Rely upon it that the ancients were right; both in morals and intellect we give the final shape to our characters, 这点毋庸置疑，古人亦不例外。通过道德与才智，我们为自己品性赋以最后定型，

　　and thus become, emphatically, the architects of our own fortune.  亦更为强调，我们才是自己命运的建筑师。

　　How else could it happen that young men, who have had precisely the same opportunities, 对那些年轻人而言，严格说来，面临同样机遇的他们，还有决定前途的其他途径？

　　should be continually presenting us with such different results, and rushing to such opposite destinies?  他们仍能继续展示类似我们的不同生活道路，抑或仓促陷入截然不同的愿望悖反？

　　Difference of talent will not solve it, because that difference is very often in favor of the disappointed candidate.  天资差异无法解决这一问题，因为这种差异通常对失望的落选者更为有利。

　　You will see issuing from the walls of the same college, nay, sometimes from the bosom of the same family,  从学院墙报栏公示结果来看，有时，反对票甚至来自师出同门的同窗。

　　two young men, of whom one will be admitted to be a genius of high order, the other scarcely above the point of mediocrity;  两位年轻人，其中一人被公认具有天才禀赋，另外一人几乎难称平庸之才，

　　yet you will see the genius sinking and perishing in poverty, obscurity, and wretchedness;  然而，最终结局是，天才逐渐沉沦湮没一生默默无闻，贫穷困窘，处境悲惨；

　　while, on the other hand, you will observe the mediocre plodding his slow but sure way up the hill of life,  反之不难看到，那些平庸之辈正缓慢沉重地跋涉，最终抵达生活高处。

　　gaining steadfast footing at every step, and mounting, at length, to eminence and distinction,  他们每一步步履坚实，稳健有力才能够出类拔萃，

　　an ornament to his family, a blessing to his country.  成为家族的骄傲，以及国家的自豪。

　　Now, whose work is this? Manifestly their own.  那么，原因究竟何在？显而易见，成功在于自己，

　　They are the architects of their respective fortunes.  年轻人堪为自己不同命运的设计师。