Therefore, Your Majesty’s failure to win the unification of the world is not a case of jumping over the North Sea with Mount Tai under your arm. Your Majesty’s failure to win the unification of the world is a case of breaking a twig.

Therefore your Majesty’s not exercising the royal sway, is not such a case as that of taking the T’âi mountain under your arm, and leaping over the north sea with it. Your Majesty’s not exercising the royal sway is a case like that of breaking off a branch from a tree.

That you do not reign, King, is not like the clasping a big hill and jumping the North Sea; your not reigning, King, is like the not breaking a twig.

Your failure to be a true emperor isn’t like failing to bound over the North Sea with T’ai Mountain tucked under your arm. It’s like failing to break up a little kindling for an old woman.

Hence your majesty's not governing well is not such a thing, as that of taking Tae Shan under one's arm, and leaping over the the north sea, but is of a piece with not breaking the branch.