《资治通鉴·晋纪·晋纪二十五》
善于开创的人不一定善于完成，善于起始的人不一定善于结束，所以古代的圣哲帝王，知道建功立业的不易，都是战战兢兢，如临深渊。
夫善作者不必善成，善始者不必善终，是以古先哲王，知功业之不易，战战兢兢，如临深谷。
"Those who are good at starting things are not necessarily good at completing them, those who are good at initiating things are not necessarily good at ending them, so the sage emperors of ancient times all knew how difficult it was to establish achievements and build careers. They were all extremely cautious and handled things as if they were standing on the edge of a cliff."