《墨子·言语·说话诀窍》英译

子禽问曰：“多言有益乎？”墨子曰：“虾蟆蛙蝇，日夜而鸣，舌千擗然而不听。今鹤鸡时夜而鸣，天下振动。多言何益？唯其言之时也。”

                                                                                                                              ——《墨子·言语》

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The Secret of Talking

The philosopher Mozi was taking a walk with his pupil Ziqin around a pond. The pupil asked：

“Master, do people really gain profit from talking much?”

Mozi replied:

“That depends on what they talk about. For instance, the frogs in the pond croak from morning till night, but who would ever pay attention to their croaking since it has no meaning? The croaking of frogs only annoy us. But what about the crowing of a rooster? A rooster crows only a few times at the erack of dawn, yet people pay great attention to its crowing, because they know it means first morning light. Therefore, it is unimportant whether one talks much or little; the key point is that one should speak to a useful purpose.”