A Satire on Sloth慵諷
居士有慵病。語於客曰。世倏忽而猶慵寓。身微眇而猶慵持。有宅一區。草穢而慵莫理。有書千卷。蠹生而慵莫披。頭蓬慵掃。體疥慵醫。慵與人嬉笑。慵與人趨馳。口慵語。足慵步。目慵顧。踏地觸事。無一不慵。若此之病。胡術而攻。客無以對。退而圖所以解其慵者。歷旬日而復詣曰。間闊不面。不勝眷戀。願承英眄。居士復以慵之病。不喜相見。固請而見之曰。僕久不聞居士之軟笑微言。今者暮春之辰。鳥鳴于園。風日駘蕩。雜花綺繁。僕有美酒。玉蛆浮動。其香也滿室。其氣也撲甕。獨酌不仁。非君誰共。家有侍兒。善爲鄭聲。旣工吹笙。又擊胡箏。不忍獨聽。亦以待先生。然恐先生之憚其枉駕也。其無意於暫行乎。居士欣然拂衣而起曰。子以老夫。不謂耄且衰。欲以甘口之藥。希代之姿。慰其鬱鬱之思。老夫亦何敢固辭。於是束腰以帶。猶恐其晚。納踵於履。猶恐其遲。汲汲然出而將歸矣。客忽然有慵態。口亦慵而似不能對。俄復翻然告曰。子旣頷吾請。似不可改。然先生昔言之慵也。今之言也緊。昔顧之慵也。今之顧也謹。昔步之慵也。今之步也迅。豈先生之慵病從此而欲盡乎。然伐性之斧。色爲甚。腐腸之藥。酒之謂。先生獨於此不覺慵之自弛。其趨之也如歸市。吾恐先生由此而之焉。至損性敗身而後已。僕慵見先生之如此。蹙然與先生慵話。蹙然與先生慵坐。意者先生之慵病。無奈移於我哉。居士赧然泚顙而謝曰。善矣。子之諷吾慵也。吾曩語子以病慵。今聞子之一言。急於影從。不覺慵之去之無蹤也。始知嗜欲之於人。其移心也迅。其入耳也順。繇此而之焉。其禍人身也疾且敏。固不可不愼也。吾將移此之心。入於仁義之廬。去其慵而務其劬。子謂何如。子其姑須。無以嘲吾也。
The Hermit had the sickness of sloth, and he said to a guest: "The world lasts but a moment, and yet I am too slothful even to cling to life in it; the body is a trifling thing, and yet I am too slothful even to keep it up. I have one house, but though the weeds grow rank I am too slothful to put it in order; I have a thousand books, but though the worms get into them I am too slothful to open them. My hair tangles and I am too slothful to comb it; the itch breaks out on my body and I am too slothful to treat it. I am too slothful to laugh and make merry with others, and too slothful to run about with them. My mouth is too slothful to speak, my feet too slothful to walk, my eyes too slothful to look around. In the treading of the ground and the meeting of affairs there is not one thing in which I am not slothful. By what method is such a sickness to be cured?"
The guest could not answer, and withdrew to contrive a way of loosening that sloth. Ten days later he came again and said: "It is long since I saw you, and I could not master my longing. I wish to be favored with your excellent glance." The Hermit, again from his sickness of sloth, did not care to see him; but when the guest pressed and they met, he said: "It is long since I heard the Hermit's gentle laughter and his kindly words. Now it is the season of late spring: the birds sing in the garden, wind and sunlight are mild, and every kind of flower is thick as brocade. I have good wine, with lees like jade floating and stirring in it; its fragrance fills the room and its vapor rises from the jar. To drink alone is not kindly, and if not with you, with whom should I drink it? In my house there is a serving boy who sings the songs of Zheng well, and who already plays the reed-organ well and also plucks the Hu zither (胡箏). I cannot bear to listen to him alone, and so I wait for you as well. But I fear you may be unwilling to bend your carriage this way — have you no mind to come for a little while?"
The Hermit was delighted, shook out his robe and rose, saying: "Since you do not take this old man for aged and spent, and would comfort his pent-up thoughts with medicine sweet to the mouth and with a grace rare in the world, how should the old man dare to refuse?" And so, tying the belt about his waist, he feared he would be late; putting his heels into his shoes, he feared he would be slow; and he hurried out, meaning to go.
The guest suddenly put on a slothful air, as though his mouth too were too slothful to answer; then presently he turned sharply round and declared: "Since you have already nodded at my invitation, it seems it cannot be undone. And yet, sir, the other day you were too slothful even to speak, and now your speech is urgent; the other day you were too slothful even to look around, and now your looking is careful; the other day you were too slothful even to walk, and now your walking is quick. Can it be that your sickness of sloth is from this moment coming to an end? But of the axes that cut down one's nature, a woman's beauty is the worst, and of the drugs that rot the bowels they speak of wine. You alone do not notice that here your sloth loosens of itself, and you go toward them as though going home to the market. I fear, sir, that you will go on in this way and will not stop until you have harmed your nature and ruined your body. I am too slothful to see you like this, too slothful to frown and speak with you, too slothful to frown and sit with you. Might it be, I wonder, that your sickness of sloth has passed to me?"
The Hermit reddened in the face and sweated at the brow, and thanked him: "Well done — this satire of yours upon my sloth! The other day I told you of my sickness of sloth; now, hearing a single word from you, I find it quicker than a shadow following its body, and I did not even notice that the sloth had vanished without a trace. Now at last I understand that pleasure and desire shift a man's heart quickly and enter his ear smoothly, so that to go on in that way harms a man's body swiftly and sharply, and one truly cannot but be careful. I shall now shift this heart of mine and enter the house of benevolence and righteousness (仁義), casting off that sloth and striving at diligence. What do you think of it? Wait a little, and do not laugh at me."
Interlinear notes 1
叶韻
The piece is rhymed.