The Way of the Mediocre

孟子曰：行之而不着焉，

mèng zǐ yuēxíng zhī ér bù zhuó yān

习矣而不察焉，

xí yǐ ér bù chá yān

终身由之而不知其道者，

zhōng shēn you zhī ér bù zhī qi dào zhě

众也。
zhòng yě

孟子曰 - Mencius said

行之 - to act

而-and

不着 - without thinking

焉 - how to

习 - revise/practice

矣 - already (declarative tone)

而不察 - without investigation
焉 - how to
终身 - whole life
由之 - follow

而 - and

不知- not know

其道 - the path

者 - person

众也 - the common

Mencius said: "To act without thinking, to practice without investigation and to be involved in something for a lifetime without ever knowing why - that is the way of the mediocre." - Mencius, Jin Xin 1:5