原文：
　　世上只有一种愿望可以实现,也仅有一种事物绝对能得到,那便是死亡.但因身处境地的不同,没人能告诉我们是否死得其所.
　　我们不停向着梦想前进,不肯稍作休息,这形成了一幅奇异的画面:不知疲倦,勇于冒险的先锋.的确,我们永远不会达到目标,甚至目的地根本就不存在;即使活上几百年,被赋予神的力量,我们最终也不能接近目标多少.啊辛劳的双手! 啊,不知疲倦的双脚,一直不停地奔走,却不知要到何方.不久,你便会发现,你必须登上某些显著的山头,然而在不远处,在夕阳的照耀下,你会看到黄金国的尖顶.身处于幸福之中,你却没有觉察:旅行远比抵达要充满乐趣;真正的成功就在于奋斗.
　　译文（反白可见）：
　　There is only one wish realisable on the earth; only one thing that can be perfectly attained: Death. And from a variety of circumstances we have no one to tell us whether it be worth attaining.A strange picture we make on our way to our chimaeras, ceaselessly marching, grudging ourselves the time for rest; indefatigable, adventurous pioneers. It is true that we shall never reach the goal; it is even more than probable that there is no such place; and if we lived for centuries and were endowed with the powers of a god, we should find ourselves not much nearer what we wanted at the end. O toiling hands of mortals! O unwearied feet, travelling ye know not whither! Soon, soon, it seems to you, you must come forth on some conspicuous hilltop, and but a little way further, against the setting sun, descry the spires of El Dorado. Little do ye know your own blessednes; for to travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive, and the true success is to labour.