也在听弈秋的教导，但是心里却想着天上有天鹅飞过，想要拉弓搭箭把它射下来。虽然他俩在一起学习，但后一个人不如前一个人学得好。难道是因为他的智力不如别人好吗?有人说:“不是这样的。”
《古代寓言·学棋》
弈之为数，小数也。不专心致志，则不得也。
弈秋，通国之善弈者也。
使弈秋诲二人弈。
其一人，专心致志，惟弈秋之为听。
一人，虽听之，一心以为有鸿鹄将至，思援弓缴而射之。
虽与之俱学，弗若之矣。——为是其智弗若与？曰：“非然也。”
——《孟子》
Learning to Play Draughts
Playing draughts is a minor art; yet even so, you must give your whole attention to it to learn it. Qiu, the best draughts-player in the country, had two pupils. One of them concentrated entirely on what Qiu told them, while the other, though he also listened to his master, was thinking all the time of the wild geese in the sky, and itching to get his bow and arrows to shoot them. So he did not learn as well as the other pupil. It was not because he was less intelligent.
Mencius
