说苑/吞舟之魚，蕩而失水，制於螻蟻者，離其居也；猿猴失木，禽於狐貉者，非其處也。

吞舟之魚，蕩而失水，制於螻蟻者，離其居也；猿猴失木，禽於狐貉者，非其處也。

Eric Henry

The reason a fish huge enough to swallow a boat can be controlled by ants upon heaving itself out of the water is that it has suffered separation from its habitat.

Eric Henry

The reason that a gibbon, on losing its tree, can be caught by a fox is that it is no longer in its proper place.

騰蛇遊霧而升，騰龍乘雲而舉，猿得木而挺，魚得水而騖，處地宜也。

Eric Henry

That a leaping serpent can ride upward on the mists; that a leaping dragon can ride the clouds into the empyrean; that a gibbon, upon gaining a tree, can prance about proudly; and that a fish can swim about at will on entering the water is because, in each case, a fitting place has been found.

Eric Henry

The Mode of Study of a Man of Quality