《隋书·列传·卷二十八》
我怕自己才如驽马，没有到远处去的本事；人如朽木，没有折冲之才。怎敢追随古人，与他们比优劣？
惧驽蹇无致远之用，朽薄非折冲之材，岂欲追踪古人，语其优劣？
I am afraid I  am as useless as the old horse, and incapable of performing long-distance travel; and I am as rotten as the decayed wood, and incapable of repelling the enemy. How dare I follow the ancients and compare superiority and inferiority with them?