《北史·列传·卷二十二》
刘延明回答 ： 早晨听到道，晚上死去也就甘心了，不知很快就到老年 ，这些话是孔圣人所说的。
延明曰： 朝闻道，夕死可矣，不知老之将至，孔圣称焉。
Liu Yanming replied: If in the morning I heard the Tao, I would be content to die in the evening, not knowing how quickly I would reach old age; these were the words spoken by the sage Confucius.