原文：

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.

譯文：

世上只有一種愿望可以實現，也僅有一種事物絕對能得到，那便是死亡。但因身處境地的不同，沒人能告訴我們是否死得其所。我們不停向著夢想前進，不肯稍作休息，這形成了一幅奇異的畫面：不知疲倦，勇于冒險的先鋒。的確，我們永遠不會達到目標，甚至目的地根本就不存在;即使活上幾百年，被賦予神的力量，我們最終也不能接近目標多少。啊辛勞的雙手! 啊，不知疲倦的雙腳，一直不停地奔走，卻不知要到何方。不久，你便會發現，你必須登上某些顯著的山頭，然而在不遠處，在夕陽的照耀下，你會看到黃金國的尖頂。身處于幸福之中，你卻沒有覺察:旅行遠比抵達要充滿樂趣;真正的成功就在于奮斗。