To Sun Something for One Day and Then Freeze It for Ten Days一曝十寒

“一曝十寒”出自《孟子·告子上》：“虽有天下易生之物也，一日暴之，十日寒之，未有能生者也。”比喻没有恒心，努力少，荒废多。

Mencius lived during the Warring States Period. He was not only veryknowledgeable but also very 1）eloquent. He often used very vivid analogiesto persuade kings of that period to do good deeds.

Everyone said that the King of Qi was stupid， without his own ideas，and was easily influenced by his 2）wicked ministers. This greatly displeasedMencius， so he went to the King of Qi and said， “Don’t think I’m saying you’ renot intelligent. Everyone knows that plants all need sunlight to grow. If youexpose them to sunlight for a day， and then keep them in dark for ten days，even those plants which grow easily will not do well. In the same way， thetime that I am here with you is not very long. You may develop the will to dogood things， but then as soon as I leave， those other people come and leadyou 3）astray， and the good will which had just begun to 4）sprout is againdestroyed.” Followingthis， Mencius drewseveral more analogies，urging the King of Qito completely devotehimself to governing hiscountry.

1） eloquent adj. 雄辩的；有口才的

2） wicked adj. 邪恶的；恶毒的

3） astray adv. 走错方向；误入歧途

4） sprout v. 发芽；出现

孟子生活在战国时期。（剩余767字）