《北史·列传·卷二十九》
鸿胪少卿阳休之私下里对人说 ：将要跋涉千里，却杀了千里马而换上一头跛腿驴。太可悲了。 杨素字处道，从小就胸怀磊落，志向远大，不拘小节。一般人大多不了解他，惟有从祖杨宽惊异他的才能，常常对子孙们说 ：处道出类拔萃，是一个特殊的人才，不是你们所能赶得上的。 
世人多未之知，唯从祖宽深异之，每谓子孙曰： 处道逸群绝伦，非常之器，非汝曹所逮。 
The Acting Junior Minister of the Bureau of Receptions, Yang Xiu, secretly said to someone, “We are about to embark on a long journey, but we have killed our thousand-mile horse and put a lame donkey in its place. How pitiful!” I also met Yang Su, whose first name was Chudao. From a young age, he had been open-minded, aspired to great things, and was not constrained by petty details. Most people generally did not understand him. Only his great-uncle Yang Kuan was awed by his talent and would often tell his descendants: “Chudao is an outstanding individual and an extraordinary talent. You all cannot compare to him.”