One should take these precepts in the spirit rather than in the letter.

人们应该去理解这些格言的精神实质而不是死抠字面。

youdao

In fact, I believe that to live a happy and successful life today, these precepts, values, and norms are the most useful ones to follow.

的确，我认为今天要过一个快乐和成功的人生，追随这些信条、价值和准则最为有效。

youdao

If anyone shoots one of these precepts down, we have to tell him, to ask him, to leave, because we don't want the precepts shot down in our territory.

如果有人要破坏任何一条规则，我们必须告知，并请求他离开，因为我们不想这里的规则遭到破坏。

youdao

And yet, as the U.S. celebrates the bicentennial of its patent office, all four of these precepts have begun to fail.

FORBES: The smother of invention