人类的历史，就是一个不断地从必然王国向自由王国发展的历史。这个历史永远不会完结。在有阶级存在的社会内，阶级斗争不会完结。在无阶级存在的社会内，新与旧、正确与错误之间的斗争永远不会完结。在生产斗争和科学实验范围内，人类总是不断发展的，自然界也总是不断发展的，永远不会停止在一个水平上。因此，人类总得不断地总结经验，有所发现，有所发明，有所创造，有所前进。停止的论点，悲观的论点，无所作为和骄傲自满的论点都是错误的。其所以是错误，因为这些论点，不符合大约一百万年以来人类社会发展的历史事实，也不符合迄今为止我们所知道的自然界（例如天体史，地球史，生物史，其他各种自然科学史所反映的自然界）的历史事实。
——转摘自《周恩来总理在第三届全国人民代表大会第一次会议上的政府工作报告》，一九六四年十二月三十一日《人民日报》
The history of mankind is one of continuous development from the realm of necessity to the realm of freedom. This process is never-ending. In any society in which classes exist class struggle will never end. In classless society the struggle between the new and the old and between truth and falsehood will never end. In the fields of the struggle for production and scientific experiment, mankind makes constant progress and nature undergoes constant change, they never remain at the same level. Therefore, man has constantly to sum up experience and go on discovering, inventing, creating and advancing. Ideas of stagnation, pessimism, inertia and complacency are all wrong. They are wrong because they agree neither with the historical facts of social development over the past million years, nor with the historical facts of nature so far known to us (i.e., nature as revealed in the history of celestial bodies, the earth, life, and other natural phenomena).
― Quoted in "Premier Chou Enlai's Report on the Work of the Government to the First Session of the Third National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China" (December 21-22, 1964).

自然科学是人们争取自由的一种武装。人们为着要在社会上得到自由，就要用社会科学来了解社会，改造社会进行社会革命。人们为着要在自然界里得到自由，就要用自然科学来了解自然，克服自然和改造自然，从自然里得到自由。 
——《在边区自然科学研究会成立大会上的讲话》（一九四零年二月五日），一九四零年三月十五日《新中华报》
Natural science is one of man's weapons in his fight for freedom. For the purpose of attaining freedom in society, man must use social science to understand and change society and carry out social revolution. For the purpose of attaining freedom in the world of nature, man must use natural science to understand, conquer and change nature and thus attain freedom from nature.
― "Speech at the inaugural meeting of the Natural Science Research Society of the Border Region" (February 5, 1940).

马克思主义的哲学辩证唯物论有两个最显著的特点：一个是它的阶级性，公然申明辨证唯物论是为无产阶级服务的；再一个是它的实践性，强调理论对于实践的依赖关系，理论的基础是实践，又转过来为实践服务。
——《实践论》（一九三七年七月），《毛泽东选集》第一卷第二七三页
The Marxist philosophy of dialectical materialism has two outstanding characteristics. One is its class nature: it openly avows that dialectical materialism is in the service of the proletariat. The other is its practicality: it emphasizes the dependence of theory on practice, emphasizes that theory is based on practice and in turn serves practice.
― "On Practice" (July 1937), Selected Works, Vol. I, p. 297.

马克思主义的哲学认为十分重要的问题，不在于懂得了客观世界的规律性，因而能够解释世界，而在于拿了这种对于客观规律性的认识去能动地改造世界。
——《实践论》（一九三七年七月），《毛泽东选集》第一卷第二八零——二八一页
Marxist philosophy holds that the most important problem does not lie in understanding the laws of the objective world and thus being able to explain it, but in applying the knowledge of these laws actively to change the world.
― Ibid., p. 304.

人的正确思想是从那里来的？是从天上掉下来的吗？不是。是自己头脑里固有的吗？不是。人的正确思想，只能从社会实践中来，只能从社会的生产斗争、阶级斗争和科学实验这三项实践中来。
——《人的正确思想是从那里来的？》（一九六三年五月），人民出版社版第一页
Where do correct ideas come from? Do they drop from the skies? No. Are they innate in the mind? No. They come from social practice, and from it alone; they come from three kinds of social practice, the struggle for production, the class struggle and scientific experiment.
― "Where Do Correct Ideas Come from?" (May 1963), 1st pocket ed., p. 1.

人们的社会存在，决定人们的思想。而代表先进阶级的正确思想，一旦被群众掌握，就会变成改造社会、改造世界的物质力量。
——《人的正确思想是从那里来的？》（一九六三年五月），人民出版社版第一页
It is man's social being that determines his thinking. Once the correct ideas characteristic of the advanced class are grasped by the masses, these ideas turn into a material force which changes society and changes the world.
― Ibid.

人们在社会实践中从事各项斗争，有了丰富的经验，有成功的，有失败的。无数客观外界的现象通过人的眼、耳、鼻、舌、身这五个官能反映到自己的头脑中来，开始是感性认识。这种感性认识的材料积累多了，就会产生一个飞跃，变成了理性认识，这就是思想。这是一个认识过程。这是整个认识过程的第一个阶段，即由客观物质到主观精神的阶段，由存在到思想的阶段。这时候的精神、思想（包括理论、政策、计划、办法）是否正确地反映了客观外界的规律，还是没有证明的，还不能确定是否正确，然后又有认识过程的第二个阶段，即由精神到物质的阶段，由思想到存在的阶段，这就是把第一个阶段得到的认识放到社会实践中去，看这些理论、政策、计划、办法等等是否能得到预期的成功。一般的说来，成功了的就是正确的，失败了的就是错误的，特别是人类对自然界的斗争是如此。在社会斗争中，代表先进阶级的势力，有时候有些失败，并不是因为思想不正确，而是因为在斗争力量的对比上，先进势力这一方，暂时还不如反动势力那一方，所以暂时失败了，但是以后总有一天会要成功的。人们的认识经过实践的考验，又会产生一个飞跃。这次飞跃，比起前一次飞跃来，意义更加伟大。因为只有这一次飞跃才能证明认识的第一次飞跃，即从客观外界的反映过程中得到的思想、理论、计划、办法等等，究竟是正确的还是错误的，此外再无别的检验真理的办法。
——《人的正确思想是从那里来的？》（一九六三年五月），人民出版社版第一——二页
In their social practice, men engage in various kinds of struggle and gain rich experience, both from their successes and from their failures. Countless phenomena of the objective external world are reflected in a man's brain through his five sense organs - the organs of sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch. At first, knowledge is perceptual. The leap to conceptual knowledge, i e., to ideas, occurs when sufficient perceptual knowledge is accumulated. This is one process in cognition. It is the first stage in the whole process of cognition, the stage leading from objective matter to subjective consciousness, from existence to ideas. Whether or not one's consciousness or ideas (including theories, policies, plans or measures) do correctly reflect the laws of the objective external world is not yet proved at this stage, in which it is not yet possible to ascertain whether they are correct or not. Then comes the second stage in the process of cognition, the stage leading from consciousness back to matter, from ideas back to existence, in which the knowledge gained in the first stage is applied in social practice to ascertain whether the theories, policies, plans or measures meet with the anticipated success. Generally speaking, those that succeed are correct and those that fail are incorrect, and this is especially true of man's struggle with nature. In social struggle, the forces representing the advanced class sometimes suffer defeat not because their ideas are incorrect but because, in the balance of forces engaged in struggle, they are not as powerful for the time being as the forces of reaction; they are therefore temporarily defeated, but they are bound to triumph sooner or later. Man's knowledge makes another leap through the test of practice. This leap is more important than the previous one. For it is this leap alone that can prove the correctness or incorrectness of the first leap in cognition, i.e., of the ideas, theories, policies, plans or measures formulated in the course of reflecting the objective external world. There is no other way of testing truth.
― Ibid., pp. 1-3.*

一个正确的认识，往往需要经过由物质到精神，由精神到物质，即由实践到认识，由认识到实践这样多次的反复，才能够完成。这就是马克思主义的认识论，就是辩证唯物论的认识论。
——《人的正确思想是从那里来的？》（一九六三年五月），人民出版社版第三页
Often, correct knowledge can be arrived at only after many repetitions of the process leading from matter to consciousness and then back to matter, that is, leading from practice to knowledge and then back to practice. Such is the Marxist theory of knowledge, the dialectical materialist theory of knowledge.
― Ibid., p. 3.*

无论何人要认识什么事物，除了同那个事物接触，即生活于（实践于）那个事物的环境中，是没有法子解决的。……你要有知识，你就得参加变革现实的实践。你要知道梨子的滋味，你就得变革梨子，亲口吃一吃。……你要知道革命的理论和方法，你就得参加革命。一切真知都是从直接经验发源的。
——《实践论》（一九三七年七），《毛泽东选集》第一卷第二七五——二七六页
Whoever wants to know a thing has no way of doing so except by coming into contact with it, that is, by living (practising) in its environment. ... If you want knowledge, you must take part in the practice of changing reality. If you want to know the taste of a pear, you must change the pear by eating it yourself.... If you want to know the theory and methods of revolution, you must take part in revolution. All genuine knowledge originates in direct experience.
― "On Practice" (July 1937), Selected Works, Vol. I, pp. 299-300.

认识从实践始，经过实践得到了理论的认识，还须再回到实践去。认识的能动作用，不但表现于从感性的认识到理性的认识之能动的飞跃，更重要的还须表现于从理性的认识到革命的实践这一个飞跃。
——《实践论》（一九三七年七月），《毛泽东选集》第一卷第二八一页
Knowledge begins with practice, and theoretical knowledge which is acquired through practice must then return to practice. The active function of knowledge manifests itself not only in the active leap from perceptual to rational knowledge, but - and this is more important - it must manifest itself in the leap from rational knowledge to revolutionary practice.
― Ibid., p. 304.*

大家明白。不论做什么事，不懂得那件事的情形，它的性质，它和它以外的事情的关联，就不知道那件事的规律，就不知道如何去做，就不能做好那件事。
——《中国革命战争的战略问题》（一九三六年十二月），《毛泽东选集》第一卷第一六三——一六四页
It is well known that when you do anything, unless you understand its actual circumstances, its nature and its relations to other things, you will not know the laws governing it, or know how to do it, or be able to do it well.
― "Problems of Strategy in China's Revolutionary War" (December 1936), Selected Works, Vol. I, p. 179.

人们要想得到工作的胜利即得到预想的结果，一定要使自己的思想合于客观外界的规律性，如果不合，就会在实践中失败。人们经过失败之后，也就从失败取得教训，改正自己的思想使之适合于外界的规律性，人们就能变失败为胜利，所谓“失败者成功之母”，“吃一堑长一智”，就是这个道理。
——《实践论》（一九三七年七月），《毛泽东选集》第一卷第二七三页
If a man wants to succeed in his work, that is, to achieve the anticipated results, he must bring his ideas into correspondence with the laws of the objective external world; if they do not correspond, he will fail in his practice. After he fails, he draws his lessons, corrects his ideas to make them correspond to the laws of the external world, and can thus turn failure into success; this is what is meant by "failure is the mother of success" and "a fall into the pit, a gain in your wit".
― "On Practice" (July 1937), Selected Works, Vol. I, pp. 296-97.

我们是马克思主义者，马克思主义叫我们看问题不要从抽象的定义出发，而要从客观存在的事实出发，从分析这些事实中找出方针、政策、办法来。
——《在延安文艺座谈会上的讲话》（一九四二年五月），《毛泽东选集》第三卷第八五五页
We are Marxists, and Marxism teaches that in our approach to a problem we should start from objective facts, not from abstract definitions, and that we should derive our guiding principles, policies and measures from an analysis of these facts.
― "Talks at the Yen'an Forum on Literature and Art" (May 1942), Selected Works, Vol. III, p. 74.

按照实际情况决定工作方针，这是一切共产党员所必须牢牢记住的最基本的工作方法。我们所犯的错误，研究其发生的原因，都是由于我们离开了当时当地的实际情况，主观地决定自己的工作方针。
——《在晋绥干部会议上的讲话》（一九四八年四月一日），《毛泽东选集》第四卷第一三零六页
The most fundamental method of work which all Communists must firmly bear in mind is to determine our working policies according to actual conditions. When we study the causes of the mistakes we have made, we find that they all arose because we departed from the actual situation at a given time and place and were subjective in determining our working policies.
― "Speech at a Conference of Cadres in the Shansi-Suiyuan Liberated Area" (April 1, 1948), Selected Works, Vol. IV, pp. 229-30.*

世界上只有唯心论和形而上学最省力，因为它可以由人们瞎说一气，不要根据客观实际，也不受客观实际检查的。唯物论和辩证法则要用气力，它要根据客观实际，并受客观实际检查，不用气力就会滑到唯心论和形而上学方面去。
——《关于胡风反革命集团的材料》按语（一九五五年五月），《关于胡风反革命集团的材料》人民出版社版第七零页
Idealism and metaphysics are the easiest things in the world, because people can talk as much nonsense as they like without basing it on objective reality or having it tested against reality. Materialism and dialectics, on the other hand, need effort. They must be based on and tested by objective reality. Unless one makes the effort one is liable to slip into idealism and metaphysics.
― Introductory note to "Material on the Hu Feng Counter-Revolutionary Clique" (May 1955).

我们看事情必须要看它的实质，而把它的现象只看作入门的向导，一进了门就要抓住它的实质，这才是可靠的科学的分析方法。
——《星星之火，可以燎原》（一九三零年一月五日），《毛泽东选集》第一卷第一零三页
When we look at a thing, we must examine its essence and treat its appearance merely as an usher at the threshold, and once we cross the threshold, we must grasp the essence of the thing; this is the only reliable and scientific method of analysis.
― "A Single Spark Can Start a Prairie Fire" (January 5, 1930), Selected Works, Vol. I, p. 119.

事物发展的根本原因，不是在事物的外部而是在事物的内部，在于事物内部的矛盾性。任何事物内部都有这种矛盾性，因此引起了事物的运动和发展。事物内部的这种矛盾性是事物发展的根本原因，一事物和他事物的互相联系和互相影响则是事物发展的第二位的原因。
——《矛盾论》（一九三七年八月），《毛泽东选集》第一卷第二八九——二九零页
The fundamental cause of the development of a thing is not external but internal; it lies in the contradictoriness within the thing. This internal contradiction exists in every single thing, hence its motion and development. Contradictoriness within a thing is the fundamental cause of its development, while its interrelations and interactions with other things are secondary causes.
― "On Contradiction" (August 1937), Selected Works, Vol. I, p. 313.

唯物辩证法认为外因是变化的条件，内因是变化的根据，外因通过内因而起作用。鸡蛋因得适当的温度而变化为鸡子，但温度不能使石头变为鸡子，因为二者的根据是不同的。
——《矛盾论》（一九三七年八月），《毛泽东选集》第一卷第二九一页
It [materialist dialectics] holds that external causes are the condition of change and internal causes are the basis of change, and that external causes become operative through internal causes. In a suitable temperature an egg changes into a chicken, but no temperature can change a stone into a chicken, because each has a different basis.
― Ibid., p. 314.

马克思主义的哲学认为，对立统一规律是宇宙的根本规律。这个规律，不论在自然界、人类社会和人们的思想中，都是普遍存在的。矛盾着的对立面又统一，又斗争，由此推动事物的运动和变化。矛盾是普遍存在的，不过按事物的性质不同，矛盾的性质也就不同，对于任何一个具体的事物说来，对立的统一是有条件的、暂时的、过渡的，因而是相对的，对立的斗争则是绝对的。
——《关于正确处理人民内部矛盾的问题》（一九五七年二月二十七日），人民出版社版第九——一零页
Marxist philosophy holds that the law of the unity of opposites is the fundamental law of the universe. This law operates universally, whether in the natural world, in human society, or in man's thinking. Between the opposites in a contradiction there is at once unity and struggle, and it is this that impels things to move and change. Contradictions exist everywhere, but they differ in accordance with the different nature of different things. In any given phenomenon or thing, the unity of opposites is conditional, temporary and transitory, and hence relative, whereas the struggle of opposites is absolute.
― "On the Correct Handling of Contradictions Among the People" (February 27, 1957), 1st pocket ed., p. 18.

分析的方法就是辩证的方法。所谓分析，就是分析事物的矛盾。不熟悉生活，对于所论的矛盾不真正了解，就不可能有中肯的分析。
——《在中国共产党全国宣传工作会议上的讲话》（一九五七年三月十二日），人民出版社版第一五页
The analytical method is dialectical. By analysis, we mean analysing the contradictions in things. And sound analysis is impossible without intimate knowledge of life and without real understanding of the pertinent contradictions.
― "Speech at the Chinese Communist Party's National Conference on Propaganda Work" (March 12, 1957), l5t pocket ed., p. 20.

列宁说，对于具体情况作具体的分析，是“马克思主义的最本质的东西，马克思主义的活的灵魂”。我们许多同志缺乏分析的头脑，对于复杂事物，不愿作反复深入的分析研究，而爱作绝对肯定或绝对否定的简单结论。……今后应该改善这种状况。
——《学习和时局》（一九四四年四月十二日），《毛泽东选集》第三卷第九四三页
Concrete analysis of concrete conditions, Lenin said, is "the most essential thing in Marxism, the living soul of Marxism". Lacking an analytical approach, many of our comrades do not want to go deeply into complex matters, to analyse and study them over and over again, but like to draw simple conclusions which are either absolutely affirmative or absolutely negative.... From now on we should remedy this state of affairs.
― "Our Study and the Current Situation" (April 12, 1944), Selected Works, Vol. III, p. 165.

这些同志看问题的方法不对。他们不去看问题的本质方面，主流方面，而是强调那些非本质方面、非主流方面的东西。应当指出：不能忽略非本质方面和非主流方面的问题，必须逐一地将它们解决。但是，不应当将这些看成为本质和主流，以致迷惑了自己的方向。
——《关于农业合作化问题》（一九五五年七月三十一日），人民出版社版第二一页
The way these comrades look at problems is wrong. They do not look at the essential or main aspects but emphasize the non-essential or minor ones. It should be pointed out that these non-essential or minor aspects must not be overlooked and must be dealt with one by one. But they should not be taken as the essential or main aspects, or we will lose our bearings.
― "On the Question of Agricultural Co-operation" (July 31, 1955), 3rd ed., pp. 17-18.

世界上的事情是复杂的，是由各方面的因素决定的。看问题要从各方面去看，不能只从单方面看。
——《关于重庆谈判》（一九四五年十月十七日），《毛泽东选集》第四卷第一一五六页
In this world, things are complicated and are decided by many factors. We should look at problems from different aspects, not from just one.
― "On the Chungking Negotiations'' (October 17, 1945), Selected Works, Vol. IV, p. 54.

只有那些主观地、片面地和表面地看问题的人，跑到一个地方，不问环境的情况，不看事情的全体（事情的历史和全部现状），也不触到事情的本质（事情的性质及此一事情和其他事情的内部联系），就自以为是地发号施令起来，这样的人是没有不跌交子的。
——《实践论》（一九三七年七月），《毛泽东选集》第一卷第二七八——二七九页
Only those who are subjective, one-sided and superficial in their approach to problems will smugly issue orders or directives the moment they arrive on the scene, without considering the circumstances, without viewing things in their totality (their history and their present state as a whole) and without getting to the essence of things (their nature and the internal relations between one thing and another). Such people are bound to trip and fall.
― "On Practice" (July 1937), Selected Works, Vol. I, p. 302.

研究问题，忌带主观性、片面性和表面性。所谓主观性，就是不知道客观地看问题，也就是不知道用唯物的观点去看问题。这一点，我在《实践论》一文中已经说过了。所谓片面性，就是不知道全面地看问题。……或者叫做只看见局部，不看见全体，只看见树木，不看见森林。这样，是不能找出解决矛盾的方法的，是不能完成革命任务的，是不能做好所任工作的，是不能正确地发展党内的思想斗争的。孙子论军事说：“知彼知己，百战不殆。”他说的是作战的双方。唐朝人魏征说过：“兼听则明，偏信则暗。”也懂得片面性不对。可是我们的同志看问题，往往带片面性，这样的人就往往碰钉子。……列宁说：“要真正地认识对象，就必须把握和研究它的一切方面、一切联系和‘媒介’。我们决不会完全地作到这一点，可是要求全面性，将使我们防止错误，防止僵化。”我们应该记得他的话。表面性，是对矛盾总体和矛盾各方的特点都不去看，否认深入事物里面精细地研究矛盾特点的必要，仅仅站在那里远远地望一望，粗枝大叶地看到一点矛盾的形相，就想动手去解决矛盾（答复问题、解决纠纷、处理工作、指挥战争）。这样的做法，没有不出乱子的。……片面性、表面性也是主观性，因为一切客观事物本来是互相联系的和具有内部规律的，人们不去如实地反映这些情况，而只是片面地或表面地去看它们，不认识事物的互相联系，不认识事物的内部规律，所以这种方法是主观主义的。
——《矛盾论》（一九三七年八月），《毛泽东选集》第一卷第三零零——三零二页
In studying a problem, we must shun subjectivity, one-sidedness and superficiality. To be subjective means not to look at problems objectively, that is, not to use the materialist viewpoint in looking at problems. I have discussed this in my essay "On Practice". To be one-sided means not to look at problems all-sidedly.... Or it may be called seeing the part but not the whole, seeing the trees but not the forest. That way it is impossible to find the method for resolving a contradiction, it is impossible to accomplish the tasks of the revolution, to carry out assignments well or to develop inner-Party ideological struggle correctly. When Sun Wu Tzu said in discussing military science, "Know the enemy and know yourself, and you can fight a hundred battles with no danger of defeat", he was referring to the two sides in a battle. Wei Cheng of the Tang Dynasty also understood the error of one-sidedness when he said, "Listen to both sides and you will be enlightened, heed only one side and you will be benighted." But our comrades often look at problems one-sidedly, and so they often run into snags. ... Lenin said: "... in order really to know an object we must embrace, study, all its sides, all connections and "mediations". We shall never achieve this completely, but the demand for all-sidedness is a safeguard against mistakes and rigidity." We should remember his words. To be superficial means to consider neither the characteristics of a contradiction in its totality nor the characteristics of each of its aspects; it means to deny the necessity for probing deeply into a thing and minutely studying the characteristics of its contradiction, but instead merely to look from afar and, after glimpsing the rough outline, immediately to try to resolve the contradiction (to answer a question, settle a dispute, handle work, or direct a military operation). This way of doing things is bound to lead to trouble. ...To be one-sided and superficial is at the same time to be subjective. For all objective things are actually interconnected and are governed by inner laws, but, instead of undertaking the task of reflecting things as they really are, some people only look at things one-sidedly or superficially and know neither their interconnections nor their inner laws, and so their method is subjectivist.
― "On Contradiction" (August 1937), Selected Works, Vol. I, pp. 323-24.*

片面性就是思想上的绝对化，就是形而上学地看问题。对于我们的工作的看法，肯定一切或者否定一切，都是片面性的。……肯定一切，就是只看到好的，看不到坏的，只能赞扬，不能批评。说我们的工作似乎一切都好，这不合乎事实。不是一切都好，还有缺点和错误。但是也不是一切都坏，这也不合乎事实。要加以分析。否定一切，就是不加分析地认为事情都做得不好，社会主义建设这样一个伟大事业，几亿人口所进行的这个伟大斗争，似乎没有什么好处可说，一团糟。许多具有这种看法的人，虽然和那些对社会主义制度心怀敌意的人还不相同，但是这种看法是很错误的，很有害的，它只会使人丧失信心。不论是用肯定一切的观点或者否定一切的观点来看我们的工作，都是错误的。
——《在中国共产党全国宣传工作会议上的讲话》（一九五七年三月十二日），人民出版社版第一三——一四页
One-sidedness means thinking in terms of absolutes, that is, a metaphysical approach to problems. In the appraisal of our work, it is one-sided to regard everything either as all positive or as all negative. ... To regard everything as positive is to see only the good and not the bad, and to tolerate only praise and no criticism. To talk as though our work is good in every respect is at variance with the facts. It is not true that everything is good; there are still shortcomings and mistakes. But neither is it true that everything is bad, and that, too, is at variance with the facts. Here analysis is necessary. To negate everything is to think, without having made any analysis, that nothing has been done well and that the great work of socialist construction, the great struggle in which hundreds of millions of people are participating, is a complete mess with nothing in it worth commending. Although there is a difference between the many people who hold such views and those who are hostile to the socialist system, these views are very mistaken and harmful and can only dishearten people. It is wrong to appraise our work either from the viewpoint that everything is positive, or from the viewpoint that everything is negative.
― "Speech at the Chinese Communist Party's National Conference on Propaganda Work" (March 12, 1957), 1st pocket ed., pp. 16-17.*

马克思主义者看问题，不但要看到部分，而且要看到全体。一个虾蟆坐在井里说：“天有一个井大。”这是不对的，因为天不止一个井大。如果它说：“天的某一部分有一个井大。”这是对的，因为合乎事实。
——《论反对日本帝国主义的策略》（一九三五年十二月二十七日），《毛泽东选集》第一卷第一四四页
In approaching a problem a Marxist should see the whole as well as the parts. A frog in a well says, "The sky is no bigger than the mouth of the well." That is untrue, for the sky is not just the size of the mouth of the well. If it said, "A part of the sky is the size of the mouth of a well", that would be true, for it tallies with the facts.
― "On Tactics Against Japanese Imperialism" (December 27, 1935), Selected Works, Vol. I, p. 159.

我们必须学会全面地看问题，不但要看到事物的正面，也要看到它的反面。在一定的条件下，坏的东西可以引出好的结果，好的东西也可以引出坏的结果。
——《关于正确处理人民内部矛盾的问题》（一九五七年二月二十七日），人民出版社版第三四页
We must learn to look at problems allsidedly, seeing the reverse as well as the obverse side of things. In given conditions, a bad thing can lead to good results and a good thing to bad results.
― "On the Correct Handling of Contradictions Among the People" (February 27, 1957), 1st pocket ed., pp. 66-67.*

我们承认总的历史发展中是物质的东西决定精神的东西，是社会的存在决定社会的意识；但是同时又承认而且必须承认精神的东西的反作用，社会意识对于社会存在的反作用，上层建筑对于经济基础的反作用。这不是违反唯物论，正是避免了机械唯物论，坚持了辩证唯物论。
——《矛盾论》（一九三七年八月），《毛泽东选集》第一卷第三一四页
While we recognize that in the general development of history the material determines the mental and social being determines social consciousness, we also - and indeed must - recognize the reaction of mental on material things, of social consciousness on social being and of the superstructure on the economic base. This does not go against materialism; on the contrary, it avoids mechanical materialism and firmly upholds dialectical materialism.
― "On Contradiction" (August 1937), Selected Works, Vol. I, p. 336.*

指导战争的人们不能超越客观条件许可的限度期求战争的胜利，然而可以而且必须在客观条件的限度之内，能动地争取战争的胜利。战争指挥员活动的舞台，必须建筑在客观条件的许可之上，然而他们凭借这个舞台，却可以导演出很多有声有色、威武雄壮的戏剧来。
——《论持久战》（一九三八年五月），《毛泽东选集》第二卷第四六八页
In seeking victory, those who direct a war cannot overstep the limitations imposed by the objective conditions; within these limitations, however, they can and must play a dynamic role in striving for victory. The stage of action for commanders in a war must be built upon objective possibilities, but on that stage they can direct the performance of many a drama, full of sound and colour, power and grandeur.
― "On Protracted War" (May 1938), Selected Works, Vol. II, p. 152.

人们的思想必须适应已经变化的情况，当然，任何人不可以无根据地胡思乱想，不可以超越客观情况所许可的条件去计划自己的行动，不要勉强地去做那些实在做不到的事情。但是现在的问题，还是右倾保守思想在许多方面作怪，使许多方面的工作不能适应客观情况的发展。现在的问题是经过努力本来可以做到的事情，却有很多人认为做不到。
——《中国农村的社会主义高潮》的序言（一九五五年十二月二十七日），《中国农村的社会主义高潮》上册第四页
People must adapt their thinking to the changed conditions. Of course no one should go off into wild flights of fancy, or make plans of action unwarranted by the objective situation, or stretch for the impossible. The problem today, however, is that Rightist conservative thinking is still causing mischief in many spheres and preventing the work in these spheres from keeping pace with the development of the objective situation. The present problem is that many people consider it impossible to accomplish things which could be accomplished if they exerted themselves.
― Preface to "The Socialist Upsurge in China's Countryside" (December 27, 1955), Chinese ed., Vol. I.

凡事应该用脑筋好好想一想。俗话说：“眉头一皱，计上心来。”就是说多想出智慧。要去掉我们党内浓厚的盲目性，必须提倡思索，学会分析事物的方法，养成分析的习惯。
——《学习和时局》（一九四四年四月十二日），《毛泽东选集》第九五二页
We should always use our brains and think everything over carefully. A common saying goes, "Knit your brows and you will hit upon a stratagem." In other words much thinking yields wisdom. In order to get rid of the blindness which exists to a serious extent in our Party, we must encourage our comrades to think, to learn the method of analysis and to cultivate the habit of analysis.
― "Our Study and the Current Situation" (April 12, 1944), Selected Works, Vol. III, pp. 174-75.*

任何过程如果有多数矛盾存在的话，其中必定有一种是主要的，起着领导的、决定的作用，其他则处于次要和服从的地位。因此，研究任何过程，如果是存在着两个以上矛盾的复杂过程的话，就要用全力找出它的主要矛盾。捉住了这个主要矛盾，一切问题就迎刃而解了。
——《矛盾论》（一九三七年八月），《毛泽东选集》第一卷第三一零页
If in any process there are a number of contradictions, one of them must be the principal contradiction playing the leading and decisive role, while the rest occupy a secondary and subordinate position. Therefore, in studying any complex process in which there are two or more contradictions, we must devote every effort to finding its principal contradiction. Once this principal contradiction is grasped, all problems can be readily solved.
― "On Contradiction" (August 1937), Selected Works, Vol. I, p. 332.*

矛盾着的两方面中，必有一方面是主要的，他方面是次要的。其主要的方面，即所谓矛盾起主导作用的方面。事物的性质，主要地是由取得支配地位的矛盾的主要方面所规定的。
然而这种情形不是固定的，矛盾的主要和非主要的方面互相转化着，事物的性质也就随着起变化。
——《矛盾论》（九三七年八月），《毛泽东选集》第一卷第三一零页
Of the two contradictory aspects, one must be principal and the other secondary. The principal aspect is the one playing the leading role in the contradiction. The nature of a thing is determined mainly by the principal aspect of a contradiction, the aspect which has gained the dominant position.
But this situation is not static; the principal and the non-principal aspects of a contradiction transform themselves into each other and the nature of the thing changes accordingly.
― Ibid., p. 333.

我们不但要提出任务，而且要解决完成任务的方法问题。我们的任务是过河，但是没有桥或没有船就不能过。不解决桥或船的问题，过河就是一句空话。不解决方法问题，任务也只是瞎说一顿。
——《关心群众生活，注意工作方法》（一九三四年一月二十七日），《毛泽东选集》第一卷第一三四页
It is not enough to set tasks, we must also solve the problem of the methods for carrying them out. If our task is to cross a river, we cannot cross it without a bridge or a boat. Unless the bridge or boat problem is solved, it is idle to speak of crossing the river. Unless the problem of method is solved, talk about the task is useless.
― "Be Concerned with the Well-Being of the Masses, Pay Attention to Methods of Work" (January 27, 1934), Selected Works, Vol. I, p. 150.

任何工作任务，如果没有一般的普遍的号召，就不能动员广大群众行动起来。但如果只限于一般号召，而领导人员没有具体地直接地从若干组织将所号召的工作深入实施，突破一点，取得经验，然后利用这种经验去指导其他单位，就无法考验自己提出的一般号召是否正确，也无法充实一般号召的内容，就有使一般号召归于落空的危险。
——《关于领导方法的若干问题》（一九四三年六月一日），《毛泽东选集》第三卷第八九九页
In any task, if no general and widespread call is issued, the broad masses cannot be mobilized for action. But if persons in leading positions confine themselves to a general call - if they do not personally, in some of the organizations, go deeply and concretely into the work called for, make a break-through at some single point, gain experience and use this experience for guiding other units - then they will have no way of testing the correctness or of enriching the content of their general call, and there is the danger that nothing may come of it.
― "Some Questions Concerning Methods of Leadership" (June 1, 1943), Selected Works, Vol. III, p. 117.

任何领导人员，凡不从下级个别单位的个别人员、个别事件取得具体经验者，必不能向一切单位作普遍的指导。这一方法必须普遍地提倡，使各级领导干部都能学会使用。
——《关于领导方法的若干问题》（一九四三年六月一日），《毛泽东选集》第三卷第九零零页
No one in a leading position is competent to give general guidance to all the units unless he derives concrete experience from particular individuals and events in particular subordinate units. This method must be promoted everywhere so that leading cadres at all levels learn to apply it.
― Ibid., p. 118.

在任何一个地区内，不能同时有许多中心工作，在一定时间内只能有一个中心工作，辅以别的第二位、第三位的工作。因此，一个地区的总负责人，必须考虑到该处的斗争历史和斗争环境，将各项工作摆在适当的地位；而不是自己全无计划，只按上级指示来一件做一件，形成很多的“中心工作”和凌乱无秩序的状态。上级机关也不要不分轻重缓急地没有中心地同时指定下级机关做很多项工作，以致引起下级在工作步骤上的凌乱，而得不到确定的结果。领导人员依照每一具体地区的历史条件和环境条件，统筹全局，正确地决定每一时期的工作重心和工作秩序，并把这种决定坚持地贯彻下去，务必得到一定的结果，这是一种领导艺术。
——《关于领导方法的若干问题》（一九四三年六月一日），《毛泽东选集》第三卷第九零三页
In any given place, there cannot be a number of central tasks at the same time. At any one time there can be only one central task, supplemented by other tasks of a second or third order of importance. Consequently, the person with over-all responsibility in the locality must take into account the history and circumstances of the struggle there and put the different tasks in their proper order; he should not act upon each instruction as it comes from the higher organization without any planning of his own, and thereby create a multitude of "central tasks" and a state of confusion and disorder. Nor should a higher organization simultaneously assign many tasks to a lower organization without indicating their relative importance and urgency or without specifying which is central, for that will lead to confusion in the steps to be taken by the lower organizations in their work and thus no definite results will be achieved. It is part of the art of leadership to take the whole situation into account and plan accordingly in the light of the historical conditions and existing circumstances of each locality, decide correctly on the centre of gravity and the sequence of the work for each period, steadfastly carry through the decision, and make sure that definite results are achieved.
― Ibid., p. 121.

必须随时掌握工作进程，交流经验，纠正错误，不要等数月、半年以至一年后，才开总结会，算总帐，总的纠正。这样损失太大，而随时纠正，损失较少。
——《关于工商业政策》（一九四八年二月二十七日），《毛泽东选集》第四卷第一二八页
It [a regional or sub-regional bureau of the Central Committee of the Party] should constantly have a grip on the progress of the work, exchange experience and correct mistakes; it should not wait several months, half a year or a year before holding summing-up meetings for a general check-up and a general correction of mistakes. Waiting leads to great loss, while correcting mistakes as soon as they occur reduces loss.
― "On the Policy Concerning Industry and Commerce" (February 27, 1948), Selected Works, Vol. IV, p. 204.

不要等到问题成了堆，闹出了许多乱子，然后才去解决。领导一定要走在运动的前面，不要落在它的后面。
——《季节包工》一文的按语（一九五五年），《中国农村的社会主义高潮》下册第一一五九页
Don't wait until problems pile up and cause a lot of trouble before trying to solve them. Leaders must march ahead of the movement, not lag behind it.
― Introductory note to "Contract on a Seasonal Basis" (I955), The Socialist Upsurge in China's Countryside, Chinese ed., Vol. III.

我们需要的是热烈而镇定的情绪，紧张而有秩序的工作。
——《中国革命战争的战略问题》（一九三六年十二月），《毛泽东选集》第一卷第一九六——一九七页
What we need is an enthusiastic but calm state of mind and intense but orderly work. 
― "Problems of Strategy in China's Revolutionary War" (December 1936), Selected Works, Vol. I, p. 211.