Holding to Rightness安義篇
1The Three Bonds of Kin
《顏氏家訓》曰:「夫有人民而後有夫婦,有夫婦而後有父子,有父子而後有兄弟。一家之親,此三者而已矣。自茲以往,至於九族,皆本於三親焉。故於人倫為重者也,不可不篤。」
The Yanshi jiaxun says, "There are people first, and then there are husband and wife. There are husband and wife first, and then there are father and son. There are father and son first, and then there are elder and younger brother. The kinship of one house is only these three. From these onward, out to the nine degrees of kin, all are rooted in these three bonds. They are therefore the weightiest thing in human relations, and must be held to deeply."
2When Kindness and Right Are Broken
曹大家曰:「夫婦者,以義為親,以恩為合。欲行楚撻,義欲何義?詈罵叱喧,恩欲何恩?恩義既絕,鮮不離矣。」
Cao Dagu said, "Husband and wife are close through rightness and are joined through kindness. If one takes up a rod to beat the other, what rightness is left? If they curse and abuse and shout, what kindness is left? Once kindness and rightness are broken, few of them fail to part."
3Brothers Are Hands and Feet, Husband and Wife Are Clothes
莊子雲:「兄弟為手足,夫婦為衣服。衣服破時更得新,手足斷時難再續。」
Zhuangzi says, "Brothers are hands and feet. Husband and wife are clothes. When clothes are worn out, new ones can be had. When hands and feet are cut off, they are hard to join again."
4The Man Who Does Not Draw Away from the Poor
蘇東坡雲:「富不親兮貧不疏,此是人間大丈夫。富則進兮貧則退,此是人間真小輩。」
Su Dongpo says, "He does not press close because they are rich, and he does not draw away because they are poor. This is a great man in this world. He goes forward because they are rich and steps back because they are poor. This is a truly small man in this world."
5Know a Kindness, Repay It
太公曰:「知恩報恩,風光如雅。有恩不報,非為人也。」
Taigong said, "To know a kindness and repay the kindness is a fair sight to see. To receive a kindness and not repay it is not to be a human being."
6Virtue Stored in the Dark
二眉曙青朱先生曰:「順境易度,逆境難堪。飽暖之家,弗肯慮及飢寒。誰無親族姻眷,鄰裡鄉黨,貧不能舉火,孤寡無力完娶,一概置之不問,大傷天和,富貴豈能常保乎?逢歲小旱,民不聊生,減己糧而賑救,活人多矣。內不居功,外不求知,謂之陰德,莫可限量。」
Master Zhu Ermei Shuqing said, "Good times are easy to pass through, but hard times are hard to bear. A house that is full and warm will not think of another's hunger and cold. Who has no kinsmen and relatives by marriage, no neighbors and people of his village? Yet some are too poor to light a fire for their food, and the widowed man and the widowed woman have not the means to marry. If a man leaves them all alone and never asks after them, he does great harm to the harmony of Heaven. How could his wealth and rank be kept forever? When a year of drought comes and the people have no way to live, cut down your own grain and give them relief, and you will save many lives. To boast of no merit within and to seek no recognition without is what is called virtue stored in the dark. Its return cannot be measured."