Bao Pu Zi Wai Pian (抱朴子外篇) · Volume 4

今且令天下諸當在貢舉之流者，莫敢不勤學。但此一條，其為長益風教，亦不細矣。若使海內畏妄舉之失，凡人息僥倖之求，背競逐之末，歸學問之本，儒道將大興，而私貨必漸絕，奇才可得而役，庶官可以不曠矣。”

(Baopuzi continues:) At a stroke this would make everyone in the realm who belongs in the ranks of the recommended dare not fail to study hard. In this one thing alone, its lasting benefit to manners and teaching is by no means small. If all within the seas feared the fault of reckless recommendation and common men ceased hoping for lucky preferment — turning their backs on the branch of competition and returning to the root of learning — then the way of the scholars would greatly flourish, private favours would surely dwindle away, exceptional talent could be obtained and employed, and the many offices need not stand empty.

或曰：“先生欲急貢舉之法，但禁錮之罪，苛而且重，懼者甚眾。夫急轡繁策，伯樂所不為；密防峻法，德政之所恥。”

Someone said: 'You want to tighten the law of recommendation, but the penalty of exclusion is harsh and heavy, and many fear it. Pulling the bridle hard and plying the whip often is what even Bole would not do; dense precautions and stern, severe law are what virtuous government is ashamed of.'

抱朴子曰：“夫骨填肉補之藥，長於養體益壽，而不可以救日曷溺之急也。務寬含垢之政，可以蒞敦御樸，而不可以拯衰弊之變也。虎狼見逼，不揮戈奮劍，而彈琴詠詩，吾未見其身可保也。燎火及室，不奔走灌注，而揖讓盤旋，吾未見其焚之自息也。今與知欲賣策者論此，是與蹠議捕盜也。”

Baopuzi said: 'A medicine that fills the bones and mends the flesh excels at nourishing the body and prolonging the years, but it cannot rescue the emergency of sunstroke or drowning (the base text reads ri-he, which we suspect is he, heatstroke). A government bent on leniency and swallowing disgrace can preside over the honest and rule the simple, but it cannot rescue a decadent and decayed turn of things. When tigers and wolves close in and a man does not brandish halberd and sword but plays the lute and chants poems, I have never seen his body preserved. When raging fire reaches the house and a man does not rush to pour water but bows and wheels about in ceremony, I have never seen the fire die out of itself. To discuss this today with the very men who know and want to sell the examination answers is like consulting Robber Zhi about catching thieves.'

抱朴子曰：“今普天一統，九垓同風，王制政令，誠宜齊一。夫衡量小器，猶不可使往往有異，況人士之格，而可叄差而無檢乎江表雖遠，密邇海隅，然染道化，率禮教，亦既千餘載矣。往雖暫隔，不盈百年，而儒學之事，亦不偏廢也。惟以其土宇褊於中州，故人士之數，不得鈞其多少耳。及其德行才學之高者，子游仲任之徒，亦未謝上國也。

Baopuzi said: 'Now all under heaven is unified and the nine regions share the same ways; the king's regulations and decrees should truly be uniform. Weights and measures are small instruments, yet even they must not differ from place to place — how much less should the standard for a gentleman be uneven and unchecked? Jiangbiao is far away, close against the corner of the sea, yet it has been steeped in the transforming Way and followed the ritual teaching for over a thousand years already. In the past, though it was briefly cut off for less than a century, the work of the Ru learning was not set aside. Only because its territory is narrower than the central provinces can the number of its men not be equal in quantity. As for those high in virtue, talent, and learning — men of the stamp of Ziyou and Wang Chong — they are no whit inferior to the men of the superior country.'

昔吳土初附，其貢士見偃以不試。今太平已近四十年矣，猶復不試，所以使東南儒業衰於在昔也。此乃見同於左衽之類，非所以別之也。且夫君子猶愛人以禮，況為其愷悌之父母邪！法有招患，令有損化，其此之謂也。今貢士無複試者，則必皆修飾馳逐，以競虛名，誰肯復開卷受書哉所謂饒之適足以敗之者也。

(Baopuzi continues:) In the past, when the land of Wu had only just submitted, its recommended men were held down because they sat no examination. Now it has been at peace nearly forty years, and still they are not examined — which is why the Ru enterprise in the southeast has decayed compared with days gone by. This treats them as one kind with the left-lapelled barbarians, not as a way to distinguish them. Moreover, the gentleman loves men even by ritual — how much more should those who are the kindly parents of such folk! A law that invites calamity, an ordinance that injures the transforming teaching — it is of this they speak. If the recommended are no longer examined today, they will certainly all polish themselves and gallop about competing for empty fame — who will still be willing to unroll a scroll and receive a book? This is what is called indulging a man just enough to ruin him.

“自有天性好古，心悅藝文。學不為祿，味道忘貧，若法高卿周生烈者。學精不仕(疑有脫文)徇乎榮利者，萬之一耳。至於甯越倪寬黃霸之徒，所以強自篤勵於典籍者，非天性也，皆由患苦困瘁，欲以經術自拔耳。向使非漢武之世，則朱買臣嚴助之屬，亦未必讀書也。今若取富貴之道，幸有易於學者，而復素無自然之好，豈肯復空自勤苦，執灑埽為諸生，遠行尋師問道者乎

(Baopuzi continues:) To be sure, there are men whose nature loves antiquity and whose hearts delight in the arts and letters, who study not for salary but savour the Way and forget poverty — men like Fa Zhen and Zhou Shenglei. Those who master their studies yet never take office [the base text may be missing a phrase here], who will not chase glory and profit — such are one in ten thousand at most. As for men of the stamp of Ning Yue, Ni Kuan, and Huang Ba, the reason they forced themselves to diligent effort in the classics was not nature: it was all because misery, hardship, and exhaustion made them want to pull themselves out by means of classical learning. Had it not been the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, the likes of Zhu Maichen and Yan Zhu might never have read a book either. If today there happens to be a road to wealth and rank easier than study, and a man has had no natural bent for it anyway, would he be willing to toil of himself for nothing — to take up broom and sprinkler as a student, and travel far to seek a teacher and ask about the Way?

兵興之世，武貴文寢，俗人視儒士如僕虜，見經誥如芥壤者，何哉由於聲名背乎此也。夫不用譬猶售章甫於夷越，徇髯蛇於華夏矣。今若遐邇一例，明考課試，則必多負笈千里，以尋師友，轉其禮賂之費，以買記籍者，不俟終日矣。”

(Baopuzi continues:) In an age when arms are on the rise, the martial is prized and the civil rests; common folk look on scholars as menials and slaves, and on the classics and declarations as mustard and dust. Why? Because fame and name are divorced from these. When they are not used, it is like selling ritual caps in Yi and Yue, or seeking bearded snakes in the Middle Kingdom. If today one single rule were made for far and near alike, with clear assessment and examination, then there would surely be many who shoulder book-boxes and walk a thousand li to seek out teachers and friends, turning the fees once spent on courtesy-bribes to buying records and books — it would not take the end of a day to see it.

抱朴子曰：才學之士堪秀孝者，已不可多得矣。就令其人若桓靈之世，舉吏不先以財貨，便安臺閣主者，則雖諸經兼本解，於問無不對，猶見誣枉，使不得過矣。常追恨於時執事，不重為之防。

Baopuzi said: Men of talent and learning capable of standing as xiucai or xiaolian are already scarce enough. In the days of Huan and Ling, if the recommending clerks did not first accommodate the officers of the secretariat with goods and money, then even a man who mastered all the classics, could explain every text, and had no question he could not answer would still be maligned and bent so that he could not pass. I have ever rued that the men in charge at that time did not set up a fresh guard against this matter.

餘意謂新年當試貢舉者，今年便可使儒官才士，豫作諸策，計足周用。集上禁其留草殿中，封閉之；臨試之時，亟賦之。人事因緣於是絕。當答策者，皆可會著一處，高選臺省之官親監察之。又嚴禁其交關出入，畢事乃遣。違犯有罪無赦。如此，屬託之翼窒矣。夫明君恃己之不可欺，不恃人之不欺己也。亦何恥於峻為斯制乎若試經法立，則天下可以不立學官，而人自勤樂矣。

My idea is this: since the recommended men are to be examined in the new year, this year the learned officials and talented scholars can already be made to draft the various policy questions in advance, reckoned to suffice for full coverage. They are gathered in and handed up, the drafters forbidden to keep drafts within the palace; the questions are sealed away and, when the examination comes, distributed at once. From that point the avenues of human influence are cut off. Those who are to answer can all be gathered and lodged in one place, with officers chosen high among the ministries and courts to watch them in person. They should further be strictly forbidden to pass in and out or exchange messages, and sent back only when the business is done; any violation is a crime without pardon. With things like this, the wings of solicited favours are clipped. An enlightened ruler relies on the fact that he cannot be deceived, not on others' not deceiving him. Why then be ashamed to make this system sterner? If the law of scripture examination stands firm, the whole realm can do without study-officers, and men will labour gladly of themselves.

案四科亦有明解法令之狀，今在職之人，官無大小，悉不知法令。或有微言難曉，而小吏多頑，而使之決獄，無以死生委之，以輕百姓之命，付無知之人也。作官長不知法，為下吏所欺而不知，又決其口筆者，憤憤不能知食法，與不食不問，不以付主者。或以意斷事，蹉跌不慎法令，亦可令廉良之吏，皆取明律令者試之如試經，高者隨才品敘用。如此，天下必少弄法之吏，失理之獄矣。

Now among the four categories there is also a provision for men who clearly comprehend the laws and ordinances; yet today those in office, great or small, all fail to know them. Some subtle phrasings are hard to make clear, and the petty clerks are mostly obstinate and base, yet they are allowed to decide trials and suits — lives and deaths cannot rightly be entrusted to them. This is to hold the people's lives cheap and hand them to ignorant men. For heads of offices to be ignorant of the law, to be deceived by their underlings without knowing it, and to leave matters to those who move only mouth and brush — muddled men who cannot even know the rule of eating, the same as neither eating nor asking — rather than commit it to the responsible officers; or to decide matters by private whim and stumble into disregard of the laws: one could equally have the honest and good clerks all examined on comprehending statutes and ordinances, as in the scripture examination, and employ the best of them according to talent and grade. With things like this, the realm would surely have few law-twisting clerks and few verdicts that lose the right.

抱朴子曰：餘以朋友之交，不宜浮雜。面而不心，揚雄攸譏。故雖位顯名美，門齊年敵，而趨舍異規，業尚乖互者，未嘗結焉。或有矜其先達，步高視遠，或遺忽陵遲之舊好，或簡棄後門之類味，或取人以官而不論德，其不遭知己，零淪丘園者，雖才深智遠，操清節高者，不可也；其進趨偶合，位顯官通者，雖面牆庸瑣，必及也。如此之徒，雖能令壤蟲雲飛，斥鴳戾天，手捉刀尺，口為禍福，得之則排冰吐華，失之則當春凋悴，餘代其口止叔口止脊，恥與共世。

Baopuzi said: I hold that the intercourse of friends should not be loose and promiscuous. To have the face but not the heart is what Yang Xiong satirized. So even if a man's position is illustrious and his name fine, his pedigree equal and his age a match, if his bent and choices follow different rules and his conduct and esteem run contrary, I have never made the friendship. Some men boast of having risen first, step high and gaze far; some cast off and neglect old attachments that have declined or lagged behind; some slight and discard the tastes of the back-gate sort; some take men by office and never mind virtue. Those who meet no kindred spirit, who fall scattered and sink in hills and gardens — however deep their talent, far their wit, pure their conduct, and high their integrity — these they will not have; those whose advance happens to chime, whose seat is illustrious and office successful — however wall-facing and trifling — these they never fail to look after. Of this kind of man: even though they could make grubs fly like clouds and quails mount the sky, though they hold knife and measure in their hands and decide weal and woe with their mouths — winning them is like pushing out ice and breathing out flowers, losing them is like withering in the midst of spring — I would [the base text is badly corrupt here and cannot be read through], and am ashamed to share an age with them.

窮之與達，不能求也。然而輕薄之人，無分之子，曾無疾非俄然之節，星言宵征，守其門廷，翕然諂笑，卑辭悅色，提壺執贄，時行索媚；勤苦積久，猶見嫌拒，乃行因托長者以構合之。其見受也，則踴悅過於幽系之遇赦；其不合也，則懊悴劇於喪病之逮己也。通塞有命，道貴正直，否泰付之自然，津途何足多諮。嗟乎細人，豈不鄙哉！人情不同，一何遠邪每為慨然，助彼羞之。

Obscurity and success cannot be forced. Yet frivolous men, the kind without name or station, lack even the quick integrity to hate evil or question it: talking through starlit nights and travelling in the dark, keeping to a patron's gate, grinning their flattery in chorus, words abased and faces alight, jug in hand and gift in arm, going time and again to beg favour. When long and weary labour still meets disdain and rejection, they then lean on some elder to splice them in. If accepted, they leap with a joy surpassing a prisoner who meets an amnesty; if the fit fails, their chagrin and pining are sharper than bereavement or illness falling on themselves. Opening and blockage have their allotment; the Way is prized for its straightness; bad and good fortune should be left to the course of nature — what use is all this sighing over fords and paths? Ah, those petty men — are they not base! How far apart men's hearts can run! Every time I think of it I am moved, and feel shame on their behalf.

昔莊周見惠子從車之多，而棄其餘魚。餘感俗士(或脫“無”)不汲汲於攀及至也。瞻彼云云，馳騁風塵者，不懋建德業，務本求己，而偏徇高交，以結朋黨，謂人理莫比之要，當世莫此之急也。以嶽峙獨立者，為澀吝疏拙；以奴顏婢睞者，為曉解當世。風成俗習，莫不逐末，流遁遂往，可慨者也。

In antiquity Zhuang Zhou, seeing how many carriages attended Huizi, threw away the rest of his fish. I am moved by how common scholars [the base text may have dropped the word 'not'] press to the utmost in currying attachment. Watching the swarms that gallop through wind and dust — they will not strive to build up virtue and works, nor seek the root, nor look within themselves; instead they go chasing high connections to knot themselves into cliques, saying nothing in human relations is more urgent than this, nothing in the present age more pressing. They count the man who stands lone like a mountain peak for stiff and boorish; they count the slavish brow and maid's leer for understanding the times. When the wind forms and the custom is set, there is none who does not chase the branch; drift and desertion are where they go — it is worth a sigh.

或有德薄位高，器盈志溢，聞財利則驚掉，見奇士則坐睡。襤縷杖策，被褐負笈者，雖文豔相雄，學優融玄，同之埃芥，不加接引。若夫程鄭王孫羅裒之徒，乘肥衣輕，懷金挾玉者，雖筆不集札，菽麥不分辯，為之倒屣，吐食握髮。

Some have thin virtue and high station, brimming vessels and overflowing wills: hearing of wealth and gain they are startled awake; seeing an exceptional scholar they fall asleep sitting up. A man in rags, leaning on a staff, dressed in homespun with a book-box on his back — though his literary grace could stand beside Yang Xiong's and his learning surpass Ma Rong's and Zheng Xuan's — is treated as dust and trash, and gets no welcome. But the likes of Cheng Zheng, Zhuo Wangsun, and Luo Pou, riding fat horses in light furs, gold in their bosoms and jade in their arms — though their brushes never alight on a slip and they cannot tell beans from wheat — for them shoes are put on backwards, the food is spat from the mouth, and the hair is gripped in the hand.

餘徒恨不在其位，有斧無柯，無以為國家流穢濁於四裔，投畀於有北。彼雖赫奕，刀尺決乎(有脫文)勢力足以移山拔海，吹呼能令泥象登云，造其門庭，我則未暇也。而多有下意怡顏，匍匐膝進，求交於若人，以圖其益。悲夫！生民用心之不鈞，何其遼邈之不肖也哉！餘所以同生聖世而抱困賤，本後顧而不見者，今皆追瞻而不及，豈不有以乎！然性苟不堪，各從所好，以此存亡，予不能易也。

I only regret that I do not hold such a place — I have the axe but not the helve — no means to banish the foul and turbid for the state to the four wilds, to cast them to the northern pole. Splendid though they are, deciding all by knife and measure [the base text may be missing a phrase here], with power enough to shift mountains and drain seas, whose breath and puff could set a clay elephant on a cloud — to go to their gates is a thing for which I have no leisure. Yet there are many who bend the heart and smooth the face, crawl forward on their knees, and beg intercourse of such men to plot their own advantage. Alas! How uneven the hearts of the living people are — how far-flung and unworthy! That I, born in the same sage age as they, must hug poverty and low estate — that men who were once nowhere when I turned to look are now chased ahead yet cannot be caught in view — is there not a reason for it? But if a man's nature cannot sustain it, let each follow what he loves; to stake survival on this is something I cannot exchange.

或又難曰：“時移世變，古今別務，行立乎己，名成乎人。金玉經於不測者，托於輕舟也；靈烏萃於玄霄者，扶搖之力也；芳蘭之芬烈者，清風之功也；屈士起於丘園者，知己之助也。今先生所交必清澄其行業，所厚必沙汰其心性，孑然只口止寺，失棄名輩，結讎一世，招怨流俗，豈合和光以籠物，同法之高義乎若比智而交，則白屋不降公旦之貴；若鈞才而遊，則尼父必無入室之客矣。”

Someone else objected: 'Times move and the world changes; the affairs of past and present differ. Virtue is established in oneself, but one's name is completed by others. When gold and jade cross unfathomable waters, it is by trusting a light boat; when the sacred bird gathers in the dark empyrean, it is by the strength of the whirlwind; that fragrant orchids diffuse their scent is the merit of the clear breeze; that a bent scholar rises from hills and gardens is the help of one who knows him. Now you insist on clarifying the conduct of everyone you befriend, and sifting the heart of everyone you make close; standing all alone [the base text is corrupt here, probably standing firm], you cast off the ranks of the famous, make an enemy of the whole age, and draw the resentment of the common run — is that in keeping with the high rightness of dimming one's light to brood over things and sharing their dust? If friendship must match wit and talent, the Duke of Zhou would never have stooped to a white-thatched hut; if companions must be equal in ability, Confucius would have had no disciples to enter his room.'

抱朴子曰：“吾聞詳交者不失人，而泛結者多後悔。故曩哲先擇而後交，不先交而後擇也。子之所論，出人之計也；吾之所守，退士之志也。子云玉浮鳥高，皆有所因，誠復別理一家之說也。吾以為寧作不載之寶，不飛之鵬，不颺之蘭，無黨之士，亦(何)損於夜光之質，垂天之大，含芳之卉，不朽之蘭乎且夫名多其實，位過其才，處之者猶鮮免於禍辱，交之者何足以為榮福哉！

Baopuzi said: 'I have heard that one who chooses his friendships carefully loses no one, while one who strikes them up loosely has many regrets. So the wise men of old first chose, then befriended — never befriended first and chose after. What you discuss is the reckoning of one in office; what I keep is the resolve of a retired scholar. When you say the jade floats and the bird soars because each has something to lean on, that is really another school's way of talking. I hold it better to be a treasure never loaded aboard, a peng that never flies, an orchid never wafted, a scholar without a party — for what harm is that to the substance of the night-gleaming pearl, to the greatness of sky-hanging wings, to the flower that holds its fragrance, to the imperishable orchid? Besides, when the name outweighs the substance and the seat exceeds the talent, even the man who occupies it rarely escapes calamity and disgrace — how then should befriending him count as glory or blessing?'

“由茲論之，則交彼而遇者，雖得達不足貴；芘之而誤者，譬如蔭朽樹之被笮也。彼尚不能自止其顛蹶，亦安能救我之碎首哉！吾聞大丈夫之自得而外物者，其於庸人也，蓋逼迫不獲已而與之形接，雖以千計，猶蚤蝨之積乎衣，而贅疣之攢乎體也。失之雖以萬數，猶飛塵之去嵩岱，鄧林之墮朽條耳。豈以有之為益，無之覺損乎

(Baopuzi continues:) 'Seen this way, a man who gets on by befriending him is not worth prizing even if he wins success; and one who shelters under him while bungling affairs is like a man crushed while sheltering under a rotten tree. If he cannot even stop his own fall, how could he save my skull from breaking? I have heard that a great man who is at ease in himself and sets external things outside treats mediocre men as bodily contact forced upon him only when unavoidable — though they number in the thousands, they are like fleas and lice gathering on a garment, warts and moles crowding on the flesh. To lose them by the ten thousand is like flying dust leaving Song and Dai, like a rotten branch dropping from the Deng forest. How could having them add anything, or lacking them diminish?'

“且夫朋友也者，必取乎直諒多聞，拾遺斥謬，生無請言，死無託辭，終始一契，寒暑不渝者。然而此人良未易得，而或默語殊途，或憎愛異心，或盛合衰離，或見利忘信。其處今也，璧猶禽魚之結侶，冰炭之同器，欲其久合，安可得哉！夫父子天性，好惡宜鈞，而子政子駿，平論異隔；南山伯奇，辯訟有無。面別心殊，其來尚矣。總而混之，不亦難哉！

(Baopuzi continues:) 'Moreover, a friend must be one who is upright, trustworthy, and well informed, who picks up what you drop and rebukes what you get wrong; who in life makes no requests and at death leaves no commissions; whose bond is one from first to last, unchanged by cold or heat. But such men are truly hard to find: some are silent and speak a different road; some differ in what they love and hate; some agree with you in your prime and leave in decline; some see profit and forget faith. In today's world it is like birds and fish pairing as mates, or ice and charcoal sharing a single vessel — to want them long united, how can that be had? Father and son share heaven's nature, and their likes and dislikes should agree — yet Zizheng and Zijun held separate, divergent judgements, and Nanshan and Boqi disputed being and nonbeing. Faces differ and hearts differ — it has been so for a long time. To lump and mix them all together — is that not difficult?'

“世俗之人，交不論志，逐名趨勢，熱來冷去；見過不改，視迷不救；有利則獨專而不相分，有害則苟免而不相恤；或事便則先取而不讓，值機會則賣彼以安此。凡如是，則有不如無也。

(Baopuzi continues:) 'Worldly men form friendships without regard to resolve; they chase fame and run to power — they come when you are warm and leave when you are cold; they see your faults and do not correct them, see you deluded and do not rescue you; where there is profit they keep it all and never share, where there is harm they muddle to escape and never show concern; or, where a matter is convenient, they take first without yielding, and when a chance arises they sell out the other to settle themselves. Whatever is like this — better not to have it than to have it.'

“天下不為盡不中交也，率於為益者寡而生累者眾。知人之明，上聖所難。而欲力厲近才，短於鑑物者，務廣其交，又欲使悉得，可與經夷險而不易情，歷危苦而相負荷者，吾未見其可多得也。雖搜琬琰於培螻之上，索鸞鳳乎鷦鷯之巢，未為難也。吾亦豈敢謂藍田之陽，丹穴之中，為無此物哉！亦直言其稀已矣。

(Baopuzi continues:) 'Not everyone under heaven is wholly unfit for friendship, but broadly speaking those who can be a benefit are few and those who bring entanglement are many. Even the highest sages found the discernment of men hard. Yet one would strain to polish men of near talent and short judgement of things, insisting on widening one's circle and wanting them all to be gained — men who could go with oneself through level ground and perilous straits without change of feeling, and bear one another up through danger and hardship — I have not seen that such men can be had in numbers. Searching for jade tablets on an ant-hill, seeking simurghs in a wren's nest — even that would not be hard by comparison. Nor would I dare say there is none such south of Indigo Fields or within the Cinnabar Cave — I am merely saying plainly that they are rare.'

“夫操尚不同，猶金沈羽浮也。志好之乖次，猶火升而水降也。苟不可同，雖造化之靈，大塊之匠，不可使同也，何可強乎！餘所稟訥馬矣，加之以天挺篤懶，諸戲弄之事，彈棋博弈，皆所惡見；及飛輕走迅，遊獵傲覽，鹹所不為，殊不喜嘲褻。凡此數者，皆時世所好，莫不耽之，而餘悉闕焉，故親交所以尤遼也。加以挾直，好吐忠藎，藥石所集，甘心者鮮。又欲勉之以學問，諫之以馳競，止其樗蒲，節其沈湎，此又常人所不能悅也。

(Baopuzi continues:) 'Differences in conduct and esteem are like metal sinking while feathers float; the divergence of aims and likings is like fire rising while water sinks. If they cannot be made one, even the numen of creation, the craftsman of the Great Clod, could not make them one — how could anyone force it? What I received is dullness and slowness of speech (the base text reads ma, a corruption of yan), and on top of that I am by nature extremely lazy: every sort of play — pellet chess, liubo, and such — is hateful to my sight; as for making light things fly and swift things run, roaming hunts and haughty outings, I do none of them, and I least of all enjoy mockery and loose familiarities. All these are what the age delights in; there is no one who is not steeped in them, and I lack them all — so close intercourse is all the more remote from me. Add to this that I carry uprightness and love to utter loyal candour: where the medicine and the needle strike home, few are willing. And I want to spur them on with learning, chide them for racing and striving, stop their throwing of dice, and curb their deep drinking — and these again are things the common run cannot enjoy.'

“毀方瓦合，違情偶俗，人之愛力，甚所不堪，而欲好日新，安可得哉！知其如此而不辯改之，可不謂之暗於當世，拙於用大乎夫交而不卒，合而又離，則兩受不弘之名，俱失克終之美。夫厚則親愛生焉，薄則嫌隙結焉，自然之理也，可不詳擇乎！為可臨觴者拊背，執手須臾，欲多其數而必其全，吾所懼也。”

(Baopuzi continues:) 'To break one's squareness to rub along with tiles, to betray one's bent to mate with the common run — sparing one's own effort is something I can hardly afford, and to want friendships renewed day by day besides — how could that be had? To know this and not make the change — may that not be called being blind to the times and clumsy at using what is great? To befriend and not see it through, to join and then part — both parties bear a name for not being magnanimous, and both lose the beauty of being able to finish. Affection begets fondness, coolness knots a grudge — that is the way of nature; may one not choose with care? For the sake of clapping backs over a cup of wine and clasping hands for a moment, to want the number large and still insist on every one being whole — that is what I fear.'

或曰：“然則都可以無交乎”

Someone said: 'Then should we have no intercourse and friends at all?'

抱朴子答曰：“何其然哉！夫畏水者何必廢舟楫，忌傷者何必棄父斤交之為道，其來尚矣。天地不交則不泰，上下不交即乖志。夫不泰則二氣隔並矣，志乖則天下無國矣。然始之甚易，終之竟難。患乎所結非其人，敗於爭小以忘大也。《易》美多蘭，《詩》詠百朋，雖有兄弟，不如友生。切思三益，大聖所嘉，門人所以增親，惡言所以不至；管仲所以免誅戮而立霸功，子元所以去亭長而驅朱軒者，交之力也。

Master Baopu replied: "How can that be! Does a man who fears water need to abolish boats and oars, or one who dreads injury need to throw away his axes (the base text reads 'fu' as 'father,' a corruption of 'axe')? Making friends as a Way has existed since antiquity. When Heaven and Earth do not commune, there is no peace; when high and low do not commune, their aims drift apart. Without peace, the two forces are cut off and swallowed up; when aims drift apart, the world has no states. Yet the beginning is very easy, while the ending turns out hard. The fault lies in befriending the wrong sort of people, and in failing by quarreling over trifles and forgetting what is great. The Book of Changes praises the abundance of orchids, and the Book of Poetry sings of a hundred pairs of cowries; even with brothers, nothing equals friends made in life. Mutual correction and the three benefits are what the great sage approved: through them disciples grow closer and harsh words no longer arrive. Guan Zhong escaped execution and achieved hegemony, and Ziyuan left the post of village warden and rode in a red carriage; both came from the power of friendship."

“單絃不能發《韶》《夏》之和音，孑色不能成兗龍之瑋燁，一味不能合伊鼎之甘，獨木不能致鄧林之茂。玄圃極天，蓋由眾石之積。南溟浩漾，實須群流之赴。明鏡舉則傾冠見矣，羲和照則曲影覺矣，檃括修則枉刺之疾消矣，良友結則輔仁之道弘矣。

(Master Baopu continued:) "A single string cannot produce the harmony of the Shao and Xia music; a single color cannot make the splendor of the dragon robe; a single flavor cannot make the sweetness of the cauldron of Yi Yin; a single tree cannot make the Deng forest lush. The Hanging Gardens rise to the very sky, presumably through the piling up of many stones. The Southern Sea spreads vast and wide, truly because many streams run into it. Raise a bright mirror and the crooked cap is seen; let Xihe, the sun, shine once and the bent shadow is noticed; apply the straightening frame and the defect of warping is cured; make good friends and the Way of aiding in humaneness is enlarged.

達者知其然也，所企及則必簡乎勝己，所降結則必料乎同志。其處也則講道進德，其出也則齊心比翼。否則鈞魚釣之業，泰則協經世之務。安則有以精義，危則有以相恤。恥令譚肯專面地之篤，不使王貢擅彈冠之美。夫然，故交道可貴也。

(Master Baopu continued:) "The man of understanding knows this: whom he aspires to he will surely select as better than himself, and whom he lowers his heart to befriend he will surely judge to share his purpose. In retirement they discuss the Way and advance in virtue; in office they work together like paired wings. Otherwise they share a fisherman's trade; in times of peace they assist in the affairs of governing the age. In safety there is someone to study meaning with; in danger there is someone to look after one another. He is ashamed to let Tan alone possess the sincerity of sharing his land, and does not let Wang Yang and Gong Yu alone hold the glory of dusting off their caps together. Only like this is the Way of friendship valuable.

“然實未易知，勢利生去就，積毀壞刎頸之契，漸漬釋膠漆之堅。於是有忘素情之惆嘆，或睚眥而不思，遂令元伯巨卿之好，獨著於昔；張耳陳餘之變，屢構於今。推往尋來，良可嘆也。夫梧禽不與鴟梟同枝，麟虞不與豺狼連群，清源不與濁潦混流，仁明不與兇暗同處。何者漸染積而移直道，暴迫則生害也。”

(Master Baopu continued:) "Yet it is truly not easy to know a person. Power and profit give rise to parting or drawing near; accumulated slander ruins the pact of sworn friendship; gradual soaking dissolves a bond firm as glue and lacquer. Then comes sorrow at forgetting old affection, or a glare of resentment without a thought of former ties. So the goodness of Yuanbo and Jujing shines alone in the past, while the turning of Zhang Er and Chen Yu is repeated again and again today. Pushing back and searching forward, it is truly lamentable. The phoenix does not share a branch with the owl, the qilin does not herd with jackals and wolves, a clear spring does not mix its flow with muddy floodwater, and the benevolent and bright do not dwell with the fierce and dark. Why? Gradual soaking and accumulation will change a straight path, and violent pressure will give rise to harm."

或人曰：“敢問全交之道可得聞乎”

Someone said: "May I ask about the way to preserve friendships? Could you let me hear it?"

抱朴子答曰：“君子交絕猶無惡言，豈肯向所異辭乎殺身猶以許友，豈名位之足競乎善交狎而不慢，和而不同，見彼有失，則正色而諫之；告我以過，則速改而憚。不以忤彼心而不言，不以逆我耳而不納，不以巧辯飾其非，不以華辭文其失，不形同而神乖，不若情而口合，不面從而背憎，不疾人之勝己，護其短而引其長，隱其失而宣其得，外無計數之諍，內遺心競之累。夫然後《鹿鳴》之好全，而《伐木》之刺息。若乃輕合而不重離，易厚而不難薄，始如形影，終為叄辰，至歡變為篤恨，接援化成讎敵，不詳之悔，亦無以(原有脫文)。

Master Baopu replied: "When a gentleman breaks off a friendship he still utters no harsh words; how would he be willing to change his speech toward people who differ from him? Even one's life is promised to a friend, so how could rank and position be worth contending over? One who is good at friendship stays close without being lax, harmonizes without becoming the same; seeing a fault in the other, he admonishes him with a stern face; when told of his own error, he quickly corrects it and takes it to heart. He does not stay silent because it would go against the other's feelings, nor refuse to listen because it grates on his own ear; he does not use clever argument to dress up his wrong, nor flowery phrases to cover his mistakes; he is not alike in outward form while apart in spirit, nor matching in speech while not in feeling; he does not agree to one's face and loathe one behind the back; he does not resent others surpassing him, but shields their shortcomings and draws out their strengths, hides their failings and proclaims their gains; outwardly he keeps no tally of disputes, inwardly he casts off the burden of rivalry in the heart. Only then can the goodness of the Lu Ming ode be preserved and the satire of the Fa Mu ode be stilled. But those who join easily and do not take parting seriously, who grow warm easily and cool without difficulty, who at first are like body and shadow and at last like the stars Shen and Chen, who turn the greatest joy into deep hatred and mutual aid into enmity, feel a regret of carelessness that has no remedy either [the base text has a lacuna here]."

往者漢季陵遲，皇轡不振，在公之義替，紛競之俗成。以違時為清高，以救世為辱身。尊卑禮壞，大倫遂亂。在位之人，不務盡節，委本趨末，背實尋聲。王事廢者其譽美，奸過積者其功多。莫不飛輪兼策，星言假寐，冒寒觸暑，以走權門，市虛華之名於秉勢之口，買非分之位於賣官之家。或爭所欲，還相屠滅。

(Master Baopu continued:) "In the past, as the Han dynasty declined and slackened in its closing years, the imperial reins could not be kept taut, the duty of public service was discarded, and a custom of contentious scrambling arose. Going against the times was taken as lofty purity, and rescuing the age as a disgrace to oneself. The rites between high and low broke down, and the great human relations fell into disorder. Those in office did not strive to fulfill their duty; they abandoned the root and ran after the branch, turned their backs on substance and sought reputation. Those who neglected the king's business had fine reputations, and those who piled up crimes had many merits. There was no one who did not fly his wheels and double his whip, talking through the night and dozing in his clothes, braving the cold and touching the heat, to run about the doors of the powerful, buying empty fame from the mouths of those who held power and buying undeserved posts from the families who sold office. Some fought over what they desired and turned on one another to destroy each other.

於是公叔偉長疾其若彼，力不能正，不忍見之，爾乃發憤著論，杜門絕交，斯誠感激有為而然。蓋矯枉而過正，非經常之永訓也。徒當遠非類之黨，慎諂黷之源。何必裸袒以詭彼己，斷粒以刺玉食哉！夫交之為非，重諫而不止，遂至大亂。故禮義之所棄，可以絕矣。

(Master Baopu continued:) "So Gongshu and Weichang loathed such conduct, and since their strength could not set it right and they could not bear to look at it, they at last poured out their indignation in treatises and shut their doors to cut off all dealings. This was truly feeling moved to act. But in straightening what is bent one overshoots, and it is not a lasting rule for all time. One should simply keep far from parties of the wrong kind and be careful of the source of flattery and familiarity. Why bare one's body to deceive others and oneself, or refuse food to mock rich fare? Friendship made into wrong, when repeated admonitions fail to stop it, leads to great disorder. Therefore what the rites and righteousness reject may be cut off."

抱朴子曰：騕褭能奮蘭筋以絕景，而不能履冰以乘深；猛虎能似雷霆以博噬，而不能踴雲霧以凌虛。鴻鵾不能振翅於籠罩之中，輕鷂不能電擊於几筵之下。物既然矣，人亦如之。故能調和陰陽者，未必能兼百行修簡書也；能敷五邁九者，不必能全小潔經曲碎也。

Master Baopu said: A fine steed can stir its orchid sinews and outrun light and shadow, yet it cannot tread on ice to ride across the deep; a fierce tiger can strike and devour like thunder, yet it cannot leap up into clouds and mist to soar over the void. The great swan and the roc cannot spread their wings inside a cage, and a light hawk cannot strike like lightning beneath a banquet mat. If things are so, so are men. Therefore one who can harmonize yin and yang is not necessarily able to be complete in a hundred kinds of conduct or to put records in order; one who can expound the five and surpass the nine is not necessarily able to preserve small purity or manage petty details.

惠子，上相之標也，而不能役舟楫以凌陽侯；漢高，神武之傑也，而不能治產業端檢括；淮陰，良將之元也，而不能修農商免飢寒；周勃，社稷之鯁也，而不能答錢穀責獄辭。若以所短棄所長，則逸儕拔萃之才不用矣；責具體而論細禮，則匠世濟民之勳不著矣。

Huizi was a model chief minister, yet he could not command a boat and oars to cross the waves of the water god Yanghou; Gao of Han was a hero of divine martial power, yet he could not manage property or keep accounts in order; the Marquis of Huaiyin was the foremost of good generals, yet he could not run farming or trade to keep himself from hunger and cold; Zhou Bo was the upright mainstay of the state, yet he could not answer questions about money and grain or interrogate prison statements. If one casts aside a person's strengths because of his shortcomings, then talent that stands out from the crowd goes unused; if one demands completeness and discusses minute etiquette, then the merit of those who shaped the age and rescued the people will not be shown.

天不能平其西北，地不能隆其東南，日月不能摛光於曲穴，沖風湧揚波於井底。扌適齒則松檟不及一寸之筵，挑耳則棟梁不如鷦鷯之羽，彈鳥則千金不及丸泥之用，縫緝則長劍不及數寸之針。何必伏巨象而捕鼠，制大鵬以司晨乎故姜牙賣煦(疑作“漿’)無所售，而見師於文武；蔣生憒慢於百里，而獨步三槐。

Heaven cannot make its northwest level, Earth cannot make its southeast rise; the sun and moon cannot spread their light in a crooked cave, and a blasting wind cannot raise waves at the bottom of a well. To pick teeth, pine and catalpa are no match for a one-inch toothpick (the base text has a damaged character with only a radical remaining); to dig out an ear, a great beam is worse than a wren's feather; to shoot birds, a thousand pieces of gold is no use compared with a pellet of clay; for sewing, a long sword is no match for a needle of a few inches. Why subdue a great elephant to catch mice, or tame the great roc to announce the dawn? Hence Jiang Ya sold drink and could find no buyer, yet King Wen and King Wu took him as their teacher (the base text has a doubtful character here, probably meaning 'drink'); and Jiang Sheng was foolishly lax toward Baili, yet stood alone among the Three Ministers.

抱朴子曰：華章藻蔚，非矇瞍所玩；英逸之才，非淺短所識。夫瞻視不能接物，則兗龍與素褐同價矣；聰鑑不足相涉，則俊民與庸夫一概矣。眼不見，則美不入神焉；莫之與，則傷之者至焉。且夫愛憎好惡，古今不均，時移俗易，物同價異。譬之夏後之璜，曩直連城，鬻之於今，賤於銅鐵。故昔以隱居求志為高士，今以山林之儒為不肖。故聖世之良幹，乃暗俗之罪人也；往者之介潔，乃末葉之羸劣也。

Master Baopu said: Splendid literary beauty is not something the blind can appreciate, and outstanding talent is not something the shallow can recognize. If one's gaze cannot touch things, the embroidered dragon robe and coarse brown cloth are the same price; if discernment is too weak to reach one another, the gifted and the mediocre are measured by one standard. If the eyes do not see, beauty does not enter the spirit; if no one gives support, those who would harm him come. Moreover, love and hatred, likes and dislikes, are not the same in past and present; times shift and customs change, and the same thing has a different price. Take the jade huang of the Xia ruler: once it was worth a string of cities, but sold today it is cheaper than copper or iron. Hence in the past, those who lived in seclusion pursuing their aims were considered lofty scholars, whereas now Confucians of the mountains and forests are considered unworthy. So the fine talents of a sagely age are the offenders of a benighted custom, and the integrity of the past is the weakness of a late age.

弘偉之士，履道之生，其崇信匪徒重仞之牆，其淵澤不唯呂梁之深也，故短近不能賞，而淺促不能測焉。因以異乎己而薄之矣，以不求我而疾之矣，不貴不用，何足言乎乃有播埃塵於白珪，生瘡疒有於玉肌，訕疵雷同，攻伐獨立，曾叄蒙劫剽之垢，巢許獲穿窬之謗。自匪明並懸象，玄鑑表微者，焉能披泥抽淪玉，澄川掇沈珠哉！夫珪璋居肆而不售，矧乃翳於盤璞乎奇士扣角而見遏，況乃潛於四羊藪乎

Great and noble scholars, bookish men who walk the Way, have a height of reverence that is more than a wall of a few fathoms and a depth of marsh more than the Lüliang rapids, so the short-sighted cannot appreciate them and the shallow cannot fathom them. Then because they differ from oneself they are belittled, and because they do not seek one's favor they are loathed; being unvalued and unused is hardly worth mentioning. Some even scatter dust on white jade and raise sores on jade-like skin (the base text has a damaged character, which should be the word for 'sore'), slander flaws in what is alike and attack what stands alone: Zeng Shen bore the stain of being a robber, and Chaofu and Xu You received the slander of burglary. If it were not for the bright ruler who sets the heavenly signs in order, and the dark mirror that can reveal the subtle, how could one split the mud to draw out the sunken jade, or clear the stream to gather the pearl that has sunk? Even a jade tablet set out in the market is not sold at once, how much less one concealed in the rough stone. Even a rare scholar knocking on an ox horn is stopped, how much more one hidden in the marshes (the base text has a probably redundant phrase here).

孫臏思騁其秘略，而司馬刖之；韓非願建治績，而李斯殺之；賈誼慷慨，懷經國之術，而武夫排之；子政忠良，有匡危之具，而恭顯陷之。和氏所以抱璞而泣血，禽息所以發憤而碎首也。夫玉石易別於賢愚，愛寶情篤於好士，以易別之寶，合篤好之物，猶獲罪截趾，歷世受誣。況乎難知之賢，非意所急，讒人畫蛇足於無形，奸臣畏忠貞之害己，體曲者忌繩墨之容，夜裸者憎明燭之來。是以高譽美行，抑而不揚，虛構之謗，先形生影。又無楚人號哭之薦，萬無一遇，固其宜矣。

Sun Bin wanted to give rein to his secret strategy, but Pang Juan cut off his feet; Han Fei wished to establish good government, but Li Si had him killed; Jia Yi, full of passion, held a plan for governing the state, but the military men pushed him out; Zizheng was loyal and good, with the capacity to set right a danger, but Hong Gong and Shi Xian framed him. This is why Mr. He embraced his stone and wept blood, and why Qin Xi dashed his head and broke it. Jade and stone are easily told apart in worth, and the love of treasure is warmer than the love of scholars, yet even with an easily distinguished treasure and a devoted lover of it, he was still convicted and had his foot cut off, and was slandered through generations. How much more with worth that is hard to know and not what the mind is eager for: slanderers add legs to a snake that has no form, treacherous ministers fear that loyalty will harm them, those with crooked bodies dread the sight of the marking line, and those who go naked at night hate the coming of the bright candle. So lofty reputation and fine conduct are suppressed and not raised, while fabricated slander produces a shadow before there is a form. And with no one to recommend as the man of Chu who cried out did, one among ten thousand will not be met, which is of course as it should be.

夫以玉為石者，亦將以石為玉矣；以賢為愚者，亦將以愚為賢者矣。以石為玉，未有傷也；以愚為賢者，亡之診也。蓋診亡者雖存而必亡，猶脈死者雖生而必死也。可勿慎乎！於戲，悲夫！莫之思者也。昔仲尼上聖也，東受累於齊人，南見塞於子西。文種大賢也，初不齒於荊俗，末雍遊於鈞如。競年立功，不亦難乎夫結綠玄黎，非陶猗不能市也；千鈞之重，非賁獲不能抱也。《白雪》之弦，非靈素不能徽也；邁倫之才，非明主不能用也。

One who takes jade for stone will also take stone for jade; one who takes the worthy for fools will also take fools for the worthy. Taking stone for jade does no harm; taking a fool for the worthy is the sign of ruin. One diagnosed as about to perish will surely perish even if still alive, just as a person with a dying pulse will surely die even if living. Can one be careless about this? Alas, how sad! No one reflects on it. In the past Confucius was a supreme sage, yet in the east he was entangled by the men of Qi, and in the south he was blocked by Zixi. Wen Zhong was a great worthy, yet at first the customs of Jing did not count him among them, and only at the end did he roam at ease in Juncheng. Competing against the years to establish merit, is that not also hard? The jades Jielü and Xuanli could only be bought by Tao Zhu or Yi Dun; a weight of a thousand jun could only be carried by Ben or Huo. The strings of the White Snow tune could only be plucked by Ling Su; talent that goes beyond all categories can only be used by an enlightened ruler.

然耀靈光夜之珍，不為莫求而虧其質，以苟且於賤賈；洪鍾周鼎(或有脫文)，不為委淪而輕其體，取見舉於侏儒；嶧陽雲和，不為不御而息唱，以競顯於淫哇；冠群之德，不以沈抑而履徑，而剸節於流俗。是以和璧變為滯貨，柔木廢於勿用，赤刀之礦，不得經歐冶之爐；元凱之疇，終不值四門之闢也。

Yet a treasure that shines in the night does not diminish its substance because no one seeks it, nor lower itself to cheap prices; the great bell and the Zhou cauldron [the base text may have a lacuna] do not think lightly of their own bodies because they are cast aside and sunk, nor allow dwarfs to pick them up; the tung tree of Yiyang and the zither Yunhe do not stop their song because they are not used by the ruler, nor compete with licentious music for display; virtue that tops the crowd does not take a side path because it is suppressed, nor monopolize integrity before the vulgar crowd. So the Bi of Mr. He became unsold stock, supple wood was left unused, and ore for the red blade could not pass through the furnace of Ouye; men like Yuan and Kai in the end never met the opening of the Four Gates.

抱朴子曰：餘之友人有居泠先生者，恬愉靜素，形神相忘，外不飾驚愚之容，內不寄有容之心，遊精墳誥，樂以忘憂。晝競羲和之末景，夕照望舒之餘耀，道靡遠而不究，言無微而不研。然車跡不軔權右之國，尺牘不經貴勢之庭。是以名不出蓬戶，身不離畎畝。

Master Baopu said: I have a friend named Master Juling, calm, content, quiet and plain, in whom form and spirit forget one another. Outwardly he does not adorn an appearance to startle the foolish, and inwardly he does not lodge a heart that has room for others; he lets his spirit roam among the ancient classics, taking joy and forgetting sorrow. By day he chases the last shadows of the sun god Xihe, and by night he reads by the remaining brightness of the moon goddess Wangshu; no Way is too distant for him to exhaust, no word too subtle for him to study. Yet his cart tracks never halt in the cities of the powerful, and his notes never pass through the courts of the eminent. So his name does not leave his thatched door, and his person does not leave the fields.

於是翼亮大夫候而難之曰：“餘聞淵蟠起則玄雲赴，道化雨沾則逸才奮。故康衢有角歌之音，鼎俎發凌風之跡。沽之則收不貲之賈，踴之則超在天之舉。耀逸景於暘谷，播大明乎九垓。勳蔭當世，聲揚罔極。故尋仞之途甚近而弗往者，雖追風之腳不能到也；楹梲之下至卑而不動者，雖鴻鵾之翅未之及也。況乎寢足於大荒之表，斂羽於幽梧之枝，安得效迅以尋景，振輕乎蒼霄哉

Then the Grand Master Yiliang, waiting to challenge him, said: "I have heard that when a coiled dragon in the deep stirs, dark clouds rush to it, and when the rain of the transforming Way touches, outstanding talents rise. Therefore on the broad road there was the sound of song while knocking on an ox horn, and the cauldron and chopping block produced footprints that rose against the wind. Sell it, and one takes in a price beyond counting; let it leap, and it surpasses what is done in the heavens. In the Valley of Light, it flashes its soaring brilliance and spreads the great light to the nine corners of the world. Merit shades the age, and fame spreads without limit. So those for whom a road of a fathom or so is near but who do not go will not be reached even by wind-chasing feet; those who, below the pillars and beams, are at the lowest point and do not move will not be matched even by wings of a swan or roc. How much less one who rests his feet beyond the great wilderness and folds his feathers on a branch of the secluded parasol tree: how can he imitate speed to seek the light, or shake out lightness in the blue sky?

年期奄冉而不久，托世飄迅而不再，智者履霜則知堅冰之必至，處始則悟生物之有終。六龍促軌於大渾，華顛倏忽而告暮，古人所以映順流而顧嘆，眄過隙而興悲矣。

(Yiliang continued:) "The years pass quickly and do not last; our lodging in the human world drifts away and will not return. The wise man treads on frost and knows that solid ice will surely come; placed at the beginning, he realizes that living things have an end. The six dragons urge the sun's course on the great sphere, and white hair suddenly announces evening. This is why the ancients looked back and sighed beside a flowing stream, and gazed at a crack through which a white horse passes and felt grief.

先生資命世之逸量，含英偉以邈俗，銳翰汪濊以波湧，六奇抑鬱而淵蓄；然不能凌扶搖以高竦，揚清耀於九玄，器不陳於瑚簋之末，體不免於負薪之勞，猶奏和音於聾俗之地，鬻章甫於被髮之域。徒忘寤於翰林，銳意以窮神，崇琬琰於懷抱之內，吐琳琅於毛墨之端，躬困屢空之儉，神勞堅高之間，譬若埋尺璧於重壤之下，封文錦於沓匱之中，終無交易之富，孰賞堙翳之珍哉

(Yiliang continued:) "You, sir, have the outstanding capacity that marks a person of the age, and you hold heroic greatness within yourself and keep far from the crowd. Your sharp brush flows like a surging wave, and your six marvelous strategies are stored as in a deep pool; yet you cannot rise above the whirlwind to soar high and raise a pure brilliance in the ninth heaven. Your vessel is not set in the lowest place among the ritual dishes, and your body is not free from the toil of carrying firewood, like one playing harmonious music in a land of the deaf, or selling ceremonial caps in a country of loose-haired people. In vain you forget to wake in the forest of writing, you strain to exhaust the spirit, you cherish fine jade within your breast and spit out gems from the tip of brush and ink; your body is hard pressed by constant poverty and your spirit toils between solid and lofty things. It is like burying a foot-wide jade disc beneath layers of earth, or sealing patterned brocade in many layers of chests: in the end there is no wealth of trade, and who will appreciate a treasure that is buried and hidden?

“夫龍驥維縶，則無以別乎蹇驢；赤刀韜鋒，則曷用異於鉛刃。鱣鮪不居牛跡，大鵬不滯蒿林。願先生委龍蛇之穴，升利見之途，釋戶庭之獨潔，覽二鼠而遠寤，越窮谷以登高，襲丹藻以改素，競驚飈於清晨，不盤旋以錯度，收名器於崇高，響鍾鼎之慶祚。柏成一介之夫，辨薇可足多慕乎”

(Yiliang continued:) "A dragon steed bound with ropes cannot be told from a lame donkey; a red blade with its edge wrapped up is of no use for distinguishing it from a lead one. The sturgeon and the pike do not live in an ox's hoofprint, and the great roc does not linger in the wormwood. I wish you, sir, would leave the lair of the dragon and snake and rise onto the road where it is advantageous to be seen; lay down the lone purity of staying within your courtyard, look at the two mice and wake from far away, cross the empty valley and climb high, put on the red patterned robe in place of plain cloth, race against the startling gale in the early morning, not circling about and missing the measure, receive titles and vessels on high ground, and let the blessings of bells and cauldrons ring back. Bocheng was but a single man; what is there to admire in telling the bracken apart?"

居泠先生應曰：“蓋聞靈機冥緬，混芒眇昧，禍福交錯乎倚伏之間，興亡纏綿乎盈虛之會；迅遊者不能脫逐身之景，樂成者不能免理致之敗；匡流末者，未若挺治乎無兆之中；整已然者，不逮反本乎玄樸之外。是以覺蠖者，甘屈以保伸；識通塞者，不慘悅於否泰。

Master Juling replied: "I have heard that the subtle springs of the spirit are dim and distant, mingled and obscure; misfortune and fortune lean on and hide in one another and interlace, and rise and fall coil together at the meeting of fullness and emptiness. A fast traveler cannot shed the shadow that chases him, and one who delights in success cannot escape the failure that follows the course of events. One who tries to straighten the lower reaches of a stream is not as good as one who steps in and governs while no omen yet shows; one who repairs what has already become so does not equal one who returns to the root beyond dark simplicity. So one who understands the inchworm gladly bends to preserve extension; one who recognizes passing and blocked times is neither grieved nor delighted by stagnation or prosperity.

且夫洪陶範物，大象流形，躁靜異尚，翔沈舛情。金寶其重，羽矜其輕。篤隘者執束於滓涅達妙者逍遙於玄清。潢洿納行潦而潘溢，渤澥吞百川而不盈。鮋蝦踴悅於泥濘，赤螭凌厲乎高冥。嚼香餌者，快嗜慾而赴死；味虛淡者，含天和而趨生；識機神者，瞻無兆而弗惑；暗休咎者，觸強弩而不驚。各附攸好，安肯改營

(Master Juling continued:) "Moreover the great potter casts things with a mold, and the great images flow and take form; restlessness and stillness are valued differently, and flying or sinking runs against feeling. Gold and treasure prize their weight, and feathers boast of their lightness. Those devoted to narrowness are bound by dregs and dirt; those who comprehend the subtle roam freely in the dark and clear. A pond fills and overflows with the water of a passing flood, while the Bohai Sea swallows a hundred rivers and is not full. Small fish and shrimp leap with joy in the mud, while the red dragon soars in the high darkness. Those who chew fragrant bait follow their appetites with delight and run toward death; those who savor emptiness and plainness keep heavenly harmony and move toward life; those who know the springs of the spirit gaze at what has no omen without confusion; those who are dark about good and ill fortune touch a strong crossbow without alarm. Each clings to what he likes; how would he be willing to change his course?

“吾聞五玉不能自剖於嵩岫，騰蛇不能無霧而電徵，龍淵不能勿操而斷犀兕，景鍾不能莫扣而揚洪聲。金芝須商風而激耀，倉庚俟煙火日皿而修鳴，騏騄不苟馳以赴險，君子不詭遇以毀名。運屯則沈淪於勿用，時行則高竦乎天庭。士以自炫為不高，女以自媒為不貞。何必委洗耳之峻標，效負俎之幹榮哉

(Master Juling continued:) "I have heard that the five jades cannot split themselves from the peaks of Mount Song, the flying serpent cannot go forth like lightning without mist, the sword Longyuan cannot cut rhinoceros hide without a hand to wield it, and the Jing bell cannot raise its great sound unless struck. The golden fungus shines only with the autumn wind, the oriole waits for [the base text has a corrupt character here] before it sings long; a fine steed does not gallop recklessly into danger, and the gentleman does not ruin his name by devious means. When fate is hard he sinks out of use; when the time is right to act he soars high in the courts of heaven. A scholar who displays himself is not lofty, and a woman who acts as her own matchmaker is not chaste. Why abandon the lofty standard of washing the ears and imitate those who carry the cutting board on their backs to seek glory?

夫其窮也，則有虞婆娑而陶釣，尚父見逐於愚嫗，範生來辱於溺簣，弘式匿奇於耕牧；及其達也，則淮陰投竿而稱孤，文種解屍彳喬而紆青，傅說釋築而論道，管子脫桎為上卿。蓋君子藏器以有待也，蓄德以有為也，非其時不見也，非其君不事也，窮達任所值，出處無所繫。其靜也，則為逸民之宗；其動也，則為元凱之表。或運思於立言，或銘勳乎國器。殊途同歸，其致一焉。

(Master Juling continued:) "In times of hardship, Shun of Yu wandered idly making pottery and fishing, the Grand Duke Shangfu was driven away by a foolish old woman, Fan Ju was humiliated by being soaked in the basket, and Hong Shi hid his marvel among plowing and herding; when they reached success, Huaiyin threw down his fishing rod and called himself king, Wen Zhong untied his [the base text has a doubtful character, probably 'sandals'] and wore the blue ribbon, Fu Yue put down his rammer and discussed the Way, and Guan Zhong took off his shackles and became chief minister. Presumably the gentleman hides his vessel to wait, stores up virtue to have something to do; if it is not his time he does not appear, if it is not his lord he does not serve, leaving hardship or success to whatever he meets, with no ties to taking office or retiring. When he is still he becomes the ancestor of recluses; when he moves he becomes the model of Yuan and Kai. Some turn their thought to establishing words, others engrave their merit on state vessels. Their roads differ but they arrive at the same place; the aim is one.

“士能為可貴之行，而不能使俗必貴之也；能為可用之才，而不能使世必用之也。被褐茹草罝兔，則心歡意得，如將終身，服冕乘軺，兼朱重紫，則若固有之。常如布衣，此至人之用懷也。

(Master Juling continued:) "A scholar can make a valuable virtue, but cannot make the vulgar crowd necessarily value him; he can become a useful talent, but cannot make the age necessarily use him. Wearing coarse cloth, eating grass, and snaring hares, his heart is glad and his mind content, as if he would be so to the end of his life; wearing the ceremonial cap and riding the light carriage, with red double and purple ribbons layered, he seems as if he had always had them. To remain always as a commoner is the heart of the perfect man.

若席上之珍不積，環堵之操不粹者，予之罪也。知之者希，名位不臻，以玉為石，謂鳳曰鴳者，非餘罪也。夫汲汲於見知，悒悒於否滯者，裳民之情也；浩然而養氣，淡爾而靡欲者，無悶之志也。時至道行，器大者不悅；天地之間，知命者不憂。若乃徇萬金之貨，以索百十之售，多失骨幹毛，我則未暇矣。”

(Master Juling continued:) "If the treasures on my mat have not accumulated and the integrity within my four walls is not pure, that is my fault. That those who know me are few, that rank and position do not reach me, that jade is taken for stone and the phoenix called a quail is not my fault. To be anxious to be known and gloomy about being kept back is the feeling of ordinary people (the base text has 'robe,' a corruption of 'ordinary'); to nurture one's breath vast and calm and be without desire is the aim of one free from distress. When the time comes and the Way is practiced, one of great capacity does not rejoice; between heaven and earth, one who knows his fate does not worry. As for pursuing goods worth ten thousand gold to seek a sale at a hundred or so, most of it loses its bones and fur, and I have no leisure for that."

門人問曰：“聞漢末之世，靈獻之時，品藻乖濫，英逸窮滯，饕餮得志，名不準實，賈不本物，以其通者為賢，寒者為愚。其故何哉”

A disciple asked: "I have heard that in the Later Han, in the time of Emperors Ling and Xian, the evaluation of persons was excessive and confused, outstanding talents were kept in poverty and obstruction, gluttons gained their ambitions, reputations did not match reality, and prices did not match the things themselves, so that those who were well connected were thought worthy and the humble were thought fools. What was the reason?"

抱朴子答曰：“夫雷霆車訇磕，而或不聞焉；七曜經天，而或不見焉。豈唯形器有聾瞽哉！心神所蔽，亦又如之。是以聞格言而不識者，非無耳也；見英異而不知者，非無目也；由乎聰不經妙，而明不逮奇也。夫智大量遠者，盤桓以山峙；器小志近者，蓬飛而萍浮。夫唯山峙，故莫之能動焉；夫唯萍浮，故流而不滯焉。

Baopuzi answered: "Thunder crashes and rumbles, yet there are men who cannot hear it; the seven luminaries cross the sky, yet there are men who cannot see them. It is not only the bodily organs that can be deaf or blind! What screens the mind and spirit is likewise so. Thus a man who hears an aphorism and does not recognize it is not without ears; a man who sees the outstanding and does not know it is not without eyes — it is because his hearing has never reached the subtle and his sight never attained the rare. A man of great wisdom and far measure rests poised like a standing mountain; a man of small capacity and near ambition is like tumbleweed flying, like duckweed drifting. Only because he stands like a mountain can nothing move him; only because it drifts like duckweed does it flow on without staying.

方之貨也，則緘連以待賈者，唯至珍而難售；鳴鼓以徇之者，雖凡蔽而易盡。比之材也，則結根於嵩岱者，雖竦蓋千仞，垂蔭萬畝，而莫之知也；插株途要者，雖鉤曲戾細而速朽，而猶見用也。故廟堂有枯楊之瑚簋，窮谷多不伐之梓橡也。

(Baopuzi continued:) Compare it to goods: what lies sealed and wrapped awaiting a buyer is alone the utmost treasure, hard to sell; what is cried about with a beaten drum, though common and dull, is easily sold out. Compare it to timber: a tree rooted on Mount Song or Mount Dai, though it rears a canopy a thousand fathoms high and casts shade over ten thousand acres, is known to no one; a stump stuck in the roadway, though crooked, thin, and quick to rot, still gets used. Thus the temple hall holds sacrificial vessels made of withered poplar, while the remote valley is full of catalpa and oak that are never felled.

是以竊華名者，螻蜥騰於雲霄；失實賈者，翠虯淪乎九泉。於是斥鴳凌風以高奮，靈鳳卷翮以幽戢，鉛鋒充太阿之寶，犬羊佻虎狼之資矣。夫佞者鼓珍賂為勁羽，則無高而不到矣；乘朋黨為舟楫，則無遠而不濟矣。

(Baopuzi continued:) So those who steal splendid names are geckos and lizards mounting into the clouds; those who lose their true worth are green dragons sunk in the nine springs. Thereupon the quail rides the wind and soars on high, while the numinous phoenix folds its pinions and hides in quiet; a leaden point passes for the precious blade Tai'e, and dogs and sheep presume to the endowment of tigers and wolves. Once a flatterer blows precious bribes into strong feathers, there is no height he cannot reach; once he rides a faction as his boat and oars, there is no distance he cannot cross.