跟我读《毛泽东选集》（第五卷）之四百二十一
《坚持艰苦奋斗，密切联系群众》（2）（中英对照）
PERSEVERE IN PLAIN LIVING AND HARD STRUGGLE, MAINTAIN CLOSE TIES WITH THE MASSES
我们的同志应当注意，不要靠官，不要靠职位高，不要靠老资格吃饭。
Our comrades should take note: Don’t live on the power of your office, your high position or seniority.
说资格老，多少年革命，这个资格也是可靠的，但同时我们不要靠它。
Speaking of seniority, we have been making revolution for many years, and while this record of ours does count, still we must not live on it.
你资格老，几十年，那是真的。
True, you are a veteran who has worked for several decades.
可是，你有一天办了一些糊涂事，讲了一篇混账话，人民还是不谅解你。
For all that, when you do something foolish and talk nonsense, the people won’t excuse you.
尽管你过去做过多少好事，职位有多么高，你今天的事情办得不好，解决得不对，对人民有损害，这一点人民就不能原谅。
No matter how many your good deeds in the past and no matter how high your post, if today you are not doing a good job, not solving problems correctly and thus harming the people’s interests, they won’t forgive you.
因此，我们的同志不要靠老资格吃饭，要靠解决问题正确吃饭。
Therefore our comrades should rely not on seniority but on being correct in solving problems.
靠正确，不靠资格。
What counts here is correctness, not seniority.
靠资格吃不了饭，索性不靠它，等于还是什么官都没有做，就是不摆老爷架子，不摆官僚架子，把架子收起来，跟人民见面，跟下级见面。
Since you cannot rely on your seniority, you might as well forget about it, as if you had never been an official at all, that is, you must stop putting on the airs of an overlord, of a bureaucrat, you must put aside your airs and go among the people and among your subordinates.
这一条，我们的干部要注意，特别是老干部要注意。
This is a point our cadres, and particularly our old cadres, must keep in mind.
一般来说，新干部没有这种包袱，比较自由。
Generally speaking, new cadres are not so burdened, are less encumbered.
老干部对新干部要处在平等的地位。
Old cadres should treat new cadres on an equal footing.
有很多东西，老干部不如新干部，要向他们学习。
In many ways old cadres are not as good as new cadres and should learn from them.
