Feishi'erzi — Against the Twelve Masters非十二子篇
假今之世，飾邪說，文姦言，以梟亂天下，矞宇嵬瑣，使天下混然不知是非治亂之所在者有人矣。縱情性，安恣睢，禽獸行，不足以合文通治；然而其持之有故，其言之成理，足以欺惑愚衆，是它嚻、魏牟也。忍情性，綦谿利跂，苟以分異人爲高，不足以合大衆，明大分；然而其持之有故，其言之成理，足以欺惑愚衆，是陳仲、史鰌也。不知壹、天下建國家之權稱，上功用、大儉約而僈差等，曾不足以容辨異、縣君臣；然而其持之有故，其言之成理，足以欺惑愚衆，是墨翟、宋銒也。尚法而無法，下脩而好作，上則取聽於上，下則取從於俗，終日言成文典，反紃察之，則倜然無所歸宿，不可以經國定分；然而其持之有故，其言之成理，足以欺惑愚衆，是慎到、田駢也。不法先王，不是禮義，而好治怪說，玩琦辭，甚察而不惠，辯而無用，多事而寡功，不可以爲治綱紀；然而其持之有故，其言之成理，足以欺惑愚衆，是惠施、鄧析也。略法先王而不知其統，猶然而材劇志大，聞見雜博。案往舊造說，謂之五行，甚僻違而無類，幽隱而無說，閉約而無解。案飾其辭而祗敬之曰：此真先君子之言也。子思唱之，孟軻和之，世俗之溝猶瞀儒，嚾嚾然不知其所非也，遂受而傳之，以爲仲尼、子游爲茲厚於後世，是則子思、孟軻之罪也。若夫總方略，齊言行，壹統類，而羣天下之英傑而告之以大古，教之以至順，奧窔之閒，簟席之上，斂然聖王之文章具焉，佛然平世之俗起焉，六說者不能入也，十二子者不能親也，無置錐之地而王公不能與之争名，在一大夫之位則一君不能獨畜，一國不能獨容，成名況乎諸侯，莫不願以爲臣，是聖人之不得埶者也，仲尼、子弓是也。一天下，財萬物，長養人民，兼利天下，通達之屬，莫不從服，六說者立息，十二子者遷化，則聖人之得埶者，舜、禹是也。今夫仁人也，將何務哉？上則法舜、禹之制，下則法仲尼、子弓之義，以務息十二子之說，如是則天下之害除，仁人之事畢，聖王之跡著矣。
In the world of today there are men who dress up crooked doctrines and polish treacherous words, and so throw all under heaven into confusion. They cheat and they boast, they are outlandish and they are petty, and they leave all under heaven so muddled that it does not know where right and wrong, order and disorder, lie.
They let their feelings and their nature run loose, they take their ease in wantonness, they behave as birds and beasts do, and they fall short of matching the forms and reaching good order. And yet what they hold has its grounds, and their words make out a reason, enough to cheat and delude the foolish multitude. Such are Tuo Xiao (它嚻) and Wei Mou (魏牟).
They hold down their feelings and their nature, they dig deep and set themselves apart, and they take being different from others as lofty. They fall short of matching the multitude and making the great divisions clear. And yet what they hold has its grounds, and their words make out a reason, enough to cheat and delude the foolish multitude. Such are Chen Zhong (陳仲) and Shi Qiu (史鰌).
They do not know the scale and the weight by which all under heaven is made one and the state and the household are established. They exalt merit and use, they make much of thrift, and they are slack about the grades of rank, so they fall short of allowing for distinctions and of setting lord above subject. And yet what they hold has its grounds, and their words make out a reason, enough to cheat and delude the foolish multitude. Such are Mo Di and Song Xing (宋銒).
They exalt law and yet have no law. They cultivate what is below and yet love to make things up. Above, they take to being heard by their superiors. Below, they take to following the common ways. They talk the whole day long and make up writings and statutes, but turn back and look into them and they are far off, with nowhere to return and rest. Such men cannot govern a state or settle its divisions. And yet what they hold has its grounds, and their words make out a reason, enough to cheat and delude the foolish multitude. Such are Shen Dao (慎到) and Tian Pian (田駢).
They do not take the former kings as their law and they do not hold ritual and rightness to be right. They love to handle outlandish doctrines and they play with strange words. They examine minutely and yet are not kind, they argue clearly and yet to no use, they are busy with many affairs and yet their merit is small. Such men cannot be made the guiding threads of government. And yet what they hold has its grounds, and their words make out a reason, enough to cheat and delude the foolish multitude. Such are Hui Shi and Deng Xi.
They take the former kings roughly as their law and do not know their guiding thread. Even so their talent is fierce and their ambition great, and what they have heard and seen is broad but mixed. They look into bygone things and make up a doctrine, and they call it wuxing (五行). It is warped and wayward and has no kinds, dark and hidden and has no telling, shut and bound and has no undoing. Yet they dress up its words and revere it, saying, "These are truly the words of the gentlemen of old." Zisi (子思) sang it out and Meng Ke (孟軻) sang back, and the murky, dim scholars of the common world clamored and did not know wherein it was wrong. So they received it and passed it on, holding that Zhongni and Ziyou (子游) were by this made weighty for later ages. This is the crime of Zisi and Meng Ke.
Now take the man who gathers up ways and plans, who makes words and deeds even, and who makes the guiding threads and the kinds one. He herds together the finest men of all under heaven and tells them of the far antiquity and teaches them the utmost compliance. In the corner of a room and on a bamboo mat, the writings of the sage kings are gathered whole, and the ways of an evenly ordered age rise up. The six doctrines cannot get in, and the twelve men cannot come near. Though he has not ground enough to set an awl in, kings and dukes cannot contend with him for a name. Were he in the place of one grandee, one lord could not keep him alone and one state could not hold him alone. His name would show even to the feudal lords, and there would be none who did not wish to have him for a subject. This is the sage who has not got the power of position. Zhongni and Zi Gong (子弓) are such men.
He makes all under heaven one, he cuts and shapes the ten thousand things, he rears and nourishes the people, and he brings gain to all under heaven together. Of those that reach far and wide there is none that does not follow and submit. The six doctrines stop at once and the twelve men are turned and changed. This is the sage who has got the power of position. King Shun and King Yu are such men.
Now what should the benevolent man work at? Above, he takes the institutions of King Shun and King Yu as his law. Below, he takes the right of Zhongni and Zi Gong as his law, and he works to stop the doctrines of the twelve men. If he does this, the harm of all under heaven is cleared away, the work of the benevolent man is finished, and the traces of the sage kings stand plain.
Interlinear notes 1
五行
Here wuxing (五行) is read either as the five agents — metal, wood, water, fire and earth — or as five kinds of conduct: benevolence, rightness, ritual, wisdom and sincerity. This book alone cannot decide between them. ― translator
信信，信也；疑疑，亦信也。貴賢，仁也；賤不肖，亦仁也。言而當，知也；默而當，亦知也。故知默猶知言也。故多言而類，聖人也；少言而法，君子也；多言無法而流湎然，雖辯，小人也。故勞力而不當民務謂之姦事，勞知而不律先王謂之姦心，辯說譬諭、齊給便利而不順禮義謂之姦說。此三姦者，聖王之所禁也。知而險，賊而神，爲詐而巧，言無用而辯，辯不惠而察，治之大殃也。行辟而堅，飾非而好，玩姦而澤，言辯而逆，古之大禁也。知而無法，勇而無憚，察辯而操僻淫，大而用之，好姦而與衆，利足而迷，負石而墜，是天下之所弃也。
To trust what is trustworthy is trust, and to doubt what is doubtful is also trust. To hold the worthy dear is benevolence, and to hold the unworthy cheap is also benevolence. To speak and hit the mark is knowing, and to keep silent and hit the mark is also knowing. So knowing how to be silent is the same as knowing how to speak.
So a man whose words are many and yet keep to their kinds is a sage. A man whose words are few and yet keep to the law is a gentleman. A man whose words are many and have no law, so that he drifts and drowns in them, is a small man, however clear his arguing.
So to labor one's strength and yet not meet what the people need is called treacherous work. To labor one's wits and yet not take the former kings for rule is called a treacherous heart. To argue and expound and draw comparisons, ready and quick, and yet not follow ritual and rightness is called treacherous talk. These three treacheries are what the sage kings forbid.
To be knowing and yet sinister, to be harmful and yet seem uncanny, to work deceit and be deft at it, to speak to no use and yet argue well, to argue without kindness and only pry: this is the great calamity of government.
To walk warped and yet be firm in it, to dress up a wrong and be pleased with it, to play with treachery and put a gloss on it, to speak clearly and yet go against what is right: this is the great forbidden thing of old.
To be knowing and have no law, to be bold and shrink from nothing, to examine and argue and yet hold to what is warped and excessive, to use it on a great scale, to love treachery and gather a crowd for it, to be quick of foot after gain and be led astray, to carry a stone and sink with it: this is what all under heaven casts away.
兼服天下之心：高上尊貴不以驕人，聰明聖知不以窮人，齊給速通不争先人，剛毅勇敢不以傷人；不知則問，不能則學，雖能必讓，然後爲德。遇君則修臣下之義，遇鄉則修長幼之義，遇長則修子弟之義，遇友則修禮節辭讓之義，遇賤而少者則修告導寬容之義。無不愛也，無不敬也，無與人争也，恢然如天地之苞萬物，如是則賢者貴之，不肖者親之。如是而不服者，則可謂訞怪狡猾之人矣，雖則子弟之中，刑及之而宜。《詩》云：「匪上帝不時，殷不用舊。雖無老成人，尚有典刑。曾是莫聽，大命以傾。」此之謂也。
This is the way to make the hearts of all under heaven submit together. Though high and honored, he does not lord it over others. Though quick of ear and clear of eye, sagely and knowing, he does not drive others to a dead end. Though ready and quick to understand, he does not contend to be ahead of others. Though hard and firm, bold and daring, he does not wound others. When he does not know, he asks. When he is not able, he learns. Though he is able, he always yields, and only then is it virtue.
When he meets his lord, he cultivates the right of a subject. When he meets his village, he cultivates the right of elder and young. When he meets an elder, he cultivates the right of a son and a younger brother. When he meets a friend, he cultivates the right of ritual, measure and yielding. When he meets one who is lowly and young, he cultivates the right of telling, guiding and holding him with a broad heart.
There is nothing he does not love, nothing he does not respect, and nothing he contends with others over. He is as wide as heaven and earth wrapping the ten thousand things. If he is like this, the worthy hold him dear and the unworthy draw near to him. If a man still does not submit to one like this, he may be called a man weird and outlandish and sly, and even were he among one's own sons and younger brothers, it is fitting that punishment reach him.
The Odes say, "It was not that the Lord on High was not good, but that Yin did not use the old ways. Though there were no elders grown ripe, there were still the statutes and the punishments. These were never listened to, and so the great mandate toppled." This is what is meant.
古之所謂仕士者，厚敦者也，合羣者也，樂富貴者也，樂分施者也，遠罪過者也，務事理者也，羞獨富者也。今之所謂仕士者，汙漫者也，賊亂者也，恣睢者也，貪利者也，觸抵者也，無禮義而唯權埶之嗜者也。古之所謂處士者，德盛者也，能静者也，修正者也，知命者也，著是者也。今之所謂處士者，無能而云能者也，無知而云知者也，利心無足而佯無欲者也，行僞險穢而彊高言謹愨者也，以不俗爲俗，離縱而跂訾者也。
What men of old called a scholar in office was a man thick and solid. He was one who joined with the crowd. He was one who took joy in wealth and honor. He was one who took joy in sharing and giving. He was one who kept far from crime and fault. He was one who worked at the pattern of affairs. He was one who was ashamed to be rich alone.
What men now call a scholar in office is a man filthy and slack. He is one who harms and throws into disorder. He is one who does as he pleases. He is one who is greedy for gain. He is one who butts against others. He is one who has no ritual and rightness and relishes only power and position.
What men of old called a scholar in retirement was a man whose virtue was full. He was one who could be still. He was one who cultivated himself and was upright. He was one who knew his lot. He was one who made what is right stand plain.
What men now call a scholar in retirement is a man who is not able and says that he is able. He is one who does not know and says that he knows. He is one whose heart for gain is never full and who feigns to have no wants. He is one whose conduct is false and sinister and foul and who forces out lofty words about being careful and honest. He is one who makes what is not the common way his own common way, who breaks away, stands on tiptoe and reviles others.
士君子之所能不能爲：君子能爲可貴，而不能使人必貴己；能爲可信，而不能使人必信己；能爲可用，而不能使人必用己。故君子恥不修，不恥見汙；恥不信，不恥不見信；恥不能，不恥不見用。是以不誘於譽，不恐於誹，率道而行，端然正己，不爲物傾側，夫是之謂誠君子。《詩》云：「溫溫恭人，維德之基。」此之謂也。
This is what the scholar and the gentleman can do and cannot do. The gentleman can make himself worth holding dear, but he cannot make others hold him dear for certain. He can make himself worth trusting, but he cannot make others trust him for certain. He can make himself worth using, but he cannot make others use him for certain.
So the gentleman is ashamed of not cultivating himself and is not ashamed of being seen as foul. He is ashamed of not being trustworthy and is not ashamed of not being trusted. He is ashamed of not being able and is not ashamed of not being used.
So he is not lured by praise and is not frightened by slander. He follows the way in his walking and sets his own self straight and upright, and he is not tipped aside by things. This is what is called a true gentleman. The Odes say, "A warm and respectful man, he is the ground of virtue." This is what is meant.
士君子之容：其冠進，其衣逢，其容良，儼然，壯然，祺然，蕼然，恢恢然，廣廣然，昭昭然，蕩蕩然，是父兄之容也。其冠進，其衣逢，其容愨，儉然，恀然，輔然，端然，訾然，洞然，綴綴然，瞀瞀然，是子弟之容也。吾語汝學者之嵬容：其冠絻，其纓禁緩，其容簡連；填填然，狄狄然，莫莫然，瞡瞡然，瞿瞿然，盡盡然，盱盱然，酒食聲色之中則瞞瞞然，瞑瞑然；禮節之中則疾疾然，訾訾然；勞苦事業之中則儢儢然，離離然，偷儒而罔，無廉恥而忍𧫟訽：是學者之嵬也。
This is the bearing of the scholar and the gentleman. His cap sits straight, his robe is ample, his face is good. He is grave, he is stout, he is at ease, he is easy-going, he is wide, he is broad, he is bright, he is vast and open. This is the bearing of a father and an elder brother.
His cap sits straight, his robe is ample, his face is honest. He is thrifty, he is trusty, he is helpful, he is upright, he is careful, he is open, he keeps close at hand, he is watchful. This is the bearing of a son and a younger brother.
I will tell you the outlandish bearing of those who study. Their caps sit askew, their cap strings hang loose, their faces are insolent. They swagger, they leap about, they are blank, they steal glances, they look about in alarm, they seem worn out, they glare. Amid wine and food and sound and color they are muddled and bleary. Amid ritual and its measures they are hasty and full of blame. Amid hard and toilsome work they are sluggish and idle, they slip away and are tangled as in a net, and they have no sense of shame and put up with scolding and abuse. This is the outlandishness of those who study.
弟佗其冠，衶禫其辭，禹行而舜趨，是子張氏之賤儒也。正其衣冠，齊其顏色，嗛然而終日不言，是子夏氏之賤儒也。偷儒憚事，無廉恥而耆飲食，必曰君子固不用力，是子游氏之賤儒也。彼君子則不然。佚而不惰，勞而不僈，宗原應變，曲得其宜，如是，然後聖人也。
To wear the cap askew, to make one's words flat and thin, to walk as King Yu walked and to trot as King Shun trotted: this is the base scholar of the house of Zizhang (子張).
To set robe and cap straight, to keep the face even, and to hold the mouth shut and not speak the whole day long: this is the base scholar of the house of Zixia (子夏).
To be idle and shrink from work, to have no sense of shame and to relish drink and food, and always to say, "The gentleman of course does not use his strength": this is the base scholar of the house of Ziyou (子游).
That gentleman is not so. At ease, he is not lazy. At toil, he is not slack. He honors the root and answers to change, and even in the bends of things he gets what is fitting. Only when a man is like this is he a sage.