颜渊喟然叹曰，仰之弥高，钻之弥坚，瞻之在前，忽焉在后。夫子循循然善诱人，博我以文，约我以礼。欲罢不能，既竭吾才，如有所立卓尔，虽欲从之，末由也已。
白话导读
颜渊感叹地说：老师的学问道德，越仰望越觉得高，越钻研越觉得深；看着好像在前面，忽然又到了后面。老师善于一步步地诱导人，用文献典籍丰富我的知识，用礼节来约束我的行为，使我想停下来都不可能。我已经用尽了自己的才力，可老师的学问仍像高高矗立在前，我虽然想追赶上去，却找不到途径。
James Legge 英译
1. Yen Yuan, in admiration of the Master's doctrines, sighed and said, "I looked up to them, and they seemed to become more high; I tried to penetrate them, and they seemed to become more firm; I looked at them before me, and suddenly they seemed to be behind. 2. "The Master, by orderly method, skilfully leads men on. He enlarged my mind with learning, and taught me the restraints of propriety. 3. "When I wish to give over the study of his doctrines, I cannot do so, and having exerted all my ability, there seems something to stand right up before me; but though I wish to follow and lay hold of it, I really find no way to do so."
译注：James Legge 公版英译，1893 年原版。
注释
- 底本：Wikisource 整理的 James Legge《The Chinese Classics》公版中英文本（1893–1895）。
- 简体化：原文由繁体转为简体（OpenCC），与公版英译逐句对应。
- 白话参考底本：《白话论语读本》，张兆瑢、沈元起编译，上海广益书局1948 年新三版。