When Chen Sheng was a young hired farmhand, he was already saying, "How could a sparrow know a swan's ambitions?"
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history
From the chapter on 陈胜 in the 史记. Mocked by his fellow farmhands, he sighed this line; in 209 BC he led the first great rising against the Qin.
grammar
安 is classical 'how'. 燕雀, swallows and sparrows, stand for small minds and the great swan 鸿鹄 for a great one. The original ends with the exclamation 哉. Today it is a retort to people who sneer at one's plans, often said half in jest.
