使人生圆滑进行的微妙的要素，莫如“渐”；造物主骗人的手段，也莫如“渐”。

      The subtle factor that makes life smoothly endurable is “gradualness”. It is also by this “gradualness” that the Creator deceives all humans.

       在不知不觉之中，天真烂漫的孩子“渐渐”变成野心勃勃的青年；慷慨豪侠的青年“渐渐”变成冷酷的成人；血气旺盛的成人“渐渐”变成顽固的老头子。

       Through the process of imperceptible gradual change, innocent carefree kids grow up into ambitious youths, generous chivalrous youths mature into unfeeling grownups, vigorous aggressive grownups deteriorate into mulish old fogeys.

       因为其变更是渐进的，一年一年地、一月一月地、一日一日地、一时一时地、一分一分地、一秒一秒地渐进，犹如从斜度极缓的长远的山坡上走下来，使人不察其递降的痕迹，不见其各阶段的境界，而似乎觉得常在同样的地位，恒久不变，又无时不有生的意趣与价值，于是人生就被确实肯定，而圆滑进行了。

       Since the change takes place by slow degrees---year by year, month by month, day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute, second by second, you feel as if you were permanently your same old self always seeing much fun and meaning in life, like one, walking a long, long way down an extremely gentle mountain slope, hardly perceives its degree of incline or notices the altered scenes as he moves along. You thus take a positive view of life and find it endurable.