Liming — Effort and Destiny力命篇
力謂命曰：「若之功奚若我哉？」命曰：「汝奚功於物而欲比朕？」力曰：「壽夭、窮達，貴賤、貧富，我力之所能也。」命曰：「彭祖之智不出堯舜之上，而壽八百；顏淵之才不出衆人之下，而壽十八。仲尼之德不出諸侯之下，而困於陳蔡；殷紂之行不出三仁之上，而居君位。季札無爵於吳，田恆專有齊國。夷齊餓於首陽，季氏富於展禽。若是汝力之所能，柰何壽彼而夭此，窮聖而達逆，賤賢而貴愚，貧善而富惡邪？」力曰：「若如若言，我固無功於物，而物若此邪，此則若之所制邪？」命曰：「既謂之命，柰何有制之者邪？朕直而推之，曲而任之。自壽自夭，自窮自達，自貴自賤，自富自貧，朕豈能識之哉？朕豈能識之哉？」
Strength (力) said to Fate (命), "How could your merit be the equal of mine?"
Fate said, "What merit have you toward things, that you would set yourself beside me?"
Strength said, "Long life and early death, blocked ways and open ways, honor and lowliness, poverty and wealth — all of these my strength can do."
Fate said,
"Pengzu's wisdom did not rise above Yao and Shun, yet he lived eight hundred years. Yan Yuan's talent did not fall below the common run, yet he lived eighteen years. Zhongni's virtue did not fall below the feudal lords, yet he was blocked in Chen and Cai. The conduct of Zhou of Yin did not rise above the three men of goodness, yet he sat in the ruler's seat. Ji Zha (季札) held no office in Wu, and Tian Heng (田恆) took the state of Qi for himself alone. Bo Yi and Shu Qi starved on Mount Shouyang, and the Ji clan was richer than Zhan Qin.
If this lay within your strength, why do you let that one live long and this one die young, block the sage and let the rebel through, make the worthy man lowly and the fool honored, the good man poor and the harsh man rich?"
Strength said, "If it is as you say, then I truly have no merit toward things, and things are as they are. Is this then what you have cut and shaped?"
Fate said, "Since it is already called fate, how could there be one who shapes it? What is straight I push along, and what is bent I leave to itself. They live long of themselves and die young of themselves, are blocked of themselves and pass through of themselves, are honored of themselves and lowly of themselves, are rich of themselves and poor of themselves. How could I know it? How could I know it?"
北宮子謂西門子曰：「朕與子並世也，而人子達；並族也，而人子敬；並貌也，而人子愛；並言也，而人子庸；並行也，而人子誠；並仕也，而人子貴；並農也，而人子富；並商也，而人子利。朕衣則裋褐，食則粢糲，居則蓬室，出則徒行。子衣則文錦，食則粱肉，居則連欐，出則結駟。在家熙然有棄朕之心，在朝諤然有敖朕之色。請謁不相及，遨遊不同行，固有年矣。子自以德過朕邪？」西門子曰：「予無以知其實。汝造事而窮，予造事而達，此厚薄之驗歟？而皆謂與予並，汝之顏厚矣。」北宮子無以應，自失而歸。中塗遇東郭先生，先生曰：「汝奚往而反，偊偊而步，有深愧之色邪？」北宮子言其狀。東郭先生曰：「吾將舍汝之愧，與汝更之西門氏而問之。」曰：「汝奚辱北宮子之深乎？固且言之。」西門子曰：「北宮子言世族、年貌、言行與予並，而賤貴、貧富與予異。予語之曰：『予無以知其實。汝造事而窮，予造事而達，此將厚薄之驗歟？而皆謂與予並，汝之顏厚矣。』」東郭先生曰：「汝之言厚薄不過言才德之差，吾之言厚薄異於是矣。夫北宮子厚於德，薄於命；汝厚於命，薄於德。汝之達，非智得也；北宮子之窮，非愚失也。皆天也，非人也。而汝以命厚自矜，北宮子以德厚自愧，皆不識夫固然之理矣。」西門子曰：「先生止矣！予不敢復言。」北宮子既歸，衣其裋褐，有狐貉之溫；進其茙菽，有稻粱之味；庇其蓬室，若廣廈之蔭；乘其篳輅，若文軒之飾。終身逌然，不知榮辱之在彼也、在我也。東郭先生聞之曰：「北宮子之寐久矣，一言而能寤，易悟也哉！」
Beigongzi (北宮子) said to Ximenzi (西門子),
"You and I are of one generation, yet people call you accomplished. We are of one clan, yet people respect you. We are of one countenance, yet people love you. We speak the same words, yet people employ you. We act the same, yet people call you trustworthy. We hold the same office, yet people honor you. We farm the same, yet people call you rich. We trade the same, yet people call you profitable.
My clothes are short hemp, my food is coarse millet, my house is a hut of mugwort, and when I go out I go on foot. Your clothes are patterned silk, your food is fine grain and meat, your house has beam joined to beam, and when you go out you yoke four horses.
At home you laugh among yourselves with a mind to cast me off, and at court you wear a haughty look that slights me. We have not called on each other, nor gone about together, for many years now. Do you take your own virtue to be better than mine?"
Ximenzi said, "I do not know where the truth of it lies. When you set your hand to a thing you are blocked, and when I set my hand to a thing it goes through. Is this not the proof of thick and thin? And still you say we are level in all things. Your face is thick indeed."
Beigongzi had no answer, and went home at a loss. On the road he met Master Dongguo. The master said, "Where have you been and come back from, walking unsteadily, with so deep a look of shame?"
Beigongzi told him how it was. Master Dongguo said, "I will rid you of your shame. Let us go together to Ximen and ask him again."
Then he said, "Why did you shame Beigongzi so deeply? Come, tell me."
Ximenzi said, "Beigongzi said that his generation and his clan, his years and his countenance, his words and his conduct were level with mine, but that lowliness and honor, poverty and wealth were different from mine. So I told him, 'I do not know where the truth of it lies. When you set your hand to a thing you are blocked, and when I set my hand to a thing it goes through. Is this not the proof of thick and thin? And still you say we are level in all things. Your face is thick indeed.'"
Master Dongguo said,
"The thick and thin you speak of go no further than the difference of talent and virtue, but the thick and thin I speak of are not these. Beigongzi is thick in virtue and thin in fate, and you are thick in fate and thin in virtue. That you go through was not gained by wisdom, and that Beigongzi is blocked was not lost by folly. All of it is heaven, not man. Yet you preen yourself on the thickness of your fate, and Beigongzi shames himself for the thickness of his virtue. Both of you fail to know the principle that is so of itself."
Ximenzi said, "Stop, master. I dare not speak again."
When Beigongzi went home, though he wore his short hemp it had the warmth of fox and badger fur, though he took his bean gruel it had the taste of rice and fine grain, though he sheltered in his hut of mugwort it was like the shade of a great hall, though he rode his brushwood cart it was like the trappings of a painted carriage. To the end of his days he was at ease, and did not know whether glory and disgrace lay in another or in himself.
Master Dongguo heard of it and said, "Beigongzi slept a long while, and one word could wake him. How easy he is to rouse."
管夷吾、鮑叔牙二人相友甚戚，同處於齊。管夷吾事公子糾，鮑叔牙事公子小白。齊公族多寵，嫡庶並行，國人懼亂。管仲與召忽奉公子糾奔魯，鮑叔奉公子小白奔莒。既而公孫無知作亂，齊無君，二公子爭入。管夷吾與小白戰於莒，道射中小白帶鉤。小白既立，脅魯殺子糾，召忽死之，管夷吾被囚。鮑叔牙謂桓公曰：「管夷吾能，可以治國。」桓公曰：「我讐也，願殺之。」鮑叔牙曰：「吾聞賢君無私怨，且人能爲其主，亦必能爲人君。如欲霸王，非夷吾其弗可。君必舍之！」遂召管仲。魯歸之，齊鮑叔牙郊迎，釋其囚。桓公禮之，而位於高國之上，鮑叔牙以身下之，任以國政，號曰仲父。桓公遂霸。管仲嘗歎曰：「吾少窮困時，嘗與鮑叔賈，分財多自與，鮑叔不以我爲貪，知我貧也。吾嘗爲鮑叔謀事而大窮困，鮑叔不以我爲愚，知時有利不利也。吾嘗三仕，三見逐於君，鮑叔不以我爲不肖，知我不遭時也。吾嘗三戰三北，鮑叔不以我爲怯，知我有老母也。公子糾敗，召忽死之，吾幽囚受辱，鮑叔不以我爲無恥，知我不羞小節而恥名不顯於天下也。生我者父母，知我者鮑叔也！」此世稱管鮑善交者，小白善用能者。然實無善交，實無用能也。實無善交、實無用能者，非更有善交、更有善用能也。召忽非能死，不得不死；鮑叔非能舉賢，不得不舉；小白非能用讐，不得不用。及管夷吾有病，小白問之，曰：「仲父之病病矣，可不諱。云至於大病，則寡人惡乎屬國而可？」夷吾曰：「公誰欲歟？」小白曰：「鮑叔牙可。」曰：「不可。其爲人也，潔廉善士也，其於不己若者不比之人，一聞人之過，終身不忘。使之理國，上且鉤乎君，下且逆乎民。其得罪於君也，將弗久矣。」小白曰：「然則孰可？」對曰：「勿已，則隰朋可。其爲人也，上忘而下不叛，愧其不若黃帝而哀不己若者。以德分人謂之聖人，以財分人謂之賢人。以賢臨人，未有得人者也；以賢下人者，未有不得人者也。其於國有不聞也，其於家有不見也。勿已，則隰朋可。」然則管夷吾非薄鮑叔也，不得不薄；非厚隰朋也，不得不厚。厚之於始，或薄之於終；薄之於終，或厚之於始。厚薄之去來，弗由我也。
Guan Yiwu and Bao Shuya were friends to each other and very close, and they lived together in Qi. Guan Yiwu served Prince Jiu, and Bao Shuya served Prince Xiaobai.
In the ducal house of Qi there were many favorites, and the sons of the wife and the sons of the concubines went side by side, so the people of the state feared disorder. Guan Zhong and Shao Hu (召忽) took up Prince Jiu and fled to Lu, and Bao Shu took up Prince Xiaobai and fled to Ju (莒).
Before long Gongsun Wuzhi (公孫無知) raised a revolt, and Qi had no ruler, so the two princes raced to get in. When Guan Yiwu fought Xiaobai at Ju, he shot from the road and struck the buckle of Xiaobai's belt.
After Xiaobai ascended the throne, he pressed Lu and had Prince Jiu killed. Shao Hu died with him, and Guan Yiwu was shut up in prison.
Bao Shuya said to Duke Huan, "Guan Yiwu is able. He is fit to govern a state."
Duke Huan said, "He is my enemy. I wish to kill him."
Bao Shuya said, "I have heard that a worthy ruler holds no private grudge. And a man who can serve as lord for another can surely be a lord over men as well. If you wish to be overlord, it cannot be done without Yiwu. My lord, you must let him go."
So Guan Zhong was sent for. Lu gave him back, and Bao Shuya of Qi met him outside the walls and loosed him from his bonds. Duke Huan received him with ceremony and set his place above the Gao and the Guo. Bao Shuya put himself below him, the government of the state was entrusted to him, and he was called Zhongfu (仲父). Duke Huan became overlord at last.
Guan Zhong once sighed and said,
"When I was young and blocked and in hardship, I traded with Bao Shu, and when we divided the goods I took the larger share, yet Bao Shu did not call me greedy, for he knew that I was poor. Once I planned a matter for Bao Shu and it was blocked and came to great hardship, yet Bao Shu did not call me a fool, for he knew that a time may be favorable or unfavorable. Three times I held office and three times I was driven out by my lord, yet Bao Shu did not call me worthless, for he knew that I had not met my time. Three times I fought and three times I ran away, yet Bao Shu did not call me a coward, for he knew that I had an old mother. When Prince Jiu fell, Shao Hu died with him and I was shut up in prison and disgraced, yet Bao Shu did not call me shameless, for he knew that I am not ashamed of small scruples but ashamed that my name is not known in all under heaven. Those who bore me are my father and mother, and he who knows me is Bao Shu."
The world calls Guan Zhong and Bao Shu men who were good at friendship, and Xiaobai a man who was good at using the able. Yet in truth there was no being good at friendship, and in truth there was no using of the able. To say that in truth there was no being good at friendship and no using of the able is not to say that there is someone better at friendship or better at using the able.
It was not that Shao Hu was able to die; he could not but die. It was not that Bao Shu was able to raise up a worthy man; he could not but raise him. It was not that Xiaobai was able to use his enemy; he could not but use him.
When Guan Yiwu fell ill, Xiaobai asked him, "Zhongfu's illness is deep, and there is no hiding it. If it comes to the worst, to whom should I entrust the state?"
Yiwu said, "Whom does my lord wish?"
Xiaobai said, "Bao Shuya would do."
He said,
"He will not do. He is a man of clean and pure scruple, a good gentleman, but he does not count those who fall short of him as men, and once he hears of another's fault he does not forget it to the end of his days. If he were made to govern the state, above he would bind the ruler and below he would go against the people. It would not be long before he got himself in the wrong with his lord."
Xiaobai said, "Then who would do?"
He answered,
"If it must be, then Xi Peng would do. He is a man who forgets what is above him and is not betrayed by what is below him. He is ashamed that he falls short of the Yellow Emperor, and he pities those who fall short of himself.
He who shares his virtue with others is called a sage, and he who shares his goods with others is called a worthy man. No one who comes to others as their better has ever won them, and no one who puts himself below others as their better has ever failed to win them. In the state there are things he does not hear, and in the household there are things he does not see. If it must be, then Xi Peng would do."
So then it was not that Guan Yiwu dealt thinly with Bao Shu; he could not but deal thinly. It was not that he dealt thickly with Xi Peng; he could not but deal thickly. One may deal thickly at the start and thinly at the end, or thinly at the end and thickly at the start. The going and coming of thick and thin does not rest with me.
鄧析操兩可之說，設無窮之辭，當子產執政，作《竹刑》。鄭國用之，數難子產之治。子產屈之。子產執而戮之，俄而誅之。然則子產非能用《竹刑》，不得不用；鄧析非能屈子產，不得不屈；子產非能誅鄧析，不得不誅也。
Deng Xi held to the doctrine that either way will do and set out words without end. When Zichan held the government, Deng Xi made the Zhuxing (竹刑). The state of Zheng used it, and he often attacked Zichan's rule. Zichan bent him. Zichan seized him and punished him, and before long put him to death.
So then it was not that Zichan was able to use the Zhuxing; he could not but use it. It was not that Deng Xi bent before Zichan; he could not but bend. It was not that Zichan was able to put Deng Xi to death; he could not but put him to death.
可以生而生，天福也；可以死而死，天福也。可以生而不生，天罰也；可以死而不死，天罰也。可以生，可以死，得生得死，有矣；不可以生，不可以死，或死或生，有矣。然而生生死死，非物非我，皆命也，智之所無柰何。故曰：窈然無際，天道自會；漠然無分，天道自運。天地不能犯，聖智不能干，鬼魅不能欺。自然者默之成之，平之寧之，將之迎之。
To be fit to live and to live is heaven's blessing, and to be fit to die and to die is heaven's blessing. To be fit to live and not to live is heaven's punishment, and to be fit to die and not to die is heaven's punishment.
There are those who are fit to live and fit to die, and who get life and get death. There are those who are fit neither to live nor to die, and who die or else live.
Yet living and living, dying and dying, rest neither with things nor with me. All of it is fate, and wisdom can do nothing about it.
Therefore it is said that deep and without bound, the way of heaven gathers of itself, and still and without division, the way of heaven turns of itself. Heaven and earth cannot break it, sagely wisdom cannot meddle with it, and goblins cannot deceive it. What is so of itself completes it in silence, levels it and calms it, sends it forth and welcomes it back.
楊朱之友曰季梁。季梁得病，七日大漸。其子環而泣之，請醫。季梁謂楊朱曰：「吾子不肖如此之甚，汝奚不爲我歌以曉之？」楊朱歌曰：「天其弗識，人胡能覺？匪祐自天，弗孽由人。我乎汝乎，其弗知乎！醫乎巫乎，其知之乎？」其子弗曉，終謁三醫，一曰矯氏，二曰俞氏，三曰盧氏，診其所疾。矯氏謂季梁曰：「汝寒溫不節，虛實失度，病由飢飽色欲。精慮煩散，非天非鬼。雖漸，可攻也。」季梁曰：「衆醫也。亟屏之！」俞氏曰：「女始則胎氣不足，乳湩有餘。病非一朝一夕之故，其所由來漸矣，弗可已也。」季梁曰：「良醫也。且食之！」盧氏曰：「汝疾不由天，亦不由人，亦不由鬼。稟生受形，既有制之者矣，亦有知之者矣。藥石其如汝何？」季梁曰：「神醫也。重貺遣之！」俄而季梁之疾自瘳。
The friend of Yang Zhu was called Ji Liang (季梁). Ji Liang fell ill, and in seven days it grew grave. His son stood round him weeping and asked for a physician.
Ji Liang said to Yang Zhu, "My son is as worthless as this. Will you not sing for me and wake him?"
Yang Zhu sang, "Heaven itself does not know, so how can man perceive? Help does not come down from heaven, nor does harm rise from man. Neither I nor you can know it. Can a physician, can a shaman know it?"
His son did not understand, and in the end he called in three physicians. The first was Jiao (矯氏), the second was Yu (俞氏), the third was Lu (盧氏), and they looked at where he ailed.
Jiao said to Ji Liang, "You kept no measure in cold and heat, and you lost the rule of emptiness and fullness. The illness came from hunger and fullness and from the desire of women, and your spirit and thoughts are scattered in confusion. It is not heaven and it is not a ghost. Though it has grown grave, it can be treated."
Ji Liang said, "A common physician. Send him away at once."
Yu said, "In the beginning the breath you had in the womb was not enough, and the milk you had was more than enough. The illness is not the doing of one morning or one evening. What brought it on gathered little by little, and it cannot be stopped."
Ji Liang said, "A good physician. Give him food and send him off."
Lu said, "Your sickness does not come from heaven, nor from man, nor from a ghost. When you received life and received form, there was already one who shaped it, and there was one who knew it. What can drugs and needles do for you?"
Ji Liang said, "A physician of spirit. Give him a rich gift and send him off."
Before long Ji Liang's sickness healed of itself.
生非貴之所能存，身非愛之所能厚；生亦非賤之所能夭，身亦非輕之所能薄。故貴之或不生，賤之或不死；愛之或不厚，輕之或不薄。此似反也，非反也；此自生自死，自厚自薄。或貴之而生，或賤之而死；或愛之而厚，或輕之而薄。此似順也，非順也；此亦自生自死，自厚自薄。鬻熊語文王曰：「自長非所增，自短非所損。算之所亡若何？」老聃語關尹曰：「天之所惡，孰知其故？」言迎天意，揣利害，不如其已。
Life is not something that valuing can keep in being, and the body is not something that loving can make thick. Life is not something that despising can cut short, and the body is not something that slighting can make thin.
So one may value it and yet not live, and despise it and yet not die, and love it and yet it does not grow thick, and slight it and yet it does not grow thin. This seems to go against the grain, but it does not go against the grain. Here things live of themselves and die of themselves, grow thick of themselves and grow thin of themselves.
Sometimes one values it and lives, and sometimes one despises it and dies. Sometimes one loves it and it grows thick, and sometimes one slights it and it grows thin. This seems to follow the grain, but it does not follow the grain. Here too things live of themselves and die of themselves, grow thick of themselves and grow thin of themselves.
Yuxiong said to King Wen, "What is long of itself was not made so by adding, and what is short of itself was not made so by taking away. What can reckoning do with what lies beyond it?"
Lao Dan said to Guan Yin, "Who knows the reason for what heaven hates?" This is to say that meeting the will of heaven and weighing gain and harm is not as good as leaving it alone.
楊布問曰：「有人於此，年兄弟也，言兄弟也，才兄弟也，貌兄弟也，而壽夭父子也，貴賤父子也，名譽父子也，愛憎父子也。吾惑之。」楊子曰：「古之人有言，吾嘗識之，將以告若。不知所以然而然，命也。今昏昏昧昧，紛紛若若，隨所爲，隨所不爲。日去日來，孰能知其故？皆命也夫。信命者，亡壽夭；信理者，亡是非；信心者，亡逆順；信性者，亡安危。則謂之都亡所信，都亡所不信。真矣慤矣，奚去奚就？奚哀奚樂？奚爲奚不爲？黃帝之書云：『至人居若死，動若械。』亦不知所以居，亦不知所以不居；亦不知所以動，亦不知所以不動。亦不以衆人之觀易其情貌，亦不謂衆人之不觀不易其情貌。獨往獨來，獨出獨入，孰能礙之？」
Yang Bu (楊布) asked, "Here is a man. His years are as brother to brother, his words are as brother to brother, his talent is as brother to brother, his countenance is as brother to brother. Yet long life and early death are as father to son, honor and lowliness are as father to son, name and praise are as father to son, love and hatred are as father to son. I am puzzled by this."
Master Yang said,
"The men of old had a saying, and I marked it well long ago. I will tell it to you. Not to know why a thing is so, and for it to be so all the same, is fate.
Now we go on dark and dim, tangled and entwined, following what is done and following what is not done. The days go and the days come, and who can know the reason? All of it is fate.
For him who trusts fate there is no long life and no early death. For him who trusts principle there is no right and wrong. For him who trusts his mind there is no going against and no going along. For him who trusts his nature there is no safety and no danger. Then it is said of him that there is nothing at all he trusts, and nothing at all he does not trust.
True indeed, and honest indeed. What is there to leave and what to follow? What to grieve over and what to delight in? What to do and what to leave undone?
The Book of the Yellow Emperor says, 'The utmost man rests as though dead and moves as though a machine.' He does not know why he rests, nor why he does not rest, and he does not know why he moves, nor why he does not move. He does not change his feeling and his face because the many are watching, and he is no different when the many are not watching. He goes alone and comes alone, he goes out alone and comes in alone. Who can block him?"
墨杘、單至、嘽咺、憋懯四人相與游於世，胥如志也。窮年不相知情，自以智之深也。巧佞、愚直、婩斫、便辟四人相與游於世，胥如志也。窮年而不相語術，自以巧之微也。㺒㤉、情露、𧮈極、凌誶四人相與游於世，胥如志也。窮年不相曉悟，自以爲才之得也。眠娗、諈諉、勇敢、怯疑四人相與游於世，胥如志也。窮年不相讁發，自以行無戾也。多偶、自專、乘權、隻立四人相與游於世，胥如志也。窮年不相顧眄，自以時之適也。此衆態也，其貌不一，而咸之於道，命所歸也。
Mochi (墨杘, deceit), Shanzhi (單至, rashness), Tanxuan (嘽咺, slowness), and Biefu (憋懯, haste), these four went about the world together, each doing as he pleased. To the end of their years they did not know one another's hearts, and each thought his own wisdom deep.
Qiaoning (巧佞, flattery), Yuzhi (愚直, blunt honesty), Anzhuo (婩斫, gruffness), and Bianpi (便辟, fawning), these four went about the world together, each doing as he pleased. To the end of their years they did not speak of their arts to one another, and each thought his own skill subtle.
Aoya (㺒㤉, sly spite), Qinglu (情露, showing all one feels), Chaji (𧮈極, stubborn insistence), and Lingsui (凌誶, scolding), these four went about the world together, each doing as he pleased. To the end of their years they did not enlighten one another, and each thought that he had got talent.
Mianting (眠娗, feigning ignorance), Zhuiwei (諈諉, shifting the load), Yonggan (勇敢, boldness), and Qieyi (怯疑, timidity), these four went about the world together, each doing as he pleased. To the end of their years they did not reprove and correct one another, and each thought his own conduct without fault.
Duo'ou (多偶, getting on with all), Zizhuan (自專, self-will), Chengquan (乘權, clinging to power), and Zhili (隻立, standing alone), these four went about the world together, each doing as he pleased. To the end of their years they did not so much as glance at one another, and each thought himself suited to the times.
These are the many forms. Their shapes are not one, yet all of them go to the way. It is where fate returns.
佹佹成者，俏成也，初非成也；佹佹敗者，俏敗者也，初非敗也。故迷生於俏，俏之際昧然。於俏而不昧然，則不駭外禍，不喜內福，隨時動，隨時止，智不能知也。信命者於彼我無二心。於彼我而有二心者，不若揜目塞耳，背坂面隍亦不墜仆也。故曰：死生自命也，貧窮自時也。怨夭折者，不知命者也；怨貧窮者，不知時者也。當死不懼，在窮不戚，知命安時也。其使多智之人量利害，料虛實，度人情，得亦中，亡亦中。其少智之人不量利害，不料虛實，不度人情，得亦中，亡亦中。量與不量，料與不料，度與不度，奚以異？唯亡所量，亡所不量，則全而亡喪。亦非知全，亦非知喪。自全也，自亡也，自喪也。
What seems about to succeed only looks like success, and from the first it is not success. What seems about to fail only looks like failure, and from the first it is not failure. So delusion arises from seeming, and the border of seeming is dim.
He who is not in the dark about seeming is not startled by calamity outside and is not gladdened by blessing within. He moves with the time and stops with the time, and wisdom cannot know him.
He who trusts fate has no second mind toward another and toward himself. He who has a second mind toward another and toward himself is not as well off as one who covers his eyes and stops his ears, who turns his back to the slope and faces the pit and still does not fall.
Therefore it is said that dying and living are of themselves fate, and poverty and blocked ways are of themselves the time. He who resents dying young does not know fate, and he who resents poverty and blocked ways does not know the time. To meet the hour of death without fear, and to be in a blocked way without sorrow, is to know fate and to be at ease in the time.
When a man of much wisdom weighs gain and harm, measures emptiness and fullness, and gauges the feelings of men, he hits the mark at times and misses it at times. When a man of little wisdom does not weigh gain and harm, does not measure emptiness and fullness, and does not gauge the feelings of men, he too hits the mark at times and misses it at times. Weighing and not weighing, measuring and not measuring, gauging and not gauging, what difference is there?
Only when there is nothing he weighs and nothing he does not weigh is he whole and without loss. This too is not knowing wholeness, nor knowing loss. He is whole of himself, he perishes of himself, he loses of himself.
齊景公游於牛山，北臨其國城而流涕曰：「美哉國乎！鬱鬱芊芊，若何滴滴去此國而死乎？使古無死者，寡人將去斯而之何？」史孔、梁丘據皆從而泣曰：「臣賴君之賜，疏食惡肉可得而食，駑馬稜車可得而乘也，且猶不欲死，而況吾君乎？」晏子獨笑於旁。公雪涕而顧晏子曰：「寡人今日之游悲，孔與據皆從寡人而泣。子之獨笑，何也？」晏子對曰：「使賢者常守之，則太公桓公將常守之矣；使有勇者而常守之，則莊公靈公將常守之矣。數君者將守之，吾君方將被蓑笠而立乎畎畝之中，唯事之恤，行假念死乎？則吾君又安得此位而立焉？以其迭處之迭去之，至於君也，而獨爲之流涕，是不仁也。見不仁之君，見諂諛之臣。臣見此二者，臣之所爲獨竊笑也。」景公慙焉，舉觴自罰，罰二臣者各二觴焉。
Duke Jing of Qi was roaming on Mount Niu, and looking north over the walls of his state he let his tears flow and said, "How fair is my state! How thick and green it is! How, with the tears falling, can I leave this state and die? If from of old no one had died, where would I go, leaving this place?"
Shi Kong (史孔) and Liangqiu Ju (梁丘據) both followed him weeping and said, "Your servants live by what my lord gives, and can get coarse food and poor meat to eat and a dull horse and a rough cart to ride, and even so we do not wish to die. How much less our lord!"
Yanzi alone laughed at his side. The duke wiped away his tears and turned to Yanzi and said, "My roaming today has been full of sorrow, and Kong and Ju both wept along with me. You alone laugh. Why is that?"
Yanzi answered,
"If worthy men were to hold this seat always, then Taigong and Duke Huan would be holding it still. If bold men were to hold it always, then Duke Zhuang and Duke Ling would be holding it still. If those several rulers were holding it, our lord would now be standing in the furrows in a straw cape and a rain hat, with nothing to worry about but his work. What leisure would he have to think of death? And then how would our lord have got this seat to stand in?
They took the seat in turn and left it in turn, and so it came to my lord. Yet my lord alone sheds tears over it, and this is not humane. I see a ruler who is not humane, and I see servants who flatter. Because your servant saw these two things, your servant alone laughed in secret."
Duke Jing was ashamed. He raised a cup and fined himself, and he fined the two servants two cups each.
魏人有東門吳者，其子死而不憂。其相室曰：「公之愛子，天下無有。今子死不憂，何也？」東門吳曰：「吾常無子，無子之時不憂。今子死，乃與嚮無子同，臣奚憂焉？」
Among the men of Wei there was one called Dongmen Wu (東門吳). His son died and he did not grieve. The steward of his house said, "My lord's love for his son was beyond any in the world. Now your son is dead and you do not grieve. Why is that?"
Dongmen Wu said, "There was a time when I had no son, and in the time when I had no son I did not grieve. Now my son has died, and it is the same as before, when I had no son. What have I to grieve for?"
農赴時，商趣利，工追術，仕逐勢，勢使然也。然農有水旱，商有得失，工有成敗，仕有遇否，命使然也。
The farmer goes out to the season, the merchant runs after profit, the artisan pursues his craft, and the officeholder chases power. It is the force of circumstance that makes it so. Yet in farming there are floods and droughts, in trade there is gaining and losing, in craft there is making and marring, and in office there is meeting one's chance and missing it. It is fate that makes it so.