孔子問曰：「先生何樂也？
“Why, sir, are you so happy?” Kongzi asked.
」對曰：「吾樂甚多：天生萬物，唯人為貴，吾既已得為人，是一樂也。
“The things that make me happy,” Qi Qi replied, “are very many.
人以男為貴，吾既已得為男，是為二樂也。
Of all the myriad creations of Heaven, only humans are noble, and I have the good fortune to be a human being; that is one happiness.
人生有不免襁褓者，吾年已九十五矣，是三樂也。
People take men to be of higher status than women, and I have the good fortune to be a man; that is a second happiness.
夫貧者，士之常也；死者，人之終也。
Many people never live past the age of swaddling wraps and carrying halters, and I am already ninety-five; that is a third happiness.
處常待終，當何憂乎？」
Poverty, note, is the common lot of worthy men, and death is the common terminus of all living things.
Why should I find distress in sharing the common lot and awaiting this common terminus with others?