Dalüe — The Grand Digest大略篇
君人者，隆禮尊賢而王，重法愛民而霸，好利多詐而危。欲近四旁，莫如中央，故王者必居天下之中，禮也。
When one who rules over men exalts ritual and honors the worthy, he is a king. When he makes the law weighty and loves the people, he is a hegemon. When he loves gain and is full of deceit, he is in danger. If he wishes to be near the four quarters, nothing is like the center. Therefore one who is a king must dwell at the center of all under heaven. This is ritual.
天子外屏，諸侯內屏，禮也。外屏、不欲見外也；內屏、不欲見內也。
The Son of Heaven sets his screen outside and the feudal lords set their screen inside. This is ritual. Setting it outside means not wishing to show what is outside. Setting it inside means not wishing to show what is inside.
諸侯召其臣，臣不俟駕，顛倒衣裳而走，禮也。詩曰：「顛之倒之，自公召之。」天子召諸侯，諸侯輦輿就馬，禮也。詩曰：「我出我輿，于彼牧矣。自天子所，謂我來矣。」
When a feudal lord summons his minister, the minister does not wait for the carriage to be yoked but runs with his clothes on wrong way about. This is ritual. The Shi says, "Turned about and upside down, from the duke he was summoned." When the Son of Heaven summons the feudal lords, the lords ride a hand cart out to their horses. This is ritual. The Shi says, "I bring out my carriage and go to the pasture there. From where the Son of Heaven is, I am told to come."
天子山冕，諸侯玄冠，大夫裨冕，士韋弁，禮也。
The Son of Heaven wears the cap with the mountain pattern, the feudal lords the black cap, the great officers the bimian cap, the officers the leather cap. This is ritual.
天子御珽，諸侯御荼，大夫服笏，禮也。
The Son of Heaven holds the ting (珽), the feudal lords hold the tu (荼), the great officers hold the tablet. This is ritual.
天子彫弓，諸侯彤弓，大夫黑弓，禮也。
The Son of Heaven has the carved bow, the feudal lords the red bow, the great officers the black bow. This is ritual.
諸侯相見，卿為介，以其教士畢行，使仁居守。
When feudal lords meet one another, the minister serves as the attendant, all the officers the lord has taught go with him, and a benevolent man is left behind to guard.
聘人以珪，問士以璧，召人以瑗，絕人以玦，反絕以環。
One calls a man with the gui (珪), asks after an officer with the bi (璧), summons a man in with the yuan (瑗), breaks with a man with the jue (玦), and turns back from a break with the huan (環).
人主仁心設焉，知其役也，禮其盡也，故王者先仁而後禮，天施然也。
The ruler sets forth a benevolent heart. Knowledge is its servant and ritual is its fulfillment. Therefore one who is a king puts benevolence first and ritual after, and the giving of heaven is like this.
聘禮志曰：「幣厚則傷德，財侈則殄禮。」禮云禮云，玉帛云乎哉！詩曰：「物其指矣，唯其偕矣。」不時宜，不敬文，不驩欣，雖指非禮也。
The Pinli zhi says, "When the gifts are heavy, virtue is harmed. When goods are lavish, ritual is destroyed." Ritual, ritual, they say. Is it jade and silk that is meant? The Shi says, "The things are savory, only because they are shared." If it is not fitting to the season, if the pattern is not respected, if there is no gladness, then though it be savory it is not ritual.
水行者表深，使人無陷；治民者表亂，使人無失，禮者，其表也。先王以禮義表天下之亂；今廢禮者，是棄表也，故民迷惑而陷禍患，此刑罰之所以繁也。
One who crosses water marks the deep places so that no one sinks. One who governs the people marks the disordered places so that no one goes astray. Ritual is that marker. The former kings marked the disorder of all under heaven with ritual and rightness. To abolish ritual now is to throw away the markers. So the people are bewildered and fall into calamity, and this is why punishments become many.
舜曰：「維予從欲而治。」故禮之生，為賢人以下至庶民也，非為成聖也；然而亦所以成聖也，不學不成；堯學於君疇，舜學於務成昭，禹學於西王國。
Shun said, "I alone follow my wish and govern." Therefore ritual arose for the worthy man and all below him down to the common people, not in order to make a sage. And yet it is also the means by which a sage is made, for without learning nothing is completed. Yao learned from Junchou, Shun learned from Wucheng Zhao, and Yu learned from Xiwangguo.
五十不成喪，七十唯衰存。
At fifty one does not carry out the mourning in full. At seventy only the mourning garment remains.
親迎之禮，父南向而立，子北面而跪，醮而命之：「往迎爾相，成我宗事，隆率以敬先妣之嗣，若則有常。」子曰：「諾！唯恐不能，敢忘命矣！」
In the ritual of fetching the bride in person, the father stands facing south and the son kneels facing north. The father pours the cup and charges him: "Go and fetch your mate, complete the affairs of our ancestral house, and lead her with reverence to succeed the mother who went before. Then you will have what is constant." The son says, "Yes. I fear only that I am not able. How should I dare forget your charge?"
夫行也者，行禮之謂也。禮也者，貴者敬焉，老者孝焉，長者弟焉，幼者慈焉，賤者惠焉。
Conduct means the carrying out of ritual. Ritual is to revere the noble, to be filial to the old, to be deferent to elders, to be kind to the young, and to be generous to the humble.
賜予其宮室，猶用慶賞於國家也；忿怒其臣妾，猶用刑罰於萬民也。
To bestow gifts in one's own household is like using praise and reward in the state. To be angry with one's servants and concubines is like using punishment on the myriad people.
君子之於子，愛之而勿面，使之而勿視，道之以道而勿彊。
The gentleman toward his son loves him but does not show it in his face, employs him but does not watch him closely, leads him by the way but does not force him.
禮以順人心為本，故亡於禮經而順於人心者，皆禮也。
Ritual takes the following of the human heart as its root. Therefore whatever is not in the canon of ritual and yet follows the human heart is all ritual.
禮之大凡：－－事生、飾驩也，送死、飾哀也，軍旅、施威也。
The great outline of ritual is this. Serving the living adorns joy. Sending off the dead adorns grief. The army sets forth awe.
親親、故故、庸庸、勞勞，仁之殺也；貴貴、尊尊、賢賢、老老、長長、義之倫也。行之得其節，禮之序也。仁、愛也，故親；義、理也，故行；禮、節也，故成。仁有里，義有門；仁、非其里而處之，非仁也；義，非其門而由之，非義也。推恩而不理，不成仁；遂理而不敢，不成義；審節而不和，不成禮；和而不發，不成樂。故曰：仁義禮樂，其致一也。君子處仁以義，然後仁也；行義以禮，然後義也；制禮反本成末，然後禮也。三者皆通，然後道也。
To treat kin as kin, the old friend as an old friend, the deserving as deserving, the toiling as toiling, is the graded lessening of benevolence. To treat the noble as noble, the honored as honored, the worthy as worthy, the aged as aged, the elder as elder, is the ordering of rightness. To carry these out and hit their measure is the sequence of ritual.
Benevolence is love, and so one is close. Rightness is pattern, and so one acts. Ritual is measure, and so one completes. Benevolence has its village and rightness has its gate. If benevolence dwells where its village is not, it is not benevolence. If rightness goes by where its gate is not, it is not rightness.
To push out kindness without pattern does not complete benevolence. To reach the pattern and not dare to act does not complete rightness. To examine the measure without harmony does not complete ritual. To be in harmony and not bring it out does not complete music. Therefore it is said that benevolence and rightness and ritual and music arrive at one and the same place.
The gentleman dwells in benevolence by rightness, and only then is it benevolence. He acts on rightness by ritual, and only then is it rightness. He shapes ritual by returning to the root and completing the branch, and only then is it ritual. When all three run through, then it is the way.
貨財曰賻，輿馬曰賵，衣服曰襚，玩好曰贈，玉貝曰唅。賻賵、所以佐生也，贈襚、所以送死也。送死不及柩尸，弔生不及悲哀，非禮也。故吉行五十，奔喪百里，賵贈及事，禮之大也。
Goods and wealth are called fu (賻). Carriages and horses are called feng (賵). Clothing is called sui (襚). Trinkets are called zeng (贈). Jade and shells are called han (唅). The fu and the feng are the means of helping the living. The zeng and the sui are the means of sending off the dead. To send off the dead but not reach the coffin and the body, to condole with the living but not reach their grief, is not ritual. Therefore on an auspicious journey one goes fifty li, and one hastening to a funeral goes a hundred li. That the feng and the zeng arrive in time for the affair is the greatness of ritual.
禮者、政之輓也；為政不以禮，政不行矣。
Ritual is the tow rope of government. If government is not carried on by ritual, government does not go forward.
天子即位，上卿進曰：「如之何憂之長也？能除患則為福，不能除患則為賊。」授天子一策。中卿進曰：「配天而有下土者，先事慮事，先患慮患。先事慮事謂之接，接則事優成。先患慮患謂之豫，豫則禍不生。事至而後慮者謂之後，後則事不舉。患至而後慮者謂之困，困則禍不可禦。」授天子二策。下卿進曰：「敬戒無怠，慶者在堂，弔者在閭。禍與福鄰，莫知其門。豫哉！豫哉！萬民望之。」授天子三策。
When the Son of Heaven ascends the throne, the senior minister comes forward and says, "How long your cares are. If you can remove the trouble it becomes good fortune. If you cannot remove the trouble it becomes a robber." He hands the Son of Heaven the first tablet.
The middle minister comes forward and says, "He who matches heaven and holds the land below considers the affair before the affair and considers the trouble before the trouble. To consider the affair before the affair is called meeting it, and when one meets it the affair is amply completed. To consider the trouble before the trouble is called foresight, and with foresight calamity does not arise. To consider only after the affair has come is called lagging, and when one lags the affair is not taken up. To consider only after the trouble has come is called being cornered, and when one is cornered calamity cannot be held off." He hands the Son of Heaven the second tablet.
The junior minister comes forward and says, "Be reverent and watchful and never slack. Those who congratulate are in the hall and those who condole are in the lane. Calamity and good fortune are neighbors, and no one knows their gate. Have foresight. Have foresight. The myriad people look to you." He hands the Son of Heaven the third tablet.
禹見耕者耦、立而式，過十室之邑、必下。
When Yu saw plowmen working in pairs, he stood and bowed at the crossbar of his carriage, and when he passed a hamlet of ten houses he always got down.
殺大蚤，朝大晚，非禮也。治民不以禮，動斯陷矣。
To put to death too early and to hold court too late is not ritual. If the people are governed without ritual, every move sinks.
平衡曰拜，下衡曰稽首，至地曰稽顙。
To hold the body level like the beam of a scale is called bai (拜). To lower it below the beam is called qishou (稽首). To bring the forehead to the ground is called qisang (稽顙).
大夫之臣，拜不稽首，非尊家臣也，所以辟君也。
The minister of a great officer bows but does not make the qishou bow. This is not to honor the household minister but is the means of keeping clear of the ruler.
一命齒於鄉，再命齒於族，三命，族人雖七十不敢先。上大夫，中大夫，下大夫。
With one appointment he takes his place by age in the village. With two appointments he takes his place by age in the clan. With three appointments, a clansman of seventy does not dare go before him. There are upper great officers and middle great officers and lower great officers.
吉事尚尊，喪事尚親。
In auspicious affairs the honored are put first. In mourning affairs kin are put first.
聘、問也。享、獻也。私覿、私見也。
Pin (聘) is to ask. Xiang (享) is to offer. Sidi (私覿) is to see privately.
言語之美，穆穆皇皇。朝廷之美，濟濟鎗鎗。
The beauty of speech is harmonious and bright. The beauty of the court is orderly and ringing.
為人臣下者，有諫而無訕，有亡而無疾，有怨而無怒。
One who is a minister under another has remonstrance but no slander, has departure but no hatred, has resentment but no rage.
君於大夫，三問其疾，三臨其喪；於士，一問，一臨。諸侯非問疾弔喪不之臣之家。
The ruler asks after a great officer's illness three times and comes to his mourning three times. For an officer he asks once and comes once. A feudal lord does not go to a minister's house except to ask after illness or to condole at a funeral.
既葬，君若父之友食之則食矣，不辟梁肉，有醴酒則辭。
After the burial, if the ruler or his father's friend gives him food, he eats, and he does not avoid the millet and the meat. But if there is sweet wine he declines it.
寢不踰廟，讌衣不踰祭服，禮也。
That the sleeping chamber does not exceed the ancestral shrine and that leisure clothes do not exceed the sacrificial robes is ritual.
湯之咸，見夫婦。夫婦之道，不可不正也，君臣父子之本也。咸、感也，以高下下，以男下女，柔上而剛下。
Tang's hexagram Xian (咸) looked to husband and wife. The way of husband and wife cannot but be upright, for it is the root of ruler and minister and of father and son. Xian is feeling. The high lowers itself to the low and the male lowers himself to the female, so the yielding is above and the firm is below.
聘士之義，親迎之道，重始也。
The rightness of calling an officer to service and the way of fetching the bride in person make the beginning weighty.
禮者，人之所履也，失所履，必顛蹶陷溺。所失微而其為亂大者，禮也。
Ritual is what a man treads on. If he loses what he treads on he is sure to stumble and fall and sink. What is lost is small and the disorder it makes is great. Such is ritual.
禮之於正國家也，如權衡之於輕重也，如繩墨之於曲直也。故人無禮不生，事無禮不成，國家無禮不寧。君臣不得不尊，父子不得不親，兄弟不得不順，夫婦不得不驩，少者以長，老者以養。故天地生之，聖人成之。
Ritual is to the setting right of a state what the scale is to light and heavy, what the marking line is to crooked and straight. Therefore a man without ritual does not live, an affair without ritual is not completed, a state without ritual is not at peace. Ruler and minister cannot but be honored, father and son cannot but be close, elder and younger brother cannot but be in accord, husband and wife cannot but be glad. By this the young grow up and the old are nourished. Therefore heaven and earth give them birth and the sage completes them.
和鸞之聲，步中武象，趨中韶護。君子聽律習容而後出。
The sound of the carriage bells, when he walks, matches the Wu and the Xiang, and when he hurries it matches the Shao and the Hu. The gentleman listens to the measures and practices his bearing, and only then goes out.
霜降逆女，冰泮殺止，十日一御。
When the frost falls he fetches a wife. When the ice melts it stops. Once in ten days he attends her.
坐視膝，立視足，應對言語視面。立視前六尺而大之－－六六三十六，三丈六尺。
Seated, he looks at the knees. Standing, he looks at the feet. In answering and speaking, he looks at the face. Standing, he looks six feet ahead and enlarges it. Six times six is thirty six, that is three zhang and six feet.
文貌情用，相為內外表裡。禮之中焉，能思索謂之能慮。
Pattern and appearance, feeling and use, are inner and outer and surface and lining to one another. To be able to think and search within ritual is called being able to deliberate.
禮者，本末相順，終始相應。
In ritual the root and the branch follow each other and the beginning and the end answer each other.
禮者，以財物為用，以貴賤為文，以多少為異。
Ritual makes goods and wealth its use, noble and humble its pattern, many and few its difference.
下臣事君以貨，中臣事君以身，上臣事君以人。
The lowest minister serves his ruler with goods. The middle minister serves his ruler with his body. The highest minister serves his ruler with men.
易曰：「復自道，何其咎？」春秋賢穆公，以為能變也。
The Yi says, "He returns by his own road. What blame is there in it?" That the Chunqiu held Duke Mu worthy was because it took him to be able to change.
士有妒友，則賢交不親；君有妒臣，則賢人不至。蔽公者謂之昧，隱賢者謂之妒，奉妒昧者謂之交譎。交譎之人，妒昧之臣，國之薉孽也。
If an officer has a jealous friend, worthy companions do not come close. If a ruler has a jealous minister, worthy men do not come. One who screens what is public is called blind. One who hides the worthy is called jealous. One who upholds the jealous and the blind is called crooked in his dealings. Men crooked in their dealings and ministers who are jealous and blind are the weeds and the bane of a state.
口能言之，身能行之，國寶也。口不能言，身能行之，國器也。口能言之，身不能行，國用也。口言善，身行惡，國妖也。治國者敬其寶，愛其器，任其用，除其妖。
One whose mouth can speak it and whose body can do it is the treasure of a state. One whose mouth cannot speak it but whose body can do it is the vessel of a state. One whose mouth can speak it but whose body cannot do it is the tool of a state. One whose mouth speaks good and whose body does evil is the monster of a state. One who governs a state reveres his treasure, loves his vessel, employs his tool, and removes his monster.
不富無以養民情，不教無以理民性。故家五畝宅，百畝田，務其業，而勿奪其時，所以富之也。立大學，設庠序，修六禮，明七教，所以道之也。詩曰：「飲之食之，教之誨之。」王事具矣。
Without wealth there is no way to nourish the feelings of the people. Without teaching there is no way to order the nature of the people. Therefore each household is given a homestead of five mu and a field of a hundred mu and is made to work at its calling, and its seasons are not taken away. This is the means of making them wealthy. To set up the great academy, to establish the xiang and xu schools (庠序), to cultivate the six rites and to make clear the seven teachings is the means of leading them. The Shi says, "Give them drink, give them food, teach them and instruct them." With that the king's work is complete.
武王始入殷，表商容之閭，釋箕子之囚，哭比干之墓，天下鄉善矣。
When King Wu first entered Yin, he marked the lane of Shang Rong, released Jizi from his confinement, and wailed at the grave of Bigan. Then all under heaven turned toward the good.
天下國有俊士，世有賢人。迷者不問路，溺者不問遂，亡人好獨。詩曰：「我言維服，勿用為笑。先民有言，詢於芻蕘。」言博問也。
In the states of all under heaven there are outstanding officers, and in every age there are worthy men. One who is lost does not ask the road, one who is sinking does not ask the ford, and one who is going to ruin loves to act alone. The Shi says, "My words are right. Do not take them for a joke. The men before us had a saying: ask even the grass cutter and the woodcutter." This speaks of asking widely.
有法者以法行，無法者以類舉。以其本知其末，以其左知其右，凡百事異理而相守也。慶賞刑罰，通類而後應；政教習俗，相順而後行。
What has a law is carried out by the law. What has no law is handled by its kind. By the root one knows the branch and by the left one knows the right. All the hundred affairs differ in pattern and yet keep to one another. Praise and reward and punishment answer only after they run through the kinds. Government and teaching and settled custom are carried out only after they accord with one another.
八十者一子不事，九十者舉家不事，廢疾非人不養者，一人不事，父母之喪，三年不事，齊衰大功，三月不事，從諸侯來，與新有昏，期不事。
For a man of eighty, one son does no service. For a man of ninety, the whole house does no service. For one so sick that he cannot be cared for except by another, one man does no service. For the mourning of a parent there is no service for three years. For the zicui and the dagong mourning there is no service for three months. For one who has come from a feudal lord and for one newly married there is no service for a year.
子謂子家駒續然大夫，不如晏子；晏子功用之臣也，不如子產；子產惠人也，不如管仲；管仲之為人，力功不力義，力知不力仁，野人也，不可為天子大夫。
Confucius said that Zijia Ju was a broad great officer but not the equal of Yanzi, that Yanzi was a minister of merit and use but not the equal of Zichan, and that Zichan was a kindly man but not the equal of Guan Zhong. As for the man Guan Zhong, he worked at merit and not at rightness, he worked at knowledge and not at benevolence. He was a rustic and could not be made a great officer of the Son of Heaven.
孟子三見宣王，不言事。門人曰：「曷為三遇齊王而不言事？」孟子曰：「吾先攻其邪心。」
Mencius saw King Xuan three times and did not speak of affairs. A disciple said, "Why is it that you meet the king of Qi three times and do not speak of affairs?" Mencius said, "I first attack his crooked heart."
公行子之之燕，遇曾元於塗，曰：「燕君何如？」曾元曰：「志卑。志卑者輕物，輕物者不求助；苟不求助，何能舉？氐羌之虜也，不憂其係壘也，而憂其不焚也。利夫秋毫，害靡國家，然且為之，幾為知計哉！」
Gongxing Zi was going to Yan and met Zeng Yuan on the road. He said, "What is the ruler of Yan like?" Zeng Yuan said, "His will is low. One whose will is low makes light of things, and one who makes light of things does not seek help. If he truly does not seek help, how can he be raised up? Captives of the Di (氐) and the Qiang (羌) do not grieve at being bound and tied. They grieve that their bodies will not be burned. A thing profits by an autumn hair and harms the state, and still he does it. How can that be called knowing how to reckon?"
今夫亡箴者，終日求之而不得；其得之也，非目益明也，眸而見之也。心之於慮亦然。
Now the man who has lost a needle seeks it all day and does not find it. When he does find it, it is not that his eyes have grown brighter. He opened them wide and saw it. So it is with the heart in deliberation.
「義」與「利」者，人之所兩有也。雖堯舜不能去民之欲利；然而能使其欲利不克其好義也。雖桀紂不能去民之好義；然而能使其好義不勝其欲利也。故義勝利者為治世，利克義者為亂世。上重義則義克利，上重利則利克義。故天子不言多少，諸侯不言利害，大夫不言得喪，士不通貨財。有國之君不息牛羊，錯質之臣不息雞豚，冢卿不脩幣，大夫不為場園，從士以上皆羞利而不與民爭業，樂分施而恥積藏；然故民不困財，貧窶者有所竄其手。
"Rightness" and "gain" are both things that men possess. Even Yao and Shun could not take away the people's desire for gain, yet they could keep that desire for gain from overcoming their love of rightness. Even Jie and Zhou could not take away the people's love of rightness, yet they could keep that love of rightness from overcoming their desire for gain.
Therefore when rightness overcomes gain it is an ordered age, and when gain overcomes rightness it is a disordered age. When those above make rightness weighty, rightness overcomes gain. When those above make gain weighty, gain overcomes rightness.
Therefore the Son of Heaven does not speak of many or few, the feudal lords do not speak of gain or harm, the great officers do not speak of getting or losing, and the officers do not traffic in goods. A ruler who holds a state does not breed cattle and sheep. A minister who has laid down his token and taken office does not breed chickens and pigs. The chief minister does not deal in silk gifts. A great officer does not keep a threshing floor and a garden. From the officers upward all are ashamed of gain and do not contend with the people for a livelihood. They delight in sharing and giving and are ashamed of hoarding and storing. So the people are not blocked from goods, and the poor have a place to put their hands.
文王誅四，武王誅二，周公卒業，至成康則案無誅已。
King Wen put four to death, King Wu put two to death, and the Duke of Zhou finished the work. By the time of King Cheng and King Kang there was no one left to put to death.
多積財而羞無有，重民任而誅不能，此邪行之所以起，刑罰之所以多也。
To pile up much wealth and be ashamed of having none, to make the burdens of the people heavy and put to death those who cannot bear them, is why crooked conduct arises and punishments become many.
上好義，則民闇飾矣！上好富，則民死利矣！二者治亂之衢也。民語曰：「欲富乎？忍恥矣！傾絕矣！絕故舊矣！與義分背矣！」上好富，則人民之行如此，安得不亂！
When those above love rightness, the people adorn themselves in secret. When those above love wealth, the people die for gain. These two are the crossroads of order and disorder. The people have a saying: "Do you wish to be rich? Then swallow shame. Then break and cut off. Then cut off old friends. Then part and turn your back on rightness." When those above love wealth, the conduct of men and of the people is like this. How can there fail to be disorder?
湯旱而禱曰：「政不節與？使民疾與？何以不雨至斯極也！宮室榮與？婦謁盛與？何以不雨至斯之極也！苞苴行與？讒夫興與？何以不雨至斯極也！」
When there was drought, Tang prayed and said, "Has the government kept no measure? Have the people been made to suffer? Why has the failure of rain come to such a pass? Are the palaces splendid? Are the pleadings of women rife? Why has the failure of rain come to such a pass? Do bribes go about? Have slanderers risen? Why has the failure of rain come to such a pass?"
天之生民，非為君也；天之立君，以為民也。故古者，列地建國，非以貴諸侯而已；列官職，差爵祿，非以尊大夫而已。
Heaven gave birth to the people not for the sake of the ruler. Heaven set up the ruler for the sake of the people. Therefore in ancient times, when the land was divided and states were founded, it was not only to make the feudal lords noble. When offices were arrayed and ranks and salaries were graded, it was not only to honor the great officers.
主道知人，臣道知事。故舜之治天下，不以事詔而萬物成。農精於田，而不可以為田師，工賈亦然。
The way of the ruler is to know men. The way of the minister is to know affairs. Therefore when Shun governed all under heaven, he gave no orders about affairs and yet the myriad things were completed. The farmer is exact in the field and yet cannot be made the master of the fields, and it is the same with the artisan and the merchant.
以賢易不肖，不待卜而後知吉。以治伐亂，不待戰而後知克。
Exchange the unworthy for the worthy and you know the good fortune without waiting for the divination. Attack disorder with order and you know the victory without waiting for the battle.
齊人欲伐魯，忌卞莊子，不敢過卞。晉人欲伐衛，畏子路，不敢過蒲。
The men of Qi wished to attack Lu, but they shrank from Bian Zhuangzi and did not dare pass through Bian. The men of Jin wished to attack Wey, but they feared Zilu and did not dare pass through Pu.
不知而問堯舜，無有而求天府。－－曰：先王之道，則堯舜已；六貳之博，則天府已。
If you do not know, ask Yao and Shun. If you have nothing, seek from the treasury of heaven. It is said: the way of the former kings is Yao and Shun, and the breadth of the six classics is the treasury of heaven.
君子之學如蛻，幡然遷之。故其行效，其立效，其置顏色、出辭氣效。無留善，無宿問。
The learning of the gentleman is like the shedding of a skin, for he shifts over all at once. Therefore his walking follows the model and his standing follows the model, and so does the setting of his countenance and the bringing out of his words and his breath. He leaves no good lying over and lets no question sleep a night.
善學者盡其理，善行者究其難。
One who learns well exhausts its pattern. One who acts well digs into its difficulty.
君子立志如窮，雖天子三公問正，以是非對。
The gentleman sets his will as though he were in straits. Though the Son of Heaven and the three dukes ask him what is right, he answers with right and wrong.
君子隘窮而不失，勞倦而不苟，臨患難而不忘細席之言。歲不寒無以知松柏，事不難無以知君子無日不在是。
The gentleman is hemmed in and does not lose himself, is worn and weary and is not careless, and in the face of trouble and hardship does not forget the words spoken on the mat. If the year is not cold there is no way to know the pine and the cypress. If affairs are not hard there is no way to know that the gentleman is never for a day away from this.
雨小，漢故潛。夫盡小者大，積微者箸，德至者色澤洽，行盡而聲問遠，小人不誠於內而求之於外。
The rain is small, and for that reason the Han runs deep. One who exhausts the small becomes great and one who piles up the slight becomes manifest. Virtue that has arrived shows in the luster of the face, and when conduct is complete the name goes far. The petty man is not truthful within and seeks it without.
言而不稱師謂之畔，教而不稱師謂之倍。倍畔之人，明君不內，朝士大夫遇諸塗不與言。
To speak and not name one's teacher is called betrayal. To teach and not name one's teacher is called turning one's back. A man who turns his back and betrays is not let in by an enlightened ruler, and the officers and great officers of the court do not speak with him when they meet him on the road.
不足於行者，說過；不足於信者，誠言。故春秋善胥命，而詩非屢盟，其心一也。善為詩者不說，善為易者不占，善為禮者不相，其心同也。
One who falls short in conduct goes too far in speech. One who falls short in trustworthiness insists that his words are true. Therefore when the Chunqiu approved the xuming (胥命) and the Shi condemned repeated covenants, their heart was one. One who is good at the Shi does not expound it, one who is good at the Yi does not divine with it, one who is good at ritual does not assist at it. Their heart is the same.
曾子曰：「孝子言為可聞，行為可見。言為可聞，所以說遠也；行為可見，所以說近也；近者說則親，遠者悅則附；親近而附遠，孝子之道也。」
Zengzi said, "The filial son makes his words worth hearing and his conduct worth seeing. Making his words worth hearing is the means of gladdening those far off. Making his conduct worth seeing is the means of gladdening those near. When those near are glad they draw close, and when those far off are glad they attach themselves. To make the near close and the far attached is the way of the filial son."
曾子行，晏子從於郊，曰：「嬰聞之：君子贈人以言，庶人贈人以財。嬰貧無財，請假於君子，贈吾子以言：乘輿之輪，太山之木也，示諸檃栝，三月五月，為幬采，敝而不反其常。君子之檃栝，不可不謹也。慎之！蘭茞槁本，漸於蜜醴，一佩易之。正君漸於香酒，可讒而得也。君子之所漸，不可不慎也。」
When Zengzi was leaving, Yanzi followed him out to the edge of the city and said, "I have heard that a gentleman gives a man words and that a common man gives a man goods. I am poor and have no goods, so let me borrow from the gentleman and give you words.
"The wheel of a carriage is wood from Mount Tai. Put into the press for three months or five, it becomes the curved rib of a carriage cover, and even worn out it does not go back to what it was. The press of the gentleman cannot but be handled with care. Take care.
"Orchid and angelica and gaoben, steeped in honey and sweet wine, are worth a man's trade to wear at his sash. An upright ruler steeped in fragrant wine can be got at by slander. What the gentleman steeps himself in cannot but be watched with care."
人之於文學也，猶玉之於琢磨也。詩曰：「如切如磋，如琢如磨。」謂學問也。和之璧，井里之厥也，玉人琢之，為天子寶。子贛季路故鄙人也，被文學，服禮義，為天下列士。
A man in relation to letters and learning is like jade in relation to cutting and polishing. The Shi says, "As cut, as filed, as chiseled, as ground." This speaks of learning and asking. The jade of He was a rough stone of Jingli (井里), and when the jade worker cut it, it became the treasure of the Son of Heaven. Zigong and Jilu were rustics at first, and when they put on letters and learning and clothed themselves in ritual and rightness, they became noted officers of all under heaven.
學問不厭，好士不倦，是天府也。
To be tireless in learning and asking and unwearied in loving officers is the treasury of heaven.
君子疑則不言，未問則不言，道遠日益矣。
The gentleman does not speak when he is in doubt and does not speak when he has not been asked. The way is far and the days add to one another.
多知而無親，博學而無方，好多而無定者，君子不與。
One who knows much and has no closeness, who learns widely and has no direction, who loves abundance and has nothing settled, the gentleman does not join with.
少不諷誦，壯不論議，雖可，未成也。
One who does not recite in youth and does not discuss and deliberate when grown, though there be something in him, has not come to completion.
君子壹教，弟子壹學，亟成。
When the gentleman teaches with one mind and the disciple learns with one mind, completion comes quickly.
君子進則益上之譽，而損下之憂。不能而居之，誣也；無益而厚受之，竊也。學者非必為仕，而仕者必如學。
When the gentleman advances, he adds to the praise of those above and lessens the cares of those below. To hold a post without being able is deception. To receive a heavy salary without doing good is theft. One who learns need not take office, but one who takes office must be as one who has learned.
子貢問於孔子曰：「賜倦於學矣，願息事君。」孔子曰：「詩云：‘溫恭朝夕，執事有恪。’事君難，事君焉可息哉！」「然則，賜願息事親。」孔子曰：「詩云：‘孝子不匱，永錫爾類。’事親難，事親焉可息哉！」「然則賜願息於妻子。」孔子曰：「詩云：‘刑于寡妻，至于兄弟，以御於家邦。’妻子難，妻子焉可息哉！」「然則賜願息於朋友。」孔子曰：「詩云：‘朋友攸攝，攝以威儀。’朋友難，朋友焉可息哉！」「然則賜願息耕。」孔子曰：「詩云：‘晝爾于茅，宵爾索綯，亟其乘屋，其始播百穀。’耕難，耕焉可息哉！」「然則賜無息者乎？」孔子曰：「望其壙，皋如也，顛如也，鬲如也，此則知所息矣。」子貢曰：「大哉！死乎！君子息焉，小人休焉。」
Zigong asked Confucius, "I am weary of learning. I wish to rest in serving the ruler."
Confucius said, "The Shi says, 'Warm and respectful morning and evening, holding to his work with reverence.' Serving the ruler is hard. How can there be rest in serving the ruler?"
"Then I wish to rest in serving my parents."
Confucius said, "The Shi says, 'The filial son is never wanting, and this is granted to your kind forever.' Serving parents is hard. How can there be rest in serving parents?"
"Then I wish to rest in wife and children."
Confucius said, "The Shi says, 'He set the example for his wife, it reached his brothers, and with it he governed house and state.' Wife and children are hard. How can there be rest in wife and children?"
"Then I wish to rest in friends."
Confucius said, "The Shi says, 'Friends hold one another up, they hold one another up with dignity of bearing.' Friends are hard. How can there be rest in friends?"
"Then I wish to rest in plowing."
Confucius said, "The Shi says, 'By day you cut the thatch and by night you twist the rope. Hurry up onto the roof, for then you begin to sow the hundred grains.' Plowing is hard. How can there be rest in plowing?"
"Then have I nowhere to rest?"
Confucius said, "Look at the grave mounds. They swell, they rise, they stand like the legs of a cauldron. There you will know your resting place."
Zigong said, "Great indeed is death. The gentleman rests there and the petty man ceases there."
國風之好色也，傳曰：「盈其欲而不愆其止。其誠可比於金石，其聲可內於宗廟。」小雅不以於汙上，自引而居下，疾今之政以思往者，其言有文焉，其聲有哀焉。
On the love of beauty in the Guofeng the tradition says, "It fills its desire and does not transgress its stopping place. Its truth may be matched with metal and stone, and its sound may be brought into the ancestral shrine." The Xiaoya does not attach itself to a filthy ruler above. It draws back of itself and dwells below, and it hates the government of the present and thinks of those who are gone. Its words have pattern and its sound has grief.
國將興，必貴師而重傅，貴師而重傅，則法度存。國將衰，必賤師而輕傅；賤師而輕傅，則人有快；人有快則法度壞。
When a state is about to rise, it is sure to hold the teacher noble and the tutor weighty. When the teacher is noble and the tutor weighty, the standards remain. When a state is about to decline, it is sure to hold the teacher cheap and the tutor light. When the teacher is cheap and the tutor light, men do as they please, and when men do as they please the standards fall to ruin.
古者匹夫五十而士。天子諸侯子十九而冠，冠而聽治，其教至也。
In ancient times a common man became an officer at fifty. The sons of the Son of Heaven and of the feudal lords were capped at nineteen, and once capped they took part in government. Their teaching was complete.
君子也者而好之，其人也；其人而不教，不祥。非君子而好之，非其人也；非其人而教之，齎盜糧，借賊兵也。
If he is a gentleman and loves learning, he is the right man, and not to teach the right man is inauspicious. If he is not a gentleman and loves it, he is not the right man, and to teach one who is not the right man is to hand grain to a thief and lend weapons to a robber.
不自嗛其行者，言濫過。古之賢人，賤為布衣，貧為匹夫，食則饘粥不足，衣則豎褐不完；然而非禮不進，非義不受，安取此？
One who is not content with his own conduct runs over and goes too far in speech. The worthy men of old were as humble as men in hemp clothes and as poor as common men. For food they had not gruel enough, and for clothing not even a whole coarse coat. Yet if it was not ritual they did not advance, and if it was not rightness they did not accept. Where did they take this from?
子夏家貧，衣若縣鶉。人曰：「子何不仕？」曰：「諸侯之驕我者，吾不為臣；大夫之驕我者，吾不復見。柳下惠與後門者同衣，而不見疑，非一日之聞也。爭利如蚤甲，而喪其掌。」
Zixia was poor at home and his clothes were like a hanging quail. A man said, "Why do you not take office?" He said, "To a feudal lord who is arrogant with me I will not be a minister. A great officer who is arrogant with me I will not see again. That Liuxia Hui wore the same clothes as the man who kept the back gate and was not suspected was not the fame of a single day. To fight over gain the size of a fingernail is to lose the whole palm."
君人者不可以不慎取臣，匹夫不可不慎取友。友者、所以相有也。道不同，何以相有也？均薪施火，火就燥；平地注水，水流濕。夫類之相從也，如此其著也，以友觀人，焉所疑？取友善人，不可不慎，是德之基也。詩曰：「無將大車，維塵冥冥。」言無與小人處也。
One who rules over men cannot but be careful in taking ministers, and a common man cannot but be careful in taking friends. Friends are the means by which men hold one another. If the way is not the same, by what do they hold one another?
Lay firewood evenly and set fire to it, and the fire goes to what is dry. Level the ground and pour water on it, and the water flows to what is wet. Since kinds follow one another as plainly as this, if you look at a man by his friends, what is there to doubt? In taking friends one cannot but be careful to take good men, for this is the foundation of virtue. The Shi says, "Do not push the great cart. You will only raise the dust." This says not to dwell with the petty man.
藍苴路作，似知而非。懦弱易奪，似仁而非。悍戇好鬥，似勇而非。
To dress a thing up as one dyes indigo and lays a road looks like knowledge and is not. To be soft and weak and easily robbed looks like benevolence and is not. To be fierce and dull and fond of a fight looks like courage and is not.
仁義禮善之於人也，辟之若貨財粟米之於家也，多有之者富，少有之者貧，至無有者窮。故大者不能，小者不為，是棄國捐身之道也。
Benevolence and rightness and ritual and goodness are to a man what goods and wealth and grain are to a household. One who has much of them is rich, one who has little is poor, one who has none at all is at the end of his road. Therefore to be unable in great things and to do nothing in small things is the way to throw away the state and cast away oneself.
凡物有乘而來，乘其出者，是其反也。
Everything comes riding on something, and to ride what it came out of is to turn it back.
流言滅之，貨色遠之。禍之所由生也，生自纖纖也。是故君子蚤絕之。
Wipe out rumors and keep goods and beauty far off. What calamity arises from, it arises from the finest thread. This is why the gentleman cuts it off early.
言之信者，在乎區蓋之間。疑則不言，未問則不言。
What makes speech trustworthy lies in the space of qugai (區蓋). In doubt one does not speak, and until asked one does not speak.
知者明於事，達於數，不可以不誠事也。故曰：「君子難說，說之不以道，不說也。」
The knowing man is clear about affairs and reaches to their numbers, and so he cannot but be truthful in his affairs. Therefore it is said, "The gentleman is hard to please. If you please him and not by the way, he is not pleased."
語曰：「流丸止於甌臾，流言止於知者。」此家言邪說之所以惡儒者也。是非疑，則度之以遠事，驗之以近物，參之以平心，流言止焉，惡言死焉。
A saying goes, "A rolling ball stops in a hollow and a rumor stops with the knowing man." This is why the sayings of the households and crooked doctrines hate the scholar. When right and wrong are in doubt, measure them by distant affairs, test them by near things, and match them with an even heart. Then rumor stops there and evil words die there.
曾子食魚，有餘，曰：「泔之。」門人曰：「泔之傷人，不若奧之。」曾子泣涕曰：「有異心乎哉！」傷其聞之晚也。
Zengzi was eating fish and some was left. He said, "Steep it in rice water." A disciple said, "Steeping it in rice water harms a man. Better to pickle it." Zengzi wept and said, "Did I have any other heart in it?" He grieved that he had heard it so late.
無用吾之所短，遇人之所長。故塞而避所短，移而從所仕。疏知而不法，辨察而操僻，勇果而無禮，君子之所憎惡也。
Do not meet another's strength with your own weakness. Therefore when blocked, keep clear of where you are weak, and move on and follow what you can serve at. To know loosely and take nothing as law, to examine keenly and hold to what is one sided, to be bold and firm and have no ritual, these the gentleman hates.
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。
To speak much and hit the kinds is a sage. To speak little and hit the law is a gentleman. To speak much with no law and drift and drown in it is a petty man, however clever his speech.
國法禁拾遺，惡民之串以無分得也，有夫分義，則容天下而治；無分義，則一妻一妾而亂。
That the law of a state forbids picking up what is dropped is because it hates the people growing used to getting things with no division. Where there is division and rightness, one may hold all under heaven and govern it. Where there is no division and rightness, one wife and one concubine are enough for disorder.
天下之人，唯各特意哉，然而有所共予也。言味者予易牙，言音者予師曠，言治者予三王。三王既以定法度，制禮樂而傳之，有不用而改自作，何以異於變易牙之和，更師曠之律？無三王之法，天下不待亡，國不待死。
The men of all under heaven each have a mind of their own, and yet there is something they grant in common. Those who speak of taste grant it to Yi Ya. Those who speak of sound grant it to Shi Kuang. Those who speak of government grant it to the three kings.
The three kings had already settled the standards and shaped ritual and music and handed them down. If a man does not use them but alters them and makes his own, how does he differ from one who changes Yi Ya's seasoning or alters Shi Kuang's pitches? Without the law of the three kings, all under heaven need not wait to be lost and the state need not wait to die.
飲而不食者，蟬也；不飲不食者，浮蝣也。
The one that drinks and does not eat is the cicada. The one that neither drinks nor eats is the mayfly.
虞舜、孝己孝而親不愛，比干、子胥忠而君不用，仲尼、顏淵知而窮於世。劫迫於暴國而無所辟之，則崇其善，揚其美，言其所長，而不稱其所短也。
Shun of Yu and Xiao Ji were filial and their parents did not love them. Bigan and Zixu were true and their rulers did not use them. Zhongni and Yan Yuan were wise and were blocked in the world. When one is held down by a violent state and has nowhere to escape, then one exalts its good, spreads abroad its beauty, speaks of its strengths, and does not name its faults.
惟惟而亡者，誹也；博而窮者，訾也；清之而俞濁者，口也。
The one who says yes and yes and still perishes is the slanderer. The one who is broad and still comes to a dead end is the faultfinder. The one that grows muddier the more it is cleared is the mouth.
君子能為可貴，不能使人必貴己；能為可用，不能使人必用己。
The gentleman can make himself worth honoring but cannot make others honor him for certain. He can make himself worth using but cannot make others use him for certain.
誥誓不及五帝，盟詛不及三王，交質子不及五伯。
Proclamation and oath did not reach to the five emperors. Covenant and curse did not reach to the three kings. The exchange of hostage sons did not reach to the five hegemons.