Bao Pu Zi Wai Pian (抱朴子外篇) · Volume 5

持之以夙興側立，加之以先意承指，其利口諛辭也似辯，其道聽途說也似學，其心險貌柔也似仁，其行汙言潔也似廉，其好說人短也似忠，其不知忌諱也似直，故多通焉。且亦奉望我者，欲我益之，不求我者，我不能愛，自然之理也。

(Baopuzi continued:) He holds to early rising and standing aside, adding anticipation of his superior's wish before it is spoken: his glib tongue and flattering words pass for eloquence, his hearsay and gossip pass for learning, his dangerous heart and soft face pass for benevolence, his foul conduct and clean words pass for integrity, his pleasure in telling others' faults passes for loyalty, his ignorance of scruples passes for candor — and so such men mostly get on. Moreover, those who look up to me want me to profit them; a man who does not seek me I cannot love — that is the natural logic.

“夫賢常少而愚常多，多則比周而匿瑕，少則孤弱而無援，佞人相汲引而柴正路，俊哲處下位而不見知，拔茅之義圯，而負乘之群興，亢龍高墜，泣血漣如。故子西逐大聖之仲尼，臧倉毀命世之孟軻。二生不免斯患，降茲亦何足言！斯禍蓋與開闢並生，苦之匪唯一世也。歷覽振古，多同此疾。

(Baopuzi continued:) "The worthy are always few and the foolish always many; the many band together and hide each other's flaws, while the few stand weak and solitary without aid. The flatterers draw one another up and block the proper road; the talented and wise stay in low posts unknown. The right of pulling up thatch-root with its kin is ruined; the herd that bears burdens yet rides in carriages rises up; the soaring dragon falls from the heights, weeping tears of blood. Thus Zixi drove out the great sage Zhongni, and Zang Cang slandered the epochal Mencius. If even these two did not escape this calamity, what is there to say of those below them! This plague was born, in all likelihood, together with the parting of heaven and earth; more than one age has suffered it. Surveying the past, most ages share this same disease.

至於駑蹇矯首於王周輦，駥驥委牧乎林垧，彼己尸祿，邦國殄瘁，下凌上替，實此之由。或蟲流而莫斂，或逆竄於申亥，或擢筋於廟梁，或絕命於望夷，蓋所拔之非真，而忠能之不用也。

(Baopuzi continued:) For worn-out jades to rear their heads in the king's own carriage while fine steeds are cast off to graze in the woods and wilds; for those to sit like corpses in office feeding on their stipends while the state is worn to ruin and inferiors supplant what superiors let fall — it is truly due to this. Some have lain dead till their corpses bred worms and oozed, with none to gather them; some have fled in rout to Shen and Hai; some were stripped of their sinews on the temple beams; some met their end at Wangyi — in every case it was that those promoted were not genuine and the loyal and able went unused.

“故明君勤於招賢，而汲汲於擢奇，導達凝滯，而嚴防壅蔽。才誠足委，不拘於屠釣；言審可施，抽之於戎戍。或舉於牛口之下，而加之於群僚之上；或拔於桎梏之中，而任以社稷之重。故能勳業隆濟，拓境服遠，取威定功，垂統長世也。

(Baopuzi continued:) "Therefore the enlightened ruler is diligent in summoning the worthy and eager to raise men of rare talent; he dredges the silted and stagnant and sternly guards against screening and blockage. When ability truly suffices for the charge, he does not balk at butchers and anglers; when words prove on scrutiny to be practicable, he draws them from among the frontier garrisons. Some he raises from beneath an ox's muzzle and sets above the whole host of officers; some he pulls from fetters and manacles and entrusts with the weight of the altars of soil and grain. Thus he can make achievement and work flourish and be brought to completion, open his borders and make the distant submit, establish his dread and fix his merit, and hand down a rule for long generations.

“夫直繩者，枉木之所憎也；清公者，奸慝之所讎也。人主不能運玄鑑以索隱，而必須當途之所舉。然每觀前代專權之徒，率其所舉皆在乎附己者也，所薦者先乎利己者也。毀所畏而進所愛，所畏則至公者也，所愛則同私者也。至公用則奸黨破，眾私立則主威奪矣；奸黨破則升泰之所由也，主威奪則危亡之端漸矣。毀所畏則恐辭之不痛，雖刖劓之，猶未弇意焉，故必除之而後快也；彼進所愛則苦談之不美，雖位超之，猶未逞心焉，故必危彼以安此也。是故抱枉而死，無愆而黜者，有自來矣。

(Baopuzi continued:) "The straight line is what crooked timber hates; the clear and impartial are what the treacherous view as foes. Yet the ruler cannot revolve the dark mirror to seek out the hidden and subtle, and must depend on the recommendations of those in power. But whenever one looks at the monopolists of former ages, for the most part those they raised were men who clung to them, and those they recommended were first of all men who profited them. They slandered those they feared and advanced those they loved — the feared being the most impartial men, the loved their partners in private interest. If the most impartial are employed, the traitors' clique is broken; if the many private interests stand, the ruler's majesty is taken away. When the traitors' clique is broken, the road upward to peace appears; when the ruler's majesty is taken, the first threads of peril and ruin draw near. Slandering those they feared, they feared their words were not bitter enough — even to cut off his feet and nose would not content them, so they were bound to destroy the man before they felt pleased; advancing those they loved, they fretted that the talk was not fair enough — even office beyond his desert would not satisfy them, so they were bound to imperil one to make the other safe. Thus those who die clasping a wrong, who are degraded without fault, have their reasons.

“所以體道合真，嶷然特立，才遠量逸，懷霜履冰，思綿天地，器兼元凱，執經衡門，淵渟嶽立。寧潔身以守滯，恥脅肩以苟合。樂飢陋巷，以勵高尚之節；藏器全真，以待天年之盡。非時不出，非禮不動。結褐嚼蔬，而不悒悒也；黃髮終否，而不悢悢也。安肯蹙太山之峻，以適鑿枘之中；斂垂天之羽，為戒旦之役編於仕類，而抑鬱庸兒之下。舍鸞鳳之林，適枳棘之藪，競腐鼠於踞鴟，而枉尺以直尋哉！

(Baopuzi continued:) "He embodies the Dao and accords with the true, stands towering and alone; his talent ranges far and his measure is unconfined; he walks as though clasping frost and treading ice; his thought stretches to heaven and earth; his capacities combine those of the Yuans and the Kais; holding the classics at his brushwood gate, he rests deep as a still pool and stands like a peak. He would rather keep himself pure and abide in neglect than shrug his shoulders to win a vulgar fit; he delights in hunger in a mean lane to steel a lofty integrity; he sheathes his vessel and keeps his wholeness, awaiting the end of his heaven-given years. If the time is not right he does not go forth; if it is not ritual he does not move. Knotting coarse cloth and chewing greens, he is not downcast; white-haired and blocked to the very end, he is not grieved. How could he compress the steepness of Mount Tai to fit into a mortise's square hole; furl the wings that trail like the sky to do the service of crowing the dawn; be woven into the register of officeholders and smother beneath mediocre boys; abandon the forest of simurghs and phoenixes for a thicket of thorns; or vie with a squatting kite over a rotten rat — bending a foot in order to straighten a fathom!

“且大賢之狀也至拙，其為味也甚淡，蕭然自足，泊爾無知，知之者稀而不戚，時不能用而不悶。雖並日無藜藿之糝，不以易不義之太牢也；雖縕袍無卒歲之服，不肯樂無道之狐白也。獨可散發高枕，守其所有已，絕不曲躬低眉，求其所未須也。

(Baopuzi continued:) "Moreover, the great worthy's appearance is the utmost of awkwardness; the savor of what he does is very bland; quiet and sufficient unto himself, placid as though knowing nothing — few know him yet he is not grieved, the age cannot use him yet he is not downcast. Though for two days he has no ort of goosefoot to eat, he will not trade for an unrighteous great sacrifice; though his wadded robe will not last out the year, he will not take pleasure in a wayless coat of white fox. He can only let his hair hang loose and pillow high, keeping what he already has, and will never bend his body or lower his brows to beg for what he does not yet need.

德薄位厚，弗交也；名與實違，弗親也；榮華馳逐，弗務也；豪俠奸權，弗接也；俗說細辨，不答也；脅肩所赴，弗隨也。貌愚而志遠，面垢而行潔。確乎若嵩岱，銓衡所不能測也；浩乎若滄海，鬥斛所不能校也。峻其重仞之高，隱其百官之富。觀彼佻竊，若草莽也。邈世之操，眇焉冠秋雲之表；遺俗之神，緬焉棲九玄之端。雖窮賤，而不可脅以威；雖危苦，而不可動以利。

(Baopuzi continued:) Slight of virtue yet thick of place — he does not befriend them; name and substance at odds — he does not draw near them; racing after glory — he does not take part; bold bullies and dealers in power — he does not touch them; vulgar talk and petty argument — he does not answer; whatever shrugged shoulders rush toward — he does not follow. His mien looks foolish yet his aim is far; his face is grimed yet his conduct clean. Massive as Mount Song and Mount Dai — no steelyard can weigh him; vast as the dark sea — no peck or bushel can gauge him. He piles the loftiness of many-fold peaks yet higher; he hides the wealth of a hundred offices. He looks on petty pilferings as mere weeds. His world-transcending integrity roosts faint beyond the autumn clouds; the spirit that lets the vulgar stream drop away dwells remote at the tip of the ninth firmament. Though poor and lowly, he cannot be cowed by threat; though in peril and hardship, he cannot be moved by profit.

“其所業尚，可聞而不可盡也；其所執守，可見而不可論也。故疾之者，齊聲而側目；愛之者，寡弱而無益。亦猶撮壤不能填決河，升水不能殄原火。於是鼖鼓戢雷霆之音，鼗鞞恣喋鼛之響。芳蕙芟夷，臭鮑佩御。玄鬯傾棄而不羞，醨酪專灌於圓丘。汗血驅放而垂耳，跛蹇馳騁於鑾軒。此古人之所以懷沙負石，赴流魚葬，而不堪與之同世也。已矣！悲夫！

(Baopuzi continued:) "What he pursues and honors can be heard of but never exhausted; what he keeps hold of can be seen but never defined. So those who hate him glare sidelong in chorus, while those who love him are few, weak, and of no avail. It is like a pinch of earth cannot fill a bursting river, a pint of water cannot quench a prairie fire. Thereupon the great drum gathers in its thunder, while rattle and hand-drum let their babble clang away. Fragrant iris is mown down, while stinking abalone is worn at the belt. The dark sacrificial wine is poured out and not offered, while thin ale and sour mash alone are poured on the round altar. The blood-sweating steed is turned loose with drooping ears, while the lame nag gallops in the imperial chariot. This is why the ancients clasped sand and stone to their breasts and cast themselves into the stream to be entombed by fish, unable to bear sharing an age with such men. It is finished — alas, how sad!

“然捐玄黎於洿濘，非夜光之不真也，由莫識焉；投彤盧而不彎，非繁弱之不勁也，坐莫賞焉。故瓊瑤俟荊和而顯連城之價，烏號須逢門而著陷堅之功，飛菟待子豫而飈騰，俊民值知己而宣力。若夫美玉不出重岫，良弓不鑿百札，驥騄不服朱軒，命世不履爵勢，則孰知其能攄符彩之耀曄，頓雲禽於千仞，騁逸跡以追風，康庶績於百揆乎

(Baopuzi continued:) "Yet if the dark gem Xuanli is dropped in the mire, it is not that its night-gleam is not genuine — there is no one to recognize it; if the crimson bow is cast down unbent, it is not that Fanruo is not strong — there is no one who prizes it. Thus the jades qiong and yao wait for a Bian He to show their city-ransoming worth; the bow Wuhao must meet a Fengmeng for its piercing power to be known; the hare-flying steed needs a Ziyu to fly like the gale; and the eminent man must meet one who truly knows him to display his strength. If the fair jade never comes out of the layered peaks, the fine bow never pierces a hundred leaves, the qiji team never draws the vermilion coach, and the world-shaking man never treads the stairs of rank and power — then who would know he can spread the bright blaze of the tally-colors, arrest the soaring bird at a thousand fathoms, race in unfettered tracks to run down the wind, or bring the hundred charges to peace and order?

夫其不遇，亦得不雜糅於瓦石，鈞賤於朽木，列鑣於下乘，等望於凡瑣哉！嗟乎！弓廣棘矢而望高手於渠廣，策疲駑而求繼軌於周穆，放斧斤而欲雙巧於班墨，忽良才而欲彝倫之攸敘，不亦難乎名實雖漏於一世，德音可邀乎將來。樂天知命，何慮何憂安時處順，何怨何憂哉！

(Baopuzi continued:) "Though unmet with, does he not also gain by not being blended with tiles and stones, not sharing the baseness of rotten wood, not being bitted beside broken-down nags, not having the same repute as the vulgar and petty? Alas! To draw a thorn-arrow and look for the hand of a Quguang; to whip a weary nag and hope to follow in the tracks of King Mu; to lay down the ax and hope to share the craft of Gongshu Ban and Mo Di; to neglect good men and hope the constant orders will be set in sequence — is that not hard? Though name and substance be dropped in one age, the echo of virtue may yet be claimed from what is to come. Delighting in heaven and knowing fate — what care is there, what worry? At peace in the time and dwelling in accord — what resentment is there, what sorrow!

抱朴子曰；鹹謂勇力絕倫者，則上將之器；洽聞治亂者，則三九之才也。然張飛關羽萬人之敵，而皆喪元辱主，授首非所；孔融邊讓文學邈俗，而並不達治務，所在敗績。鄧禹馬援田間諸生，而善於用兵；蕭何曹叄不涉經誥，而優於宰輔。爾則知人果未易也。欲試可乃已，則恐成折足覆食束；欲聽言察貌，則或似是而非，真偽混錯。然而世人甚以為易，經耳過目，謂可精盡。餘甚猜焉，未敢許也。

Baopuzi said: All say that a man of matchless courage and strength has the makings of a great general, and that a man of broad learning who can order disorder has the talent of the Three Excellencies and Nine Ministers. Yet Zhang Fei and Guan Yu, each a match for ten thousand men, both lost their heads and disgraced their lord, yielding their heads where they should never have been yielded; Kong Rong and Bian Rang stood far above the common stream in letters, yet neither was versed in the business of government, and each met defeat where he was posted. Deng Yu and Ma Yuan were mere field students, yet they excelled at the use of troops; Xiao He and Cao Can never delved into the canons (the base text has 'san', a miscopying of 'can'), yet they were superior as chancellors. Seen thus, to know men is indeed not easy. To wish to test them only so far as their ability extends is to risk breaking the tripod's legs and spilling the stew; to wish to listen to words and read faces is to risk taking seeming for being, with true and false confounded. Yet the age deems it very easy: once past the ear, once past the eye, they say it can be thoroughly known. I am deeply doubtful and dare not grant it.

區別臧否，瞻形得神，存乎其人，不可力為。自非明並日月，聽聞無音者，願加清澄，以漸進用，不可頓任。輕假利器，收還之既甚難，所損者亦已多矣。無以一事暗保其餘，同乎己者，未必可用；異於我者，未必可忽也。

Distinguishing the worthy from the base, looking on the shape and reaching the spirit — this lies in the man; it cannot be done by force. Unless one is as bright as sun and moon side by side and hears what has no sound, one may hope to add clarity and advance step by step — one cannot be entrusted outright. To lend the sharp instrument lightly and then take it back is already hard, and the damage already great. Do not let one obscure point pass for a verdict on the rest: a man who agrees with me is not necessarily usable, and a man who differs from me is not necessarily to be passed over.

或難曰：“夫在天者垂象，在地者有形，故望山度水，則高深可推；風起雲飛，則吉凶可步。智者睹木不瘁，則悟美玉之在山；覿岸不枯，則覺明珠之沈淵。彗星出，則知鱣魚之方死；日月蝕，則識騏驎之共鬥。華霍不須稱，而無限之重可知矣；江河不待量，而不測之數已定矣。鴻鵠之翼，騄騏之足，雖未飛走，輕迅可必也。豪曹之劍，徐氏匕首，雖未奮擊，其立斷無疑也。

Someone challenged: "What hangs above sends down its image; what rests on earth has its form. So looking at the mountains one can measure the waters — height and depth can be inferred; when the wind rises and clouds fly, fortune and ill can be paced out. The wise man, seeing the trees do not wither, wakes to know that fair jade lies in the mountain; seeing the banks are not parched, perceives a bright pearl sunk in the depths. When a comet appears he knows the great sturgeon will die; when sun and moon are eclipsed he knows the unicorn is fighting. Mounts Hua and Huo need no weighing — their measuresome mass is already known; the Jiang and the He need no gauging — their unfathomable volume is already set. The pinions of the swan, the legs of the qiji — though they have not yet flown or run, their swiftness can be fixed in advance; the sword Haocao, the dagger of the Xu clan — though not yet swung, that they will shear through at a stroke is beyond doubt.

駁子有吞牛之容，鶚鷧有凌鷙之貌。卉茂者土必沃，魚大者水必廣。虎尾不附狸身，象牙不出鼠口。叔魚無饜之心，見於初生之狀；食我滅宗之徵，著乎開胞之始。申童覺竊妻之巫臣，張負知將貴之陳平。範子所以絕跡於五湖者，以句踐蜂目而鳥喙也。趙人所以息意於爭鋒者，以白起首銳而視直也。文王之接呂尚，桑陰未移，而知其足師矣。玄德之見孔明，晷景未改，而腹心已委矣。

(The man continued:) The bo-beast has the look of one that swallows oxen; the osprey has the look of one that outflies the hawk. Soil where plants flourish is surely fertile; water where fish grow large is surely broad. A tiger's tail does not grow on a civet's body; an elephant's tusk does not come out of a rat's mouth. That Shuyu had an insatiable heart showed in his look at birth; the sign that Shiwo would destroy his line was plain from the first parting of the womb. The boy of Shen discerned in Wuchen the stealer of wives; Zhang Fu knew that Chen Ping would rise high. That Fan Li cut off his tracks upon the Five Lakes was because Goujian had a wasp's eyes and a bird's beak; that the men of Zhao let their will to contend rest was because Bai Qi's head was sharp and his gaze straight. King Wen received Lü Shang — before the mulberry's shade had shifted he knew the man was fit to take as a teacher. Xuande saw Kongming — before the sun's shadow had changed, his inmost heart was already entrusted.

郭泰中才，猶能知人，故入潁川則友李元禮，到陳留則結符偉明，入外黃則親韓子助，至蒲亨則師仇季知，止學舍則收魏德公，觀耕者則拔茅季偉，奇孟敏於擔負，戒元艾之必敗。終如其言，一無差錯。必能簡精鈍於符表，詳舒急乎聲氣，料明暗於舉厝，察清濁於財色，觀取與於宜適，謂虛實於言行，考操業於閨閫，校始終於信效，善否之驗，不其易乎”

(The man continued:) Guo Tai was but a middling talent, yet he could know men: entering Yingchuan he befriended Li Yuanli; reaching Chenliu he attached himself to Fu Weiming; entering Waihuang he drew close to Han Zizhu; coming to Puting he took Chou Jizhi as his teacher; stopping at the school he enrolled Wei Degong; watching the plowmen he raised up Mao Jiwei; among the burden-bearers he found Meng Min remarkable; he warned Yuan'ai that he was bound to fail. In the end it was just as he said, without the least error. To be able surely to sift the keen from the dull by outward marks, to read the slack or the taut by voice and breath, to gauge light and dark by carriage and bearing, to discern clear and turbid by wealth and lust, to watch fitness in taking and giving, to weigh true and false in word and deed, to test conduct within the women's quarters, and to verify beginning and end by good faith — is the proof of good and bad not easy?"

抱朴子答曰：“餘非謂人物了不可知，知人挺無形理也。徒以斯術存乎大明，非夫當人自許。然而世士各謂能之，是以有云，以警付任耳。夫貌望豐偉者不必賢，而形器尪瘁者不必愚，咆哮者不必勇，淳淡者不必怯。或外候同而用意異，或氣性殊而所務合。非若天地有常候，山川有定止也。

Baopuzi answered: "I do not say that men are wholly unknowable, or that knowing men has no shape or principle at all. It is only that this method lies with great clarity, and is not what the men of the age may presume upon. Yet the scholars of the age each say they can do it — hence my words, meant to warn against appointments. One whose mien looks grand is not necessarily worthy; one whose frame is weak and worn is not necessarily foolish; the roaring man is not necessarily brave; the mild and quiet man is not necessarily timid. Some show the same outward signs while their purposes differ; some differ in nature and temper while their deeds agree. It is not like heaven and earth, which have constant signs, or mountains and rivers, which have fixed rests.

物亦故有遠而易知，近而難料，譬猶眼能察天衢，而不能周項領之間；耳能聞雷霆，而不能識蟲豈蝨之音也。唐呂樊許善於相人狀，唯知壽夭貧富官秩尊卑，而不能審情性之寬克，志行之洿隆。惟帝難之，況庸人乎！而吾子舉論形之例，詰精神之談，未修其本，殆失指矣。

(Baopuzi continued:) Things are of themselves sometimes far off yet easy to know, sometimes near yet hard to reckon — as the eye can survey the highway of heaven yet cannot make out what lies between neck and collar; the ear can hear thunder yet cannot discern the sound of lice (the base text reads 'chong qi shi', with the insect element left over). Tang Ju, Lord Lü, Fan, and Xu were skilled at reading men's looks, yet they knew only long or short life, poverty or wealth, the high or low of rank — they could not examine the generosity or strictness of the temper, the foulness or loftiness of the will and conduct. Even thearchs found this hard — how much more common men! And you cite cases of reading form to challenge my talk of the spirit — without cultivating the root, you have roughly missed my point.

“夫亡射之箭，皆破秋毫。然準的恆不得為工。叔向之母，申氏之子，非不一得，然不能常也。陶唐稽古而失任，姬公欽明而謬授。尼父遠得崇替於未兆，近失澹臺於形骸。延州審清濁於千載之外，而蔽奇士於咫尺之內。知人之難，如此其甚。郭泰所論，皆為此人過上聖乎但其所得者，顯而易識；其所失者，人不能紀。

(Baopuzi continued:) "Arrows loosed at random may still pierce the tip of an autumn hair; yet hitting the mark unfailingly cannot be reckoned craft. The mother of Shuxiang and the son of the Shen clan never once failed, yet could not do it always. Tang Yao examined antiquity yet erred in appointment; the Duke of Zhou was reverent and bright yet bestowed wrongly. The Father of Ni foresaw rise and fall at a distance, from auguries not yet formed, yet close at hand misjudged Dantai by his frame. Yanzhou discerned clear and turbid a thousand years away, yet was screened from a rare scholar within a foot. The difficulty of knowing men is this grave. What Guo Tai discussed — was it because such men surpass the highest sages? It is only that what he got right was shallow and easy to recognize, while what he missed men could not record.

“且夫所貴，貴乎見俊才於無名之中，料逸足乎吳坂之間，掇懷珠之蚌於九淵之底，指含光之珍於積石之中。若伯喈識絕音之器於煙燼之餘，平子剔逸響之竹於未用之前。六軍之聚，市人之會，暫觀一睹，無所眩惑，探其潛生之心計，定其始終之事行，乃為獨見不傳之妙耳。若如未論(原文有脫文)，必俟考其操蹈之全毀，觀其云為之好醜，此為絲線既銓衡，布帛已歷於丈尺，徐乃說其斤兩之輕重，端匹之修短，人皆能之，何煩於明哲哉！”

(Baopuzi continued:) "Moreover, what is precious is precious in this: to see the rare talent amid namelessness, to discern the swift-footed among the slopes of Wu, to pluck the pearl-bearing mussel from the floor of the ninefold deep, to point out the light-hoarding gem within the piled stones; to be like Bojie, who from what the fire had spared recognized the wood for an instrument of incomparable tone, and Pingzi, who before it was ever used singled out the bamboo of surpassing ring. When the six armies mass and the market crowds gather, to see with a single glance and not be dazzled, to reach into the schemes hidden in his inborn heart and fix the deeds of his whole course — that alone is the untransmittable subtlety of solitary sight. If it is as discussed below [there is a lacuna in the original text], and one must wait to examine the entire course of his conduct and watch the good and bad of his words and deeds, that is like waiting until silk has passed the scale and cloth the yardstick and only then slowly pronouncing the weight of its pounds or the length of its bolts — anyone can do that; why must one trouble a man of penetrating wisdom!"

抱朴子曰：擬玄黃之覆載，揚明並以表微；文彪日丙而備體，獨澄見以入神者，聖人也。稟高亮之純粹，抗峻標以邈俗，虛靈機以如愚，不貳過而諂黷者，賢人也。居寂寞之無為，蹈修直而執平者，道人也。盡烝嘗於存亡，保發膚以揚名者，孝人也。垂惻隱於有生，恆恕己以接物者，仁人也。端身命以徇國，經險難而一節者，忠人也。覿微理於難覺，料倚伏於將來者，明人也。量理亂以卷舒，審去就以保身者，智人也。順通塞而一情，任性命而不滯者，達人也。不枉尺以直尋，不降辱以苟合者，雅人也。據體度以動靜，每清詳而無悔者，重人也。體冰霜之粹素，不染潔於勢利者，清人也。篤始終於寒暑，雖危亡而不猜者，義人也。守一言於久要，歷衰而不渝者，信人也。摛銳藻以立言，辭炳蔚而清允者，文人也。奮果毅之壯烈，騁干戈以靜難者，武人也。甄《墳》《索》之淵奧，該前言以窮理者，儒人也。銳乃心於精義，吝寸陰以進德者，益人也。識多藏之厚亡，臨祿利而如遺者，廉人也。不改操於得失，不傾志於可欲者，貞人也。恤急難而忘勞，以憂人為己任者，篤人也。潔皎分以守終，不遜避而苟免者，節人也。飛清機之英麗，言約暢而判滯者，辯人也。每居卑而推功，雖處泰而滋恭者，謙人也。崇敦睦於九族，必居正以赴理者，順人也。臨凝結而能斷，操繩墨而無私者，幹人也。拔朱紫於中構，剖猶豫以允當者，理人也。步七曜之盈縮，推興亡之道度者，術人也。赴白刃而忘生，格兕虎於林谷者，勇人也。整威容以肅眾，仗法度而無二者，嚴人也。創機巧以濟用，總音數而並精者，藝人也。凌強御而無憚，雖險逼而不沮者，黠人也。執匪懈於夙夜，忘勞瘁於深峻者，勤人也。蒙謗讀言而晏如，不懾懼於可畏者，勁人也。聞榮譽而不歡，遭憂難而不變者，審人也。

Baopuzi said: To match the covering and bearing of dark and yellow, raising equal brightness to make the minute illustrious; blazing with pattern yet whole in substance, whose limpid sight alone enters the divine — that is the sage. To receive the pure essence of high brightness, raise a steep standard aloof from the common stream, keep the quick spirit empty as though foolish, never twice commit the same fault nor flatter and profane — that is the worthy. To dwell in the stillness of non-action, treading the straight and keeping the level — that is the man of the Dao. To render the winter and autumn sacrifices to the living and the dead, keeping hair and skin whole to make one's name illustrious — that is the filial man. To let compassion flow to all that lives, ever extending oneself to meet things — that is the benevolent man. To hold body and life straight in dying for the state, keeping integrity one through peril and hardship — that is the loyal man. To see the subtlest principle where it is hardest to discern, to reckon leaning and lurking in what is yet to come — that is the clear-sighted man. To measure order and disorder and roll up or spread out accordingly, to judge departure or stay so as to keep oneself whole — that is the wise man. To follow open course or blockage with feeling unchanged, letting fate run and never lingering — that is the penetrating man. To not bend one foot to straighten a fathom, to not stoop in shame for a passing fit — that is the refined man. To move and rest by rule and measure, always clear and careful and without regret — that is the grave man. To embody the pure whiteness of frost and ice, never letting power and profit stain his purity — that is the pure man. To make beginning and end staunch through cold and heat, never doubting even at peril of ruin — that is the righteous man. To keep one word through long covenants, unaltered through decline — that is the faithful man. To unfold keen and splendid language in established utterance, phrases luxuriant yet clear and just — that is the lettered man. To rise with bold and resolute ardor, galloping with shield and spear to put down calamity — that is the martial man. To sift the deep subtleties of the Three Fen and Eight Suo, completing the former words to exhaust principle — that is the Confucian man. To sharpen the heart upon fine meaning, begrudging each inch of shadow to advance in virtue — that is the man who grows. To know that much hoarding means heavy loss, facing stipend and profit as things thrown away — that is the scrupulous man. To keep his grasp unaltered through gain and loss, never overturning his resolve before the desirable — that is the steadfast man. To pity the hard-pressed and forget his own toil, making the care of others his own charge — that is the devoted man. To keep a bright and spotless lot in guarding his end, not yielding or dodging to buy a cheap escape — that is the principled man. To send the fine splendor of a clear wit aloft, in words concise and smooth that decide what stood stalled — that is the rhetorician. To dwell ever in the lowly and yield the merit, growing more reverent even at ease — that is the humble man. To exalt harmony among the nine kin, keeping to the right in hastening to principle — that is the obedient man. To be able to decide in the face of what is congealed, holding line and level without partiality — that is the able man. To draw cinnabar and purple out of the inner recesses, splitting hesitation with just judgment — that is the discerning judge. To pace the waxing and waning of the seven luminaries, reckoning the measures of rise and fall — that is the diviner. To run upon bare blades forgetting life, to grapple and slay rhino and tiger in wood and valley — that is the brave man. To order his dread countenance to still the multitude, leaning on rule and measure without double dealing — that is the stern man. To devise clever contrivances to aid the instruments, mastering tones and numbers all together — that is the accomplished man. To press hard upon the powerful without scruple, undaunted even by peril and straits — that is the keen man. To keep at it from dawn to night unwearied, forgetting toil upon the steep and sheer — that is the diligent man. To be tranquil under slander and insult, unfearful before the dreadful — that is the stalwart man. To hear of glory without joy, to meet grief and peril without change — that is the steady man.

知事可而必行，不猶豫於群疑者，果人也。循繩墨以進止，不乾沒於僥倖者，謹人也。奉禮度以戰兢，及親屬而無尤者，良人也。履道素而無慾，時雖移而不變者，樸人也。凡此諸行，了無一然，而不躋善人之跡者，下人也。

One who knows a thing is permissible and surely carries it out, not wavering amid crowds of doubts, is a resolute man. One who follows the marking line in advancing and halting, not sinking into seeking gain by luck, is a careful man. One who keeps the rites and standards with trembling caution, and who in dealings with relatives has no blame or grudge, is a good man. One who practices the Way of plainness without desire and does not change though the times shift, is a simple man. One who has none of the above virtues at all, yet does not follow the footsteps of good men, is a lowly man.

門人請曰：“善人之行，既聞其目矣；惡者之事，可以戒俗者，願文垂誥焉。”

The disciple requested: "The virtues of good men I have heard in outline; as for the deeds of the wicked, which can serve as a warning to the common crowd, I hope you will bestow instruction."

抱朴子曰：“不致養於所生，損道而危身者，悖人也。懷邪偽以偷榮，豫利己而忘生者，逆人也。背仁義之正途，苟危人以自安者，兇人也。好爭奪而無厭，專醜正而害直者，惡人也。出繩墨以傷刻，心好殺而安忍者，虐人也。飾邪說以浸潤，構謗累於忠貞者，讒人也。雖言巧而行違，實履濁而假清者，佞人也。不原本於枉直，苟好勝而肆怒者，暴人也。措細善以取信，陰挾毒而無親者，奸人也。承風指以苟容，揆主意而扶非者，諂人也。言不計於反覆，好輕諾而無實者，虛人也。睹利地而忘義，棄廉恥以苟得者，貪人也。睹豔逸而心蕩，飾絝綺而思邪者，淫人也。見成事而疑惑，動失計而多悔者，暗人也。背訓典而自任，恥請問於勝己者，損人也。知善事而不逮，雖多為而無成者，劣人也。委德行而不修，奉權勢以取媚者，弊人也。履蹊徑以僥速，推貨賄以爭津者，邪人也。既傲很以無禮，好凌辱乎勝己者，悍人也。被抑枉則自誣，事無苦而振懾者，怯人也。治細辯於稠眾，非其人而盡言者，淺人也。暗事宜之可否，雖企慕而不及者，頑人也。知事非而不改，聞良規而增劇者，惑人也。無濟恤之仁心，輕告絕於親舊者，薄人也。既疾其所不逮，喜他人之有災者，妒人也。專財谷而輕義，觀困匱而不振者，吝人也。冒至危以僥倖，植禍敗而不悔者，愚人也。情局碎而偏黨，志唯務於盈利者，小人也。騁鷹犬於原獸，好博戲而無已者，迷人也。忘等威之異數，快飾玩之夸麗者，奢人也。耽聲色於飲宴，廢慶弔於人理者，荒人也。既無心於修尚，又怠惰於家業者，懶人也。無抑斷之威儀，每脫易而不思者，輕人也。觀道義而如醉，聞貨殖而波擾者，穢人也。杖淺短而多謬，暗趨舍之臧否者，笨人也。憎賢者而不貴，聞高言而如聾者，囂人也。睹朱紫而不分，雖提耳而不悟者，蔽人也。

Master Baopu said: "One who does not fulfill his duty of support toward the people who bore him, harming the Way and endangering himself, is a rebellious man. One who harbors deceit to steal glory, who profits himself in advance and forgets life, is a perverse man. One who turns his back on the right path of benevolence and righteousness and recklessly harms others to secure himself, is a vicious man. One who loves to contend and has no satiety, and specializes in slandering the upright and harming the straight, is an evil man. One who oversteps the marking line to harm with harshness, whose heart delights in killing and is at ease with cruelty, is a tyrannical man. One who dresses up wicked talk, which seeps in gradually, and builds slander and blame onto the loyal and steadfast, is a slanderer. One whose words are clever but whose conduct is contrary, who in fact treads in mud while borrowing the name of purity, is a flatterer. One who does not trace the root of crooked and straight, but recklessly loves to win and vents anger without restraint, is a violent man. One who arranges small kindnesses to win trust while secretly holding poison and having no real affection, is a treacherous man. One who takes his cue from the wind of another's wishes to win favor recklessly, and guesses his lord's mind to prop up what is wrong, is a toady. One whose words are not reliable and flip back and forth, who loves to promise lightly with nothing real behind it, is an empty man. One who sees a profitable place and forgets righteousness, abandoning honor and shame to get it recklessly, is a greedy man. One whose heart is stirred at the sight of beauty and elegance, who dresses in fine silks and dwells on lewd thoughts, is a lewd man. One who doubts when he sees a thing succeed, whose every move misjudges the plan and brings many regrets, is a dim man. One who turns his back on the classics and indulges himself, and is ashamed to ask those better than himself, is a self-damaging man. One who knows what is good but cannot keep up, and though he does much achieves nothing, is an inferior man. One who abandons virtue and does not cultivate it, and serves the powerful to curry favor, is a worn-out man. One who treads small paths to seek speed by luck, and sends bribes to fight over the ferry crossing, is a deviant man. One who is already arrogant and without courtesy, and likes to insult those better than himself, is a truculent man. One who, when suppressed and wronged, falsely accuses himself, and who trembles in fear when nothing is truly painful, is a cowardly man. One who in a crowd handles petty arguments, and says everything when he is not the right person to speak, is a shallow man. One who is dark about what is fitting or not, and though he aspires cannot catch up, is a dull man. One who knows what is wrong yet does not change, and on hearing a good rule grows more violent, is a deluded man. One who has no benevolent heart to help and relieve, and lightly announces a break with old relatives and friends, is a thin-hearted man. One who already hates what he cannot match, and also delights in others' disasters, is a jealous man. One who monopolizes wealth and grain and thinks lightly of righteousness, and seeing hardship does not relieve it, is a miserly man. One who braves extreme danger in hope of luck and plants the seeds of ruin without regret, is a foolish man. One whose feelings are cramped and partial, whose ambition is only to make profit, is a petty man. One who gallops hawks and hounds after wild beasts and loves gambling without stopping, is a bewitched man. One who forgets the differences of rank and degree and takes delight in showy ornament and trinkets, is an extravagant man. One who at banquets sinks into music and women and in human affairs neglects congratulations and condolences, is a dissolute man. One who has no heart to cultivate and uphold himself and is also idle about the family estate, is a lazy man. One who has no dignity of restraint and is always casual and careless without thinking, is a frivolous man. One who looks upon the Way and righteousness as if drunk, and is stirred up like waves on hearing of trade and profit, is a foul man. One who leans on shallow knowledge, makes many errors, and is dark about what is good or bad to accept or reject, is a dull-witted man. One who hates the worthy and does not honor them, and on hearing lofty words is as if deaf, is a clamorous man. One who sees vermilion and purple and cannot tell them apart, and though his ear is pulled does not wake up, is a blinded man.

違道義以趑趄，冒禮刑而罔顧者，亂人也。每動作而受嗤，言發口而違理者，拙人也。事酋豪如僕虜，值衰微而背惠者，慝人也。捐貧賤之故舊，輕人士而踞傲者，驕人也。棄衰色而廣欲，非宦學而遠遊者，蕩人也。無忠信之純固，背恩養而趨利者，叛人也。當交顏而面從，至析離而背毀者，偽人也。習強梁而專己，距忠告而不納者，刺人也。”

One who turns against the Way and righteousness and hesitates, who offends the rites and punishments without regard, is a disorderly man. One who is always ridiculed whenever he acts, and whose words leave his mouth contrary to reason, is a clumsy man. One who serves a chieftain like a servant and, when he meets decline, betrays his kindness, is a treacherous man. One who casts off old friends who are poor and lowly, and looks lightly on gentlemen and sits arrogantly, is a proud man. One who abandons a wife whose looks have faded and enlarges his desires, and travels far not for office or study, is a wanton man. One who lacks the firmness of loyalty and good faith, and turns his back on the one who fed him to chase profit, is a rebellious man. One who is agreeable to your face when meeting, and slanders behind your back once parted, is a false man. One who is used to being headstrong and self-willed, refusing loyal advice and not accepting it, is a prickly man."

抱朴子曰：人技未易知，真偽或相似。士有顏貌修麗，風表閒雅，望之溢目，接之適意，威儀如龍虎，盤旋成規矩。然心蔽神否，才無所堪，心中所有，盡附皮膚。口不能吐片奇，筆不能屬半句；入不能宰民，出不能用兵；治事則事廢，銜命則命辱。動靜無宜，出處莫可。蓋難分之一也。

Master Baopu said: A man's skill is not easy to know, and truth and falsehood may look alike. There are scholars with handsome and refined looks and an elegant, easy bearing, who fill the eye when seen and please when met, whose dignity is like a dragon or tiger and whose turns follow the compass and square. Yet their hearts are clouded and spirits blocked, their talent can bear no task, and everything within them is attached to the skin. Their mouths cannot utter half a piece of marvel, their brushes cannot string together half a line; at court they cannot govern the people, outside they cannot command troops; when they manage affairs, the affairs are ruined; when they carry an order, the order is disgraced. In movement and rest there is nothing fitting, in going out or staying there is nothing suitable. This is the first kind that is hard to tell apart.

士有貌望樸悴，容觀矬陋，聲氣雌弱，進止質澀。然而含英懷寶，經明行高，幹過元凱，文蔚春林。官則庶績康用，武則克全獨勝。蓋難分之二也。

There are scholars whose looks are plain and haggard, whose appearance is short and ugly, whose voice is weak like a woman's, and whose advancing and halting are stiff and awkward. Yet they contain brilliance and hold treasure within, their learning of the classics is clear and their conduct lofty, their ability surpasses that of Yuan and Kai, and their literary grace is richer than a spring forest. In office they are used to bring peace to all enterprises; in warfare they can preserve themselves and win on their own. This is the second kind that is hard to tell apart.

士有謀猷淵邃，術略入神，智周成敗，思洞幽玄，才兼能事，神器無宜；而口不傳心，筆不盡意，造次之接，不異凡庸。蓋難分之三也。

There are scholars whose plans are deep and far-reaching, whose strategy is divinely subtle, whose wisdom thoroughly covers success and failure, and whose thought penetrates the obscure and dark; their talent is equal to every task, and there is no great office they are not suited to. Yet their mouths do not convey their hearts and their brushes do not exhaust their meaning, so on a sudden meeting they are no different from the ordinary. This is the third kind that is hard to tell apart.

士有機變清銳，巧言綺粲，攬引譬喻，淵湧風厲；然而口之所談，身不能行；長於識古，短於理今，為政政亂，牧民民怨。蓋難分之四也。

There are scholars who are quick-witted and sharp, whose clever words are bright and flowing, who draw on analogies like a gushing spring and a fierce wind; yet what they talk about, they themselves cannot practice. They are good at knowing the past and weak at governing the present; when they govern, the government falls into disorder, and when they shepherd the people, the people resent them. This is the fourth kind that is hard to tell apart.

士有外形足恭，容虔言恪，而神疏心慢，中懷散放，受任不憂，居局不治，蓋難分之五也。

There are scholars whose outward form is respectful enough, with a reverent look and careful words, yet whose spirit is distant and heart is careless, whose inner thoughts are scattered and loose, who accept an appointment without worry and stay at their post without governing. This is the fifth kind that is hard to tell apart.

士有控弦命中，空拳入白，倒乘立騎，五兵畢習；而體輕慮淺，手剿心怯，虛試無對，而實用無驗。望塵奔北，聞敵失魄。蓋難分之六也。

There are scholars who draw the bow and hit the mark, who enter white blades with empty hands, who ride backward and ride standing, and are practiced in all five weapons; yet their bodies are light and their thoughts shallow, their hands quick and their hearts timid. In empty trials they have no match, but in real use they show no result. At the sight of dust they flee in defeat, and at the sound of the enemy they lose their souls. This is the sixth kind that is hard to tell apart.

士有梗概簡緩，言希貌樸，細行闕漏，不為小勇，口止局口止脊拘檢，犯而不校，握爪垂翅，名為弱願。然而膽勁心方，不畏強禦，義正所在，視死猶歸，支解寸斷，不易所守。蓋難分之七也。

There are scholars who are simple and slow in manner, sparing in speech and plain in looks, who are lax in small conduct, do not show petty courage, are restrained [the base text has corrupt characters here], are not bothered when offended, hold in their claws and lower their wings, and are called weakly mild. Yet their courage is stout and their hearts upright; they fear no powerful ruler, and where righteousness lies they treat death as returning home, and even when their limbs are cut apart inch by inch, they do not change what they hold. This is the seventh kind that is hard to tell apart.

士有孝友溫淑，恂恂平雅，履信思順，非禮不蹈，安困潔志，操清冰霜；而疏遲迂闊，不達事要，見機不作，所為無成，居己梁倡，受任不舉。蓋難分之八也。

There are scholars who are filial, friendly, gentle and good, sincere and calm and refined, who practice good faith and think of harmony, who tread nowhere that is not in accordance with ritual, who are at ease in hardship and keep their ambition pure, whose integrity is clear as ice and frost; yet they are slow and impractical, do not understand the essentials of affairs, do not act when they see the right opportunity, accomplish nothing in what they do, stumble in managing themselves, and cannot get things done when given an appointment. This is the eighth kind that is hard to tell apart.

士有行己高簡，風格峻峭，嘯傲偃蹇，凌儕慢俗，不肅檢括，不護小失，適情率意，旁若無人，朋黨排譴，談者同敗，士友不附，品藻所遺。而立朝正色，知無不為，忠於奉上，明以攝下。蓋難分之九也。

There are scholars who hold themselves lofty and simple, whose style is steep and austere, who roam proudly and haughtily, rising above their peers and neglecting the vulgar, who do not restrain themselves strictly and do not shield small faults, who follow their feelings and act at will as if no one were beside them, who are excluded by cliques, so those who talk with them are all ruined, and fellow scholars do not draw close, and who are left out of the rankings. Yet when they stand in court they wear a stern face, and do everything they know to be right; they are loyal in serving their superiors and use brightness to lead those below. This is the ninth kind that is hard to tell apart.

士有含弘曠濟，虛己受物，藏疾匿瑕，溫恭廉潔，勞謙沖退，救危全信，寄命不疑，託孤可保；而純良暗權，仁而不斷，善不能賞，惡不忍罰，忠貞有餘，而幹用不足，操柯猶豫，廢法效非，枉直混錯，終於負敗。蓋難分之十也。

There are scholars who are broad-minded and generous, who empty themselves to receive things, who hide faults and conceal flaws, who are gentle, respectful and honest, labor modestly and yield, rescue those in danger and keep faith, so that one can entrust one's life to them without doubt and leave an orphan child with them in safety; yet in their purity and goodness they are dark about expedience, benevolent but indecisive, unable to reward the good or bear to punish the bad, with loyalty more than enough but too little talent and capacity, who hesitate with the axe handle in their hands, abandon law to imitate what is wrong, mix up crooked and straight, and in the end suffer defeat. This is the tenth kind that is hard to tell apart.

夫物有似而實非，若然而不然。料之無惑，望形得神，聖者其將病諸，況乎常人故用才取士，推暱結友，不可以不精擇，不可以不詳試也。若乃性行之惑變，始正而終邪，若王莽初則美於伊霍，晚則劇於趙高，又非中才所能逆盡也。

There are things that look alike but in truth are not, which seem so but are not. To guess that they hold no deception, and to see the spirit by looking at the form, would trouble even a sage, let alone ordinary people. Therefore in choosing scholars by talent, and in recommending people and making friends, one must select carefully and test in detail. As for confusing changes in nature and conduct, beginning upright and ending crooked, like Wang Mang who at first was finer than Yi Yin and Huo Guang and later was worse than Zhao Gao, these are again beyond what a person of middling talent can foresee to the end.

若令士之易別，如鷦鷯之與鴻鵠，狐兔之與龍麟者，則四凶不得官於堯朝，管蔡不得幾危宗周，仲尼無澹臺之失，延陵無捐金之恨，伊尹無七十之勞，項羽無嫌範之悔矣。所患於其如石武石夫之亂瑾瑜，鷦螟之似鳳皇，凝冰之類水精，煙燻之疑雲氣，故令不謬者鮮也。惟帝難之，矧乎近人哉！

If scholars were easy to tell apart, as a wren from a swan or a fox and hare from a dragon and qilin, then the Four Villains could not have held office in the court of Yao, Guan and Cai could not have nearly endangered the Zhou, Confucius would not have made his mistake over Tantai, Yanling would not have had regret over the gold he threw away, Yi Yin would not have labored seventy times, and Xiang Yu would not have had regret at distrusting Fan Zeng. The trouble lies in wufu stone confusing fine jade (the base text writes the characters of the name in split form, meaning 'wufu stone'), the insect looking like the phoenix, congealed ice resembling crystal, and smoke being mistaken for clouds, so that those who make no mistakes are few. Even the emperor found it hard, let alone ordinary people near him!

夫惟大明，玄鑑幽微，靈銓揣物，思灼沈昧，瞻山識璞，臨川知珠。士於難分之中，而無取捨之恨者，使臧否區分，抑揚鹹允。武丁姬文不獨治，而傅說呂尚不永棄，高莽宰嚭不得成其惡，弘恭石顯無所容其偽矣。其蓋取士之較略，選擇之大都耳。精微以求，存乎其人，固非毫翰之所備縷也。

Only a great enlightened one, whose dark mirror sees the hidden and subtle, whose spiritual scale weighs things, whose thought illuminates the sunken and dim, who looks at a mountain and recognizes the uncut jade, and who faces a river and knows the pearl, among scholars hard to tell apart will have no regret over choosing and rejecting, so that the worthy and the unworthy are separated and praise and blame are all fitting. Wu Ding and Ji Wen would not have governed alone, Fu Yue and Lü Shang would not have been abandoned forever, and Wang Mang and Bo Pi could not have achieved their evil, and Hong Gong and Shi Xian would have had no place to lodge their falsehood. This is presumably the general outline of taking in scholars and the main points of choosing them. Seeking in fine detail depends on the person himself, and is certainly not something that brush and ink can fully set out in detail.

姑子劉君士由之論曰：“人綱始於夫婦，判合擬乎二儀。是故大婚之禮，古人所重，將合二姓之好，以承祖宗之基。主人拜迎於門，聽命於廟，玄纁贄幣，親御授綏，婿有三年之喪，致命女氏，女氏許諾而不敢改。大喪既沒，請命於婿，婿有辭焉，然後乃嫁。所以崇敬讓也。豈有先訟後婿之謂乎

Liu Shiyou, the husband of my aunt, argued: "The framework of human relations begins with husband and wife, and their joining is likened to the two forces of heaven and earth. Therefore the rites of the great marriage were weighty to the ancients, for they were about to unite the goodwill of two families in order to carry on the ancestral work. The host bows to welcome at the gate and listens to the order in the temple; the dark silk and gifts are presented; the groom drives the carriage himself and hands over the cord; if the groom has a three-year mourning, he reports it to the bride's family, and the bride's family agrees and does not dare to change. When the great mourning is over, they ask the groom for his order, and if the groom declines, only then does she marry. So respect and yielding were honored. Where is there any such thing as litigating first and becoming a son-in-law afterward?

而末世輕慢，傷化敗俗，舉不修義，許而弗與，訟鬩穢辱，煩塞官曹。今可使諸爭婚者，未及同牢，皆聽義絕，而倍還酒禮，歸其幣帛。其嘗已再離者，一倍裨娉。其三絕者，再倍裨娉。如此，離者不生訟心，貪吝者無利重受，乃王治要術，不易之永法也。”

(Master Liu continued:) "But in the latter ages, manners have become slack, harming instruction and ruining custom; conduct does not cultivate righteousness, engagements are made but not fulfilled, and quarrels and disgrace clutter and block the offices. Now let all those who contend over marriages, even if they have not yet shared the sacrificial meal, be allowed to break the tie by decree, and return double the wine gifts and return their silks. For those who have already broken off twice, a double supplement of betrothal gifts; for three breaks, again a double supplement. In this way, those who break off will not conceive the heart to litigate, and the greedy will have no profit to receive twice; this is the essential method of royal government and a lasting law that cannot be altered."

抱朴子答曰：“劉君憫德讓之凌替，疾民爭之損化，雖速我訟，室家不足，用和之貴，將遂淪胥。創讜言以拾世遺，建嘉謀以拯流遁，紛譁之俗，將以此而易，無恥之風，將由此而移。彌綸情偽，固難間矣。誠經國之永法，至益之篤論也。

Master Baopu replied: "Master Liu grieves over the decline and abandonment of virtue and yielding, and hates how the people's contention harms instruction; even if it plunged me into litigation at once, a household would still be insufficient, and the value of harmony would be about to sink along with it. Establishing upright words to gather up what the age has missed, and setting forth a good plan to rescue those who stray, the clamorous custom will thereby be changed, and the shameless fashion will thereby be moved. Embracing true and false feelings alike, it is of course hard to drive a wedge. It is truly a lasting law for managing a state, a sincere argument of the greatest benefit.

洪以不敏，不識至理，造次承問，竊有疑焉。夫婚媾之結，義無逼迫，彼則簡擇而求，此則可意乃許，輕諾後悔，罪在女氏，食言棄信，與奪任情，嚴防峻制，未之能弭。今猥恣之，唯責裨娉倍貧者所憚也，豐於財者，則適其願矣。後所許者，或能富殖，助其裨娉，必所甘心。然則先家拱默，不得有言，原情論之，能無怨嘆乎

(Master Baopu continued:) "I, Hong, am dull and do not understand the ultimate principle, and being asked on a sudden, I privately have doubts. In the tie of marriage, righteousness exerts no compulsion: one side selects and seeks, the other agrees only when the match suits it. Promising lightly and then repenting is the fault of the bride's family; going back on a word and discarding good faith, giving or taking away at will, has not been stopped even by strict prevention and harsh control. Now if it is simply left free, and only a doubled supplement of betrothal gifts is demanded, it is what the poor fear, while for the rich it just suits their wish. The man later promised may be wealthy and glad to help with the supplement. Then the first family would fold its hands in silence and be unable to say a word; if we trace the feelings and consider, can they have no resentment and sighing?

夫不伏之人，視死猶歸，血刃之禍，於是將起。今苟惜其辭訟之小丑，而構其難忍之大恨，所謂愛其僦覽之煩，忘其凋殞之酷也。夫買物於市者，或加價而奪之，則鮮忍而不忿然矣，況乎見奪待告之妻哉！此法遂用者，將使結婚者，雖納敬親迎，猶抱有見奪之慮。何者劉君之論，以同牢為斷，固也。

(Master Baopu continued:) "Those who do not submit treat death as returning home, and a disaster of bloody blades will arise from it. Now if one recklessly spares oneself the petty ugliness of lawsuits, one creates a great hatred that is hard to bear, which is what is called sparing the trouble of renting a view while forgetting the cruelty of withering and falling. A man who buys something in the market, when it is taken away by someone offering a higher price, can seldom hold back without anger; how much more on seeing the wife awaiting her wedding taken away! If this law were adopted, those marrying would, even after paying respects and going to meet the bride in person, still carry the worry of being robbed. Why? Master Liu's argument takes the shared sacrificial meal as the point of decision, and so it is bound to be this way.

爾則女氏雖受幣積年，恆挾在意之威，恃可數奪，必惰於擇婿，婿小不得意，便得改悔，結讎帶禍，莫此之甚矣。曩人畫法，慮關終始，杜漸防萌，思之良精，而不關恣奪之路，斷以報板之制者，殆有決乎

(Master Baopu continued:) "In that case the bride's family, even though it has received the betrothal gifts for years, will always carry a power of doing as it pleases, and relying on being able to take her back again and again will surely be lax about choosing a son-in-law, and as soon as the groom is slightly displeasing, it will be able to repent; there is nothing worse than this for breeding hatred and bringing disaster. The ancients drew up laws with an eye to the whole course from start to finish, stopping things at their gradual beginnings and guarding against the sprout, their thought was truly refined, not opening a road for free grabbing, and they decided with a system of reporting by tablet; was this not perhaps decisive?"

儻令女有國色，傾城絕倫，而值豪右權臣之徒，目玩冶容，心忘禮度，資累千金，情無所吝。十倍還娉，猶所不憚，況但一乎華氏不難於殺孔父而取其妻，楚人為子迎婦，以其美而自納之。以此論之，豈惜傾竭居產以助女氏還前家之直哉！小人輕薄，睚眥成怨，又喜委衰逐盛，蹋冷趨熱，此法之行，則必多奪貧賤而與富貴者矣。不審吾君，何方以防弊乎！

(Master Baopu continued:) "Suppose a girl has the beauty of a kingdom, overturning cities and without peer, but meets one of the powerful and wealthy ministers, whose eyes delight in her lovely face and whose heart forgets the rules of ritual, and whose wealth has piled up a thousand gold with nothing his feelings begrudge. To return the betrothal gifts ten times over he would still not fear, to say nothing of only double. Mr. Hua did not find it hard to kill Kong Fu and take his wife, and a man of Chu who went to meet a bride for his son took her himself because she was beautiful. From this, would one begrudge emptying the household to help the bride's family return the price to the previous family! Petty people are fickle and form grudges over a glare, and they also love to cast off the declining and pursue the flourishing, to tread on the cold and hasten to the hot; once this law is put into effect, it will surely lead to the poor and lowly being taken for the most part and given to the rich and noble. I do not know by what method you would guard against the abuse!"

或曰：可使女氏受娉無豐約，皆以即日報板，後皆使時人署姓名於別板，必十人已上，必備遠行及死亡。又令女之父兄若伯叔，答婿家書，必手書一紙，若有變悔而證據明者，女氏父母兄弟，皆加刑罪。如此，庶於無訟者乎！

Someone said: It could be arranged that the bride's family, whatever the gifts received, whether rich or modest, reports them by tablet on that very day, and afterward has the people present sign their names on another tablet, at least ten people, with allowance for those who may travel far or die. Further, the bride's father, brother or uncle should answer the groom's family letter, and must write one sheet with his own hand; and if there is a change or repentance and the evidence is clear, the bride's parents and brothers should all be given punishments. In this way, there would perhaps be almost no one who litigates!

抱朴子曰：目之所好，不可從也；耳之所樂，不可順也；鼻之所喜，不可任也；口之所嗜，不可隨也；心之所欲，不可恣也。故惑目者，必逸容鮮藻也；惑耳者，必妍音淫聲也；惑鼻者，必草臣蕙芬也；惑口者，必珍羞嘉旨也；惑心者，必勢利功名也。五者畢惑，則或承之禍為身患者，不亦信哉！

Master Baopu said: What the eyes like should not be followed; what the ears enjoy should not be obeyed; what the nose delights in should not be indulged; what the mouth relishes should not be pursued; what the heart desires should not be given free rein. Therefore what bewilders the eyes is surely an outstanding form and fresh color; what bewilders the ears is surely lovely sounds and licentious music; what bewilders the nose is surely the fragrance of scented orchids (the base text has a corrupt name, which should be a fragrant plant); what bewilders the mouth is surely rare delicacies and fine flavors; what bewilders the heart is surely power, profit, merit and fame. If all five are bewildered, then one may in succession receive calamity and make it one's own trouble; is this not certain?

是以智者嚴檃括於性理，不肆神以逐物，檢之以恬愉，增之以長算。其抑情也，劇乎堤防之備決；其御性也，過乎腐轡之乘奔。故能內保永年，外免釁累也。蓋飢寒難堪者也，而清節者不納不義之谷帛焉；困賤難居者也，而高尚者不處危亂之榮貴焉。蓋計得則能忍之心全矣，道勝則害性之事棄矣。

Therefore the wise man tightens the straightening frame on his nature and principles, does not let his spirit run loose to chase after things, restrains himself with calm contentment, and increases his reckoning with long-range thinking. He restrains his feelings more strictly than a dike guards against a breach, and drives his nature better than one riding a runaway horse with rotten reins. So within he can preserve long life, and outside he escapes stain and entanglement. Hunger and cold are hard to bear, yet a person of pure integrity does not accept grain or silk that is unrighteous; poverty and lowliness are hard to dwell in, yet a lofty person does not remain in the glory of danger and disorder. Presumably, when the reckoning is right, the heart that can endure is preserved, and when the Way prevails, things that harm one's nature are cast aside.

夫酒醴之近味，生病之毒物，無毫分之細益，有丘山之巨損，君子以之敗德，小人以之速罪，耽之惑之，鮮不及禍。世之士人，亦知其然，既莫能絕，又不肯節，縱心口之近欲，輕召災之根源，似熱渴之恣冷，雖適己而身危也。小大亂喪，亦罔非酒。

Wine and sweet liquor are an immediate flavor and a poison that brings sickness, with no benefit of even a fine fraction, and a great loss like a hill or mountain; through it the gentleman ruins his virtue, and the petty man hastens his crime; those who sink into it and are bewildered by it seldom fail to meet disaster. The scholars of the world also know this, yet they can neither cut it off nor are willing to restrain it; they indulge the immediate desires of heart and mouth and make light of the root of calamity, like one who in feverish thirst gives himself up to cold drink, which suits himself though his body is in danger. Disorder and loss great and small are none other than from wine.

然而俗人是酣是湎，其初筵也，抑抑濟濟，言希容整，詠《湛露》之“厭厭”，歌“在鎬”之“愷樂”，舉“萬壽”之觴，育“溫克”之義。日未移晷，體輕耳熱。夫琉璃海螺之器並用，滿酌罰餘之令遂急。醉而不止，拔轄投井。

Yet the common people only drink deep and drink long. When the mats are first laid, they are dignified and orderly, few in words and tidy in looks, chanting the line about the quiet drinking of the Zhan Lu ode, singing the joyous Hao ode, raising a cup of ten thousand years, and cherishing the principle of gentle restraint. Before the shadow has moved, their bodies are light and their ears hot. Glass and conch vessels are all in use, and the rules of filling a cup to the brim and penalizing leftover wine become pressing. Drunk, they still do not stop, and pull the linchpin out of the carriage and throw it into the well.

於是口湧鼻溢，濡首及亂。屢舞躚躚，舍其坐遷；載號載呶，如沸如羹。或爭辭尚勝，或啞啞獨笑，或無對而談，或嘔吐几筵，或值厥足良倡，或冠脫帶解。

Then the mouth gushes and the nose overflows, and the soaked head is in disarray. They dance again and again in whirling steps, leave their seats and move around; they howl and shout, boiling like soup. Some argue over words, striving to win; some laugh alone with a sound of ha ha; some talk with no one there; some vomit on the mats; some just have their feet go limp and stagger; some have their caps fall off and their sashes come loose.

貞良者流華督之顧眄，怯懦者效慶忌之蕃捷，遲重者蓬轉而波擾，整肅者鹿踴而魚躍。口訥於寒暑者，皆搖掌而譜聲，謙卑而不競者，悉裨瞻以高交。廉恥之儀毀，而荒錯之疾發；闒茸之性露，而傲佷之態出。

The upright and good let out glances like Hua Du, the timid imitate the quick agility of Qingji, the slow and heavy are like whirling tumbleweed or like churned waves, and the sober and orderly are like leaping deer or leaping fish. Those whose mouths are slow in talk of cold and heat all wave their palms and compose sounds, and the humble who do not contend all increase their courage and make high-flown acquaintances. The dignity of honor and shame is ruined, and the sickness of wild error breaks out; the nature of the base and mean is exposed, and the arrogant and perverse manner comes forth.

精濁神亂，臧否顛倒。或奔車走馬，赴坑谷而不憚，以九折之阪為蟲豈封；或登危蹋頹，雖墮墜而不覺，以呂梁之淵為牛跡也。或肆仇於器物，或酗醟於妻子；加枉酷於臣僕，用剡鋒乎六畜；熾火烈於室廬，掊寶玩於淵流；遷威怒於路人，加暴害於士友。褻嚴主以夷戮者，有矣；犯兇人而受困者，有矣。

The essence is clouded and the spirit in disorder, and right and wrong are turned upside down. Some race carriages and gallop horses toward pits and valleys without fear, taking a slope of nine turns for an anthill (the base text has a damaged character with a radical remaining); some climb the perilous and tread on the collapsing, and even if they fall they do not feel it, taking the deep pool of Lüliang for an ox's hoofprint. Some give free rein to enmity against objects, some rage violently at wife and children; they inflict cruelty on servants, use blades on the six domestic animals, light a blazing fire in the house, and throw treasures into the deep stream; they shift their rage to passersby and inflict violence and harm on friends. There have been those who slighted a stern lord and were executed; there have been those who offended a fierce man and were put in difficulty.

言雖尚辭，煩而叛理；拜伏徒多，勞悲非敬。臣子失禮於君親之前，幼賤悖慢於耆宿之坐。謂清談為詆詈，以忠告為侵己。於是白刃抽而忘思難之慮，棒杖奮而罔顧乎前後。構漉血之讎，招大辟之禍。

Talk may prize fine phrasing, yet it grows tangled and betrays reason; bowing and prostration multiply in vain, for toil and misery are not reverence. The subject forgets courtesy before his lord and parent; the young and lowly are insolent at the seats of the aged and honoured. Pure conversation is dubbed scolding, honest counsel is taken as trespass. And so the naked blade is drawn with no thought of the trouble it courts, and the cudgel is raised with no heed of what lies before or behind — forming a feud of flowing blood and drawing the calamity of the capital axe.

以少凌長，則鄉黨加重責矣；辱人父兄，則子弟將推刃矣；發人所諱，則壯士不能堪矣；計數深克，則醒者不能恕矣。起眾患於須臾，結百疒阿於膏肓。奔駟不能追既往之悔，思改而無自反之蹊。蓋智者所深防，而愚人所不免也。其為禍敗，不可勝載。

If the young lord it over the elder, the neighbourhood will heap on heavier blame; insult a man's father or brother and his sons will bare the blade; expose what men hold taboo and even the stalwart cannot bear it; keep score deep and harshly and the sober cannot forgive. In a moment a host of ills is raised, and the hundred diseases are knotted fast in the vitals (the base text's graph is corrupt; read 'ailments'). A racing team of four cannot run down the regret of what is past; one wishes to change, yet there is no path back. This is what the wise deeply guard against and the foolish cannot escape; the ruin it makes cannot be fully recorded.

然而歡集，莫之或釋，舉白盈耳，不論於能否。計瀝雨留於小余，以稽遲為輕己。傾匡注於所敬，殷勤變而成薄。勸之不持，督之不盡，怨色醜音所由而發也。

Yet at the merry gathering no one is let off; cries of 'raise the cup!' fill the ears, whether a man can drink or not. They count the last drops left in the heel of a cup, and take any tarrying as slighting oneself. They tip the bowl to pour for the honoured guest, and attentiveness curdles into thinness.