第9章 泰伯第八

8-1

子曰：“泰伯，其可谓至德也已矣。三以天下让，民无得而称焉。”

Confucius, speaking of a remote Founder of the Imperial House of Chou!*the then ruling dynasty, remarked: “He was a man, it may be said, of the highest moral greatness. He three times refused the government of the Empire; although the world, not knowing this, does not speak much of him.”

（MBC. 1122-225.）

【白话译文】

孔子谈到那时候的统治王朝周帝国*的古老创立者（泰伯[75]）时说：“他是一位伟人，或者说是品德最高尚的人。他三次拒绝当王，尽管世人不知道这事，但是对他的推崇也无以复加。”

（前1122-前225。）

8-2

子曰：“恭而无礼则劳，慎而无礼则葸，勇而无礼则乱，直而无礼则绞。君子笃于亲，则民兴于仁；故旧不遗，则民不偷。”

Confucius remarked! “Earnestness without judgment becomes pedantry; caution without judgment becomes timidity; courage without judgment leads to crime; uprightness without judgment makes men tyrannical.”

When the gentlemen of a country are attached to the members of their own family, the people will improve in their moral character;*when the gentlemen do not discard their old connections, the people will not become grasping in their character.

（That is why the Scotch, who despise a kinless loon, are a peculiarly moral people.）

【白话译文】

孔子说：“过于认真却不加判断就会迂腐，过于谨慎却不加判断就会胆怯，过于勇敢却不加判断就会导致犯罪，过于正直却不加判断会使人变得残暴。”

当一个国家的绅士热爱自己的家庭成员，民众的道德品质就会提高；*当绅士们不摒弃传统道德精神，民众就不会变得越来越贪婪。

（苏格兰人鄙视懒惰的人，这就是苏格兰人成为道德高尚的民族的原因。）

8-3

曾子有疾，召门弟子曰：“启予足！启予手！《诗》云：‘战战兢兢，如临深渊，如履薄冰。’而今而后，吾知免夫，小子！”

When a disciple of Confucius was on his death bed, he called to him his own disciples and said to them: "Uncover my feet; uncover my hands. The Psalm says:

'Walk with fear and with trembling

As on the brink of a gulf;

For the ground you are treading

Is with thin ice covered above.'

But now, my young friends, I shall from henceforth be free from all these things."

【白话译文】

当孔子的一位学生（曾参）在病床上临终之时，他把自己的学生召集到身边来，对他们说：“掀开我的双脚，露出我的双手。《诗经》中说：‘要小心谨慎啊，好像站在深渊旁边，好像踩在薄冰上。’这就是说，人活着的时候要谨言慎行，要爱惜自己的身体。但是现在，年轻人，从此以后，我将得到彻底的解脱了。”

8-4

曾子有疾，孟敬子问之。曾子言曰：“鸟之将死，其鸣也哀；人之将死，其言也善。君子所贵乎道者三：动容貌，斯远暴慢矣；正颜色，斯近信矣；出辞气，斯远鄙倍矣。笾豆之事，则有司存。”

On the same occasion as mentioned above, when a young noble of the Court came to see him, the disciple said to him! “When the bird is dying, its song is sad; when a man is dying, his words are true.”

“Now a gentleman in his education should consider three things as essential. In his manners, he aspires to be free from excitement and familiarity.In the expression of his countenance, he seeks to inspire confidence.In the choice of his language, he aims at freedom from vulgarity and unreasonableness.As to the knowledge of the technical details of the arts and sciences, he leaves that to professional men.”

【白话译文】

在上面提到的相同的情况下（曾参在病床上临终之时），朝廷一位年轻的贵族（孟敬子）来看他，这位学生（曾参）对他说：“鸟儿快死的时候，它的叫声是悲惨的；人快死的时候，他说的话是真诚的。作为一位绅士，在学习的过程中应该记住三件重要的事情：容貌要显得庄重严肃，以避免粗暴放肆；脸色要显得一本正经，以显示诚信；说话时要谨慎小心，以避免粗野和悖理。至于对艺术和科学知识的技术细节问题，就由专业人士来负责。”

8-5

曾子曰：“以能问于不能，以多问于寡；有若无，实若虚；犯而不校。昔者吾友尝从事于斯矣。”

A disciple of Confucius remarked! “Gifted himself, yet seeking to learn from the ungifted; possessing much information himself, yet seeking it from others possessing less; rich himself in the treasures of his mind, yet appearing as though he were poor; profound himself yet appearing as though he were superficial: —I once had a friend who thus spent his life.”

【白话译文】

孔子的一位学生（曾参）说：“尽管自身天赋很高，却依然向没有天赋的人虚心学习；虽然自己掌握了很多知识，却依然向掌握很少知识的人学习；虽然大脑中满是学问，却依然表现出贫乏空虚；虽然自身知识渊博，却依然表现出略懂皮毛——我曾有个朋友就是这样度过一生的。”

8-6

曾子说：“可以托六尺之孤，可以寄百里之命，临大节而不可夺也。君子人与？君子人也。”

A disciple of Confucius remarked! “A man who could be depended upon when the life of an orphan prince, his master's child, is entrusted to his care, or the safety of a kingdom is confided to his charge! —who will not, in any great emergency of life and death, betray his trust! —such a man I would call a gentleman, such a man I would call a perfect gentleman.”

【白话译文】

孔子的一位学生（曾参）说：“先王可以把未成年的君主托付给他，或将整个国家的政权委托给他，这个人真诚可靠，面临生死存亡的紧急关头仍不背叛身负的重任——这样的人可以称为绅士，这样的人可以称为完美无缺的绅士！”

8-7

曾子曰：“士不可以不弘毅，任重而道远。仁以为己任，不亦重乎？死而后已，不亦远乎？”

A disciple of Confucius remarked! “An educated gentleman may not be without strength and resoluteness of character. His responsibility in life is a heavy one, and the way is long.He is responsible to himself for living a moral life; is that not a heavy responsibility? He must continue in it until he dies; is the way then not a long one?”

【白话译文】

孔子的一位学生（曾参）说：“有涵养的绅士不能没有刚强坚毅的性格。他一生责任重大，路途遥远。他将过上道德高尚的生活视为己任，这难道不是一种重大的责任吗？他一定会持之以恒，至死不渝，这难道不是路途遥远吗？”

8-8

子曰：“兴于诗，立于礼，成于乐。”

Confucius remarked! “In education sentiment is called out by the study of poetry;*judgment is formed by the study of the arts; and education of the character is completed by the study of music.”

（Wordsworth says of poetry that is tends to

"Nourish the imagination in her growth!

And give the mind that apprehensive power

Whereby she is made quick to recognize

The moral properties and scope of things."）

【白话译文】

孔子说：“在教育中，学习诗歌可以唤醒人的情感*，学习艺术可以形成判断力，学习音乐可以完成对性格的培养。”

（华兹华斯[76]说，诗能够——

让人在成长中增强想象，

给大脑充分的理解能力，

通过诗歌可以快速知晓

事物的范畴及高尚品质。）

8-9

子曰：“民可使由之，不可使知之。”

Confucius remarked! “The common people should be educated in what they ought to do; not to ask why they should do it.”*

[A Chinese commentator, Ch'eng, of the Sung dynasty, says here: “Confucius said this not because he did not wish the people to understand, but because it is impossible to make them understand. But if you say Confucius did not wish the people to understand, that would mean that he would govern the people by jugglery of Jesuitism, as is sometimes done by later generations! —a supposition which is preposterous.”

Goethe, in his latter years, was inclined to believe that Martin Luther put back the civilisation of Europe because he appealed to the multitude to judge of things which they could not possibly be in a position to understand. The real and true principle of modern democracy, on the other hand, is contained in that saying of Confucius:

“Greatly fear the aspirations (the inarticulate, not the mere articulate aspirations) of the people” 大畏民志]

【白话译文】

孔子说：“普通人应该这样被教化：明白应该做什么，而不必问为什么要这样做。”*

（中国宋代评论家程颐这样评论道：“孔子说，不是因为他不想让老百姓明白，而是因为不可能让老百姓明白。但是，如果有人认为孔子不想让老百姓明白，那就是说孔子会用耶稣会教义的把戏来统治人民，就像有些近代的统治一样，这种假设是极为荒谬的。”

歌德在晚年认为马丁·路德[77]让欧洲文明出现了倒退，因为他呼吁群众对他们无法正确感受的事情做出判断。现代民主的真实原则，从另一方面说，也包括在孔子的言论中：

大畏民志，即极为惧怕民众的意愿。）

8-10

子曰：“好勇疾贫，乱也。人而不仁，疾之已甚，乱也。”

Confucius remarked! “A man of courage who hates to be poor will be sure to commit a crime. A man without moral character, if too much hated, will also be sure to commit a crime.”

【白话译文】

孔子说：“勇敢的人如果恨自己太贫穷，肯定会去犯罪；一个道德不高尚的人，如果积压了太多的怨恨，也肯定会犯罪。”

8-11

子曰：“如有周公之才之美，使骄且吝，其余不足观也已。”

Confucius remarked! “A man may have abilities as admirable as our Lord of Chou!*but if he is proud and mean, you need not consider the other qualities of his mind.”

〔Moses or Solon of Chinese History (see note 31，chapter VII, section 5[p. 115]）.〕

【白话译文】

孔子说：“一个人或许拥有像周公*那样令人羡慕的才能，但是如果他骄傲自大且吝啬小气，那么他思想中的其他品质也就不值一提了。”

（周公相当于中国历史上的摩西或梭伦。见第七章第五节。）

8-12

子曰：“三年学，不至于谷，不易得也。”

Confucius remarked! “A man who educates himself for three years without improvement is seldom to be found.”

【白话译文】

孔子说：“如果有人求学三年却仍未取得任何进步，这是很少见的。”

8-13

子曰：“笃信好学，守死善道，危邦不入，乱邦不居。天下有道则见，无道则隐。邦有道，贫且贱焉，耻也；邦无道，富且贵焉，耻也。”

Confucius remarked! “A man who is scrupulously truthful, cultured and steadfast to the death in the path of honesty!*such a man should not serve in a country where the government is in a state of revolution nor live in a country where the government is in an actual state of anarchy. When there is justice and order in the government of the world, he should be known, but he should be obscure.When there is justice and order in the government of his own country, he should be ashamed to be poor and without honour; but when there is no justice in the government of his own country he should be ashamed to be rich and honoured.”

[Like the late General Charles (Chinese) Gordon.]

【白话译文】

孔子说：“如果一个人在其诚实的道路上始终保持诚信可靠、彬彬有礼、信念坚定，这样的人*不应在处于革命中的政府任职，也不应在政局不稳的国家居住。如果国家司法公正、社会有序，这样的人就容易受到赏识；但是如果国家司法不公，社会混乱无序，这样的人就会被埋没。当自己国家司法公正、社会有序时，他会以贫困潦倒没有声誉为羞耻；但是如果自己的国家司法不公，社会秩序混乱，他就会以自己富有且受人尊敬为羞耻。”

（如已故的查尔斯·戈登将军，又称中国戈登[78]。）

8-14

子曰：“不在其位，不谋其政。”

Confucius remarked! “A man who is not in office in the government of a country, should never give advice as to its policy.”

【白话译文】

孔子说：“一个人如果不在国家的政府机构任职，绝不要对政府的政策提出建议。”

8-15

子曰：“师挚之始，《关雎》之乱，洋洋乎盈耳哉！”

Confucius speaking of the performance of a great musician of the time remarked! “The volume of sound at the commencement and the clash and commingling of harmony at the end of that ancient ballad he played were magnificent.How it seemed to fill the ears!”

【白话译文】

孔子评价当时一位伟大音乐家（师挚）的演奏时说：“他所演奏的（《关雎》）这首古老乐章，从开始到结束，旋律优美，铿锵有力，杂而不乱，声势壮阔，仿佛总在我耳边回荡！”

8-16

子曰：“狂而不直，侗而不愿，悾悾而不信，吾不知之矣。”

Confucius remarked! “Appearance of high spirit without integrity; —of dullness without humility; of simplicity without honesty; —of such men I really do not know what to say.”

【白话译文】

孔子说：“外表狂妄而不正直，外表无知而不谦虚，外表诚恳而不守信——对这样的人，我真不知道该说什么。”

8-17

子曰：“学如不及，犹恐失之。”

Confucius remarked! “In education study always as if you have not yet reached your goal and as though apprehensive of losing it.”

【白话译文】

孔子说：“在教育中，学习往往就像尚未达到自己的目标，又担心自己忘记了什么东西。”

8-18

子曰：“巍巍乎，舜禹之有天下也而不与焉！”

Confucius remarked! “How toweringly high and surpassingly great in moral grandeur was the way by which the ancient Emperors Shun and Yü came to the government of the Empire, and yet they themselves were unconscious of it.”*

[The Isaac and Jacob of Chinese history: two men in early patriarchic times in China who rose from the ploughshare to the throne.（B. C.2255-2205 and B.C.2205-2179）.]

【白话译文】

孔子说：“远古帝王舜和禹*因为道德那么崇高，那么高大而不可超越，所以才能入主帝国王权，而他们本人却没有意识到这一点。”

（帝舜和禹是中国早期族长社会的两个人，他们都是从民间登上权力宝座，相当于中国历史上的以扫和雅各[79]。帝舜，公元前2255-公元前2205年在位；帝禹，公元前2205-公元前2197年在位。）

8-19

子曰：“大哉尧之为君也！巍巍乎，惟天为大，惟尧则之。荡荡乎，民无能名焉。巍巍乎其有成功也，焕乎其有文章！”

Confucius remarked! “Oh! how great, as a rule of men, was Yao*the Emperor! Ah! how toweringly high and surpassingly great: Yao's moral greatness is comparable only to the greatness of God. How vast and infinite: the people had no name for such moral greatness.How surpassingly great he was in the works he accomplished! How glorious he was in the arts he established.”

[The Abraham of Chinese history.（B. C.2356-2258）.]

【白话译文】

孔子说：“啊！作为百姓的统帅，帝尧*是多么伟大啊！啊，他的品德那么高尚，无人能及，只有他的伟大才可与上天媲美！他的伟大多么广阔无边，百姓对它真是难以言喻。他的功绩是如此伟大，他制定的礼仪制度是多么辉煌啊！”

（帝尧在中国历史上相当于亚伯拉罕，公元前2356-公元前2258年在位。）

8-20

舜有臣五人而天下治。武王曰：“予有乱臣十人。”孔子曰：“才难，不其然乎？唐虞之际，于斯为盛，有妇人焉，九人而已。三分天下有其二，以服事殷。周之德，其可谓至德也已矣。”

The great Emperor Shun had five great Public Servants and the Empire had peace. King Wu*said! “I had ten great Public Servants who assisted me in restoring order in the Empire.”

Confucius, remarking on the above, observed: “It was said of old that men of great ability are difficult to find.The saying is very true.The great men who lived during the period between the reigns of T'ang (the title of the Emperor Yao) and Yü（the title of Shun) have never been equaled.Among the ten great Public Servants mentioned above, there was one woman: so that there were really only nine great men.”

“The House of Chou then had two-thirds of the Empire under them, while still acknowledging the sovereignty of the House of Yin. The moral greatness of the early Emperors of the House of Chou may be considered perfect.”

[The warrior king or the conqueror: the Solomon of Chinese history.（B. C.1122-1115）.]

【白话译文】

伟大的帝舜有五位伟大的大臣帮他处理国家政事，使帝国得以安宁。周武王*说：“我有十位了不起的大臣帮我治理国家。”

孔子谈到上述事情时说：“据说古代人才难得，这种说法是很正确的。在帝尧和帝舜统治的唐虞[80]时期，评判伟人的标准不尽相同。上面周武王提到的十个人中，有一个是女子[81]，因此实际上只有九位男的。周当时统治的面积占据帝国的三分之二，却仍然承认殷朝的统治。周朝早期帝王的高尚品德真是完美无缺啊！”

（周武王，公元前1122-公元前1115年在位，人称“武士之王”或“征服者”，在中国历史上相当于所罗门。）

8-21

子曰：“禹，吾无间然矣。菲饮食而致孝乎鬼神，恶衣服而致美乎黻冕，卑宫室而尽力乎沟洫。禹，吾无间然矣。”

Confucius remarked! “I have not been able to find a flaw in the character of the ancient Emperor, the Great Yü.*He was extremely simple in his own food and drink, but lavish in what he offered in sacrifice.His ordinary clothing was coarse and poor, but when he went to worship he appeared in rich and appropriate robes.The palace where he lived was humble and mean, but he spared no expense in useful public works for the good of the people.In all this I cannot find a flaw in the character of the Great Yü！”

[See note 44，section 18 of this chapter (p. 128）.]

【白话译文】

孔子说：“我还没有发现帝禹*身上有任何道德缺陷。他的生活和饮食极为简朴，但在祭祀时却倾尽所有祭祀神灵。他平日穿得粗糙且寒酸，但在祭祀的时候却尽量穿着华美。他居住的宫殿低矮且狭小，但为百姓利益着想的公共设施却不惜成本。从以上来看，我找不到帝禹的任何道德缺陷！”

（见本章第十八节备注。）