Bao Pu Zi Wai Pian (抱朴子外篇) · Volume 8

“夫心不違仁而明不經國，危亡之禍，無以杜遏，亦可知矣。夫料盛衰於未兆，探機事於無形，指倚伏於理外，距浸潤於根生者，明之功也。垂惻隱於昆蟲，雖見犯而不校，睹觳觫而改牲，避行葦而不蹈者，仁之事也。爾則明者才也，行者行也。殺身成仁之行可力為，而至鑑玄測幽之明難亡假。精粗之分，居然殊矣。夫體不忍之仁，無臧否之明，則心惑偽真，神亂朱紫，思算不分，邪正不識。不遠安危，則一身之不保，何暇立以濟物乎！昔姬公非無友於之愛，而涕泣以滅親；石石昔非無天性之慈，而割私以奉公。蓋明見事體，不溺近情，遂為純臣。以義斷恩，舍仁用明，以計抑仁，仁可時廢而明不可無也。湯武逆取順守，誠不仁也。應天革命，以其明也。徐偃修仁以朝同班，外墜城池之險，內無戈甲之備，亡國破家，不明之禍也。”

(Baopuzi went on:) 'That a heart not contrary to humaneness yet lacking discernment cannot order a state, and that the calamity of peril and ruin cannot be dammed—this too can be known. To reckon rise and fall before they show, to probe the workings before they form, to point out leaning and resting beyond the pattern, to ward off the seeping at the root where it grows—this is the work of discernment. To stretch pity even to insects, to make no reckoning even when offended, to change the victim at seeing the trembling, to step aside from the reeds on the path—this is the business of humaneness. Thus discernment is capacity, and conduct is conduct. The deed of dying to perfect humaneness can be done by strength; but the discernment of the utmost mirror and dark sounding is hard to borrow. The difference of fine and coarse stands plainly apart. One whose nature holds an unbearing humaneness but lacks the discernment of good and bad will have a heart confused between false and true, a spirit that mixes vermilion and purple, thought without measure, no telling of crooked from straight. Unable to see far to safety and danger, he cannot keep even one body whole—what leisure has he to rise and aid things! Of old the Duke of Zhou was not without brotherly love, yet he wept and destroyed his kin; Shi Que was not without a parent's tenderness (the base text reads "shi xi," "xi" being an error for "que"), yet he cut the private to serve the public. Both saw the body's frame with discernment, not drowning in near feeling, and so became pure ministers. They cut feeling by rightness, set aside humaneness to use discernment, suppressed humaneness by reckoning—humaneness can be laid aside for a moment; discernment cannot be lacking. Tang and Wu took in defiance and kept in compliance—truly inhumane. Answering heaven and making the revolution—they used their discernment. Xu Yan cultivated humaneness to court his peers; without, he lost the steepness of walls; within, he lacked the readiness of spear and armor; state ruined and house destroyed—this is the calamity of undiscernment.'

門人曰：“仲尼嘆仁為任重而道遠，又云，人而不仁如禮何若聖與仁，則吾豈敢！

The disciples said: 'Zhongni sighed that humaneness is a heavy charge and a long road, and also said, if a man is not humane, what has he to do with the rites? As for sagehood and humaneness—how dare I aspire to them!'

孟子曰，仁，宅也；義，路也。人無惻隱之心，非仁也。三代得天下以仁，失天下以不仁。此皆聖賢之格言，竹素之顯證也。而先生貴明，未見典據。小子蔽暗，竊所惑焉。”

(The disciples went on:) 'Mengzi said: humaneness is the dwelling, rightness is the road. A man without a heart of pity is not humane. The Three Dynasties won all under heaven by humaneness and lost it for inhumanity. These are the sage-worthies' fine sayings, clear proofs upon the bamboo and the silk. Yet you, sir, prize discernment, and we see no canonical warrant for it. We youngsters are dim and privately perplexed.'

抱朴子答曰：“古人云，好仁不好學，其蔽也愚。子近之矣。曩六國相吞，豺虎力競，高權詐而下道德，尚殺伐而廢退讓，孟生方欲抑頓貪殘，褒隆仁義，安得不勤勤諄諄，獨稱仁邪然未有片言，雲仁勝明也。譬猶疫癘之時，醫巫為貴，異口同辭，唯論藥石，豈可便謂針艾之伎，過於長生久視之道乎且吾以為仁明之事，布於方策，直欲切理示，大較精神，舉一隅耳。而子猶日用而不知，雲明事之無據乎！乾稱大明終始，六位時成。是立天以明，無不包也。坤雲至哉萬物資生，是地德仁，承順而已。先後之理，不亦炳然！《詩》云，明明上天，照臨下土。明明天子，令問不已。’《易》曰，王明並受其福。幽贊神明，神而明之。此則明之與神合體，誠非純仁，所能企擬也。孔子曰‘聰明神武’，不雲‘聰仁’，又曰‘昔者明王之治天下’，不曰‘仁王’。《春秋傳》曰：‘明德惟磬’，不雲‘仁德’。《書》雲‘元首明哉’，不曰‘仁哉’。老子嘆上士，則曰‘明白四達’，其說衰薄，則曰‘失道而後德，失德而後仁’。《易》曰‘王者南面嚮明’，不雲‘向仁’也。我欲仁，斯仁至矣。又曰‘為仁由己’，斯則人人可為之也。至於聰明，何可督哉！故孟子云，凡見赤子將入井，莫不趨而救之。以此觀之，則莫不有仁心，但厚薄之間，而聰明之分時而有耳。昔崔杼不殺晏嬰，晏嬰謂杼為大不仁，而有小仁。然則奸臣賊子，猶能有仁矣。”

Baopuzi answered: 'The ancients said: loving humaneness without loving learning—its blindness is folly. You are close to that. In former times the six states devoured one another, jackals and tigers vying in strength; they prized expedients and deceit and set the Way and virtue low, exalted slaughter and abandoned deference. Master Meng was simply trying to check greed and cruelty and exalt humaneness and rightness—how could he not be earnest and pressing, praising humaneness alone? Yet there is not a single phrase saying humaneness surpasses discernment. It is like a season of pestilence, when healers and shamans are prized and every mouth says the same thing, discoursing only on drugs and minerals—can one then say the arts of needle and moxa surpass the way of long life and long sight? Moreover, I hold that the business of humaneness and discernment is spread over the slips and tablets; I wished only to draw near the pattern of things to display it, roughly its spirit, raising one corner. Yet you use it daily without knowing—does that mean discernment has no warrant? Qian is called "the great light ends and begins; the six places come to pass in their seasons"—this is heaven established by light, nothing left unwrapped. Kun says "utmost is it—the myriad things owe it birth"—this is earth-virtue's humaneness, receiving and complying. Is the order of first and last not bright? The Odes say: "Bright is heaven above, shining down on the earth below. Bright is the Son of Heaven; his fair fame is unending." The Changes says: "When the king is bright, all share his blessing"; "dimly he aids the divine light—he is made divine and made bright." This is light joined with the divine—truly beyond what mere humaneness can reach or match. Confucius said "keen, bright, spirit-like, warlike," not "keen and humane"; he said "in old times the enlightened kings' ordering of all under heaven," not "humane kings." The Tradition of the Spring and Autumn says "bright virtue is fragrant" (the base text reads "qing," an error for "xin"), not "humane virtue." The Documents says "the head is bright," not "humane." Laozi, praising the superior man, says "in clarity he reaches the four quarters"; speaking of decline he says "when the Way is lost comes virtue; when virtue is lost comes humaneness." The Changes says "the king faces south, toward the light," not "toward humaneness." "I wish humaneness and humaneness is here," and "the doing of humaneness comes from oneself"—this is what every man can do. As for keen light—how can it be charged and got! So Mengzi said: all who see a babe about to fall into a well rush to save it. Seen thus, no man lacks a humane heart—it lies only in thick and thin, while the share of keen light is granted only at times. Of old Cui Zhu did not kill Yan Ying, and Yan Ying called Zhu greatly inhumane yet having a small humaneness—so even traitorous ministers and murderous sons can have humaneness.'

門人又曰：“《易》稱立人之道，曰仁與義，然則人莫大於仁也。”抱朴子答曰：“所以云爾者，以為仁在於行，行可力為，而明入於神，必須天授之才，非所以訓故也。

The disciples said further: 'The Changes holds that the way establishing man is called humaneness and rightness—so for man nothing is greater than humaneness.' Baopuzi answered: 'It is said so because humaneness lies in conduct, and conduct can be done by effort, whereas discernment enters the divine and must be heaven-granted capacity, not something to be trained into—hence that saying.'

抱朴子曰：盈乎萬鈞，必起於錙銖；竦秀凌霄，必始於分毫。是以行潦集而南溟就無涯之曠，尋常積而玄圃致極天之高。

Baopuzi said: A full weight of ten thousand jun surely rises from grains and motes; soaring brilliance that tops the sky surely begins from tenths of a hair. Thus rain-pools gather and the southern deep achieves its boundless breadth; small spans accumulate and the dark garden reaches its sky-topping height.

抱朴子曰：騁逸策迅策迅者，雖遺景而不勞，因風凌波者，雖濟危而不傾。是以元凱分職，而則天之勳就；伊呂去世任，而革命之功就。

Baopuzi said: One who gallops a racer and whips a swift can leave even his shadow behind without toil; one who rides the wind and skims the waves can cross the perilous and not overturn. Thus when the Yuans and Kais divided the offices, the work matching heaven was done; when Yi and Lü left the world to take their posts (the base text mistakenly repeats two characters), the work of the revolution was done.

抱朴子曰：瓊艘瑤緝，無涉川之用；金弧玉弦，無激乖之能。是以介潔而無政事者，非撥亂之器，儒雅而乏治略者，非翼亮之才。

Baopuzi said: A jasper barge and a jade oar are of no use in crossing a stream; a golden bow and a jade string have no power to loose an arrow. Thus a man austere and pure with no gift for affairs is no tool for ordering disorder; a refined and polished man lacking plans of rule is no talent for winging and brightening.

抱朴子曰：閬風玄圃，不借高於丘垤；懸黎結綠，不假觀於瓊珉。是以英偉不群，而幽蕙之芬駭；峻概獨立，而眾禽之響振。

Baopuzi said: Langfeng and the dark garden do not borrow height from a molehill; the xuanli and jielü jades do not borrow their look from quartz. Thus the heroic surpass the herd, yet the hidden orchid's fragrance startles men; the lofty bearing stands alone, yet the many birds' cries resound.

抱朴子曰：冰炭不炫能於冷熱，瑾瑜不證珍而體著。是以君子恭己，不恤乎莫與，至人屍居，心遺乎譭譽。

Baopuzi said: Ice and coals do not vaunt their power in cold and heat; fine jade does not prove its rarity—its substance shows of itself. Thus the noble man reveres his own person and does not worry that none will follow; the perfect man sits like a corpse, his heart forgetting blame and praise.

抱朴子曰：沖飈傾山，而不能效力於拔毫；火爍金石，而不能耀烈以起溼。是以淮陰善戰守，而拙理治之策；絳侯安社稷，而乏承對之給。

Baopuzi said: A gale can topple mountains yet cannot serve to pluck a hair; fire can melt metal and stone yet cannot turn its blaze to lifting damp. Thus Huaiyin was good at battle and defense yet clumsy at plans of ordered rule; the Marquis of Jiang settled the altars of state yet lacked readiness of reply.

抱朴子曰：徇名者不以授命為難，重身者不以近欲累情。是以紀信甘灰糜而不恨，楊朱同一毛於連城。

Baopuzi said: One who courts a name does not find it hard to give his life; one who prizes his person does not burden his feelings with near desires. Thus Ji Xin went sweetly to be burned without resentment, while Yang Zhu weighed a single hair equal to cities of jade.

抱朴子曰：小鮮不解靈虯之遠規，鳧鷖不知鴻鵠之非匹。是以耦耕者笑陳勝之投耒，淺識者嗤孔明之抱膝。

Baopuzi said: The small fish does not grasp the numinous dragon's far design; the duck and the gull do not know the swan is no mate for them. Thus the side-by-side ploughmen laughed at Chen Sheng for casting aside his plough, and shallow minds sneered at Kongming for hugging his knees.

抱朴子曰：淳鈞之鋒，驗於犀兕；宣慈之良，效於明試。是以同否則元凱與斗筲無殊，並任則騄騏與駑駘不異。

Baopuzi said: The edge of the Chungou blade is proved on rhinoceros and wild ox; the goodness of spreading kindness shows its effect on trial and test. Thus when times share misfortune, the Yuans and Kais are no different from a peck and a cup; when all are used alike, the qiji and the worn nag show no difference.

抱朴子曰：器非瑚簋，必進銳而退速；量擬伊呂，雖發晚而到早。是以鷦鷯倦翮，猶不越乎蓬杪，鴛雛徐起，顧眄而戾蒼昊。

Baopuzi said: A vessel not of hu and gui rank is sure to advance sharply and retire quickly; a measure matched to Yi and Lü, though starting late, arrives early. Thus the wren, its wings wearied, still cannot pass the bramble's tip, while the phoenix-chick rises slowly and with a turn of the eyes reaches the blue sky.

抱朴子曰：否終則承之以泰，晦極則清輝晨耀。是以垂耳吳阪者，騁千里之逸軌；縈鱗九淵者，凌虹霓以高蹈。

Baopuzi said: When pi ends, tai follows; when darkness is utmost, the clear glow gleams in the morning. Thus the horse that drooped its ears on the slopes of Wu galloped out a thousand-li track; the one that wound its scales in the nine deeps mounted the rainbow to walk on high.

抱朴子曰：九斷四屬者，蘊藻所以表靈；摧柯碎葉者，茝蕙所以增芬。是以夷吾桎檻，而建匡合之績；應侯困辱，而著入秦之勳。

Baopuzi said: Repeatedly broken and limbs parted—this is how the algae-wrapped turtle shows its numen; boughs broken and leaves shattered—this is how the fragrant orchid adds to its scent. Thus Yiwu, held in fetters, built the work of uniting all; the Marquis of Ying, bound and shamed, achieved the merit of entering Qin.

抱朴子曰：聽競者細，則利同而讎結；善否殊途，則事異而結生。是以嫫母宿瘤，惡見西施之豔容；商臣小白，曾聞延州之退耕。

Baopuzi said: Where those who hear rivalry are petty, profit shared knots into enmity; where the good and the bad take different roads, things diverge and resentment is born. Thus Momu and the tumor-woman hate to see Xishi's lovely face; Shangchen and Xiaobai once heard of Yanzhou's retiring to plough.

抱朴子曰：精純舛跡，則凌遲者愧恨；壯弱異科，則扛鼎者見忌。是以淮陰顯擢，而庸隸悒懊以疾其超；武安功高，而範睢飾談以破其事。

Baopuzi said: Where the keen and the dull run on different tracks, the laggard is ashamed and hateful; where the strong and the weak are classed apart, the tripod-lifter is envied. Thus when Huaiyin was raised on high, common menials grieved and hated his surpassing; when Wu'an's merit towered, Fan Ju dressed up his words to break his work.

抱朴子曰：必死之病，不下苦口之藥；朽爛之材，不受雕鏤之飾。是以比干匪躬，而剖心於精忠；田豐見微，而夷戮於言直。

Baopuzi said: On a mortal illness one does not spend bitter medicine; on rotten timber one does not lay carved ornament. Thus Bigan, careless of self, had his heart cut out for utmost loyalty; Tian Feng, seeing the first sign, was slaughtered for straight speech.

抱朴子曰：嶧陽孤桐，不能無弦而激哀響；大夏孤竹，不能莫吹而吐清聲。是官卑者稷離不能康庶績，權薄者伊周不能臻昇平。

Baopuzi said: The lone paulownia of Yi's south slope cannot sound its grieving note without strings; the lone bamboo of Daxia cannot breathe its clear tone unblown. Thus an officer of low rank—even a Ji or a Xie cannot bring the many works to health (the base text reads 'shi guan bei zhe,' likely missing a word); one whose power is thin—even an Yi or a Zhou cannot attain risen peace.

抱朴子曰：登峻者戒在於窮高，濟深者禍生於舟重。是以西秦有思上蔡之李斯，東越有悔盈亢之文種。

Baopuzi said: One who mounts the steep is warned at utmost height; one who crosses the deep meets calamity when the boat is heavy. Thus western Qin had a Li Si thinking on Shangcai; eastern Yue had a Wen Zhong repenting of overfullness.

抱朴子曰：剛柔有不易之質，貞橈有天然之性。是以百鍊而南金不虧其真，危困而烈士不失其正。

Baopuzi said: Hard and soft have a substance that cannot be changed; firm and pliant have a nature that is born. Thus smelt it a hundred times and southern metal does not lose its truth; in peril and want the fierce officer does not lose his rectitude.

抱朴子曰：不以其道，則富貴不足居；違仁舍義，雖期頤不足吝。是以卞隨負石以投淵，仲由甘心以赴刃。

Baopuzi said: What is not by that way—wealth and honor are not worth dwelling in; leaving humaneness and casting off rightness—though one live to a hundred it is not worth clinging to. Thus Bian Sui shouldered a stone and threw himself into the deep; Zhongyou went gladly to meet the blade.

抱朴子曰：卑高不可以一概齊，餐廩不可以勸沮化。是以惠施患從車之苦少，莊周憂得魚之方多。

Baopuzi said: Low and high cannot be leveled by a single mark; the grain-fed cannot be transformed by urging and dissuading. Thus Hui Shi fretted that the following carts were too few; Zhuang Zhou worried that the ways of catching fish were too many.

抱朴子曰：出處有冰炭之殊，躁靜有飛沈之異。是以墨翟以重繭趼怡顏，箕叟以遺世得意。

Baopuzi said: Going out and staying in differ as ice and coals; restless and still differ as soaring and sinking. Thus Mo Di was pleased of face for the calluses on his feet; the old man of the Ji was content for leaving the world behind.

抱朴子曰：適心者交淺而愛深，忤神者接久而彌乖。是以聲同則傾蓋而居暱，道異而白首而無愛。

Baopuzi said: One who suits the heart loves deeply though the acquaintance is shallow; one who grates the spirit grows ever more contrary though the contact is long. Thus when the sound is the same, a meeting of carriage-tops is close at once; when the ways differ, white-haired age brings no love.

抱朴子曰：艅艎鷁首，涉川之良器也，棹之以北狄，則沈漂於波流焉。蒲梢汗血，迅趨之駿足也，御非造父，則傾僨於嶮途焉。青萍豪曹，剡鋒之精絕也，操者非羽越，則有自傷之患焉。勁兵銳卒，撥亂之神物也，用者非明哲，則速自焚之禍焉。

Baopuzi said: The great bird-prowed barge is a fine tool for crossing streams—rowed by a northern Di it sinks in the current. The Puxiao sweat-blood is a fleet-footed courser—driven by any but Zaofu it overturns on the steep road. Qingping and Haocao are the finest of sharp blades—held by any but Yu or Yue they bring the harm of self-wounding. Strong troops and keen soldiers are the divine instrument for ordering disorder—wielded by any but the clear and wise they hasten the ruin of self-burning.

抱朴子曰：天秩有不遷之常尊，無禮犯遄死之重刺。是以玄洲之禽獸，惟能言而不得廁貴牲；蛩蛩之負厥足，雖寄命而不得為仁義。

Baopuzi said: The heaven-decreed ranks have an honored order that cannot be moved; an impious trespass brings the heavy reproof of swift death. Thus the fowl and beast of Xuanzhou, though they can speak, cannot take their place among the nobly natured (the base text reads 'gui sheng,' 'sheng' being an error for 'xing'); the qiongqiong carrying the jue rat upon its back, though it gives its life, cannot be reckoned humane and right.

抱朴子曰：謗讀言不可以巧言弭，實恨不可以虛事釋。釋之非其道，弭之不由理，猶懷冰以遣冷，重爐以卻暑，逐光以逃影，穿舟以止漏矣。

Baopuzi said: Slander and curses cannot be melted by clever words (the base text reads 'bang du yan,' 'du' being an error for 'du'); real hatred cannot be dispelled by empty deeds. To dispel not by that way and to melt not by that pattern is like holding ice to send off cold, stoking the stove to cool the heat, chasing the light to flee one's shadow, piercing the boat to stop its leak.

抱朴子曰：明主官人，不令出其器；忠臣居位，不敢過其量。非其才而妄授，非所堪而虛任，猶冰碗之盛沸湯，葭莩之包烈火，綴萬鈞於腐索，加倍載於扁舟。

Baopuzi said: The enlightened lord employs men and does not let them pass their capacity; the loyal minister holds office and dares not overstep his measure. Bestowing wantonly on one not of that talent and charging hollowly what cannot be borne is like a bowl of ice holding boiling broth, a rush-leaf wrapping fierce flame, hanging ten thousand jun on a rotten cord, and loading a doubled freight on a little boat.

抱朴子曰：豹笏之裘，不為負薪施；九成六變，不為聾夫設；高唱遠和，不為庸愚吐；忘身致果，不為薄德作。

Baopuzi said: A robe of leopard and fox is not spread for the wood-bearer; the nine-part music and the six changes are not staged for a deaf man; a high song with far echo is not uttered for the common fool; forgetting self to reach the goal is not done for the thin-virtued.

抱朴子曰：民財匱夫而求不已，下力竭矣，而役不休，欲怨嘆之不生，規其寧之惟永，斷根以續枝，割背以裨腹，刻目以廣明，剜耳以開聰也。

Baopuzi said: When the people's wealth is spent (the base text reads 'kui fu,' 'fu' being an error for 'yi') and the exactions do not stop, when their strength is drained and the labors do not cease, to want sighs of resentment not to rise and to plan peace that lasts is like severing the root to lengthen the branch, cutting the back to mend the belly, gouging the eye to widen sight, and carving the ear to open hearing.

抱朴子曰：法無一定，而慕權宜之隨時，功不倍前，而好屢變以偶俗，猶剸高馬以適卑車，削附踝以就偏履，斷長劍以赴短鞞，割尺璧以納促匣也。

Baopuzi said: When law has no fixity yet one envies expediency to suit the time, when merit is not doubled over the past yet one loves constant change to match the crowd, it is like whittling a tall horse to fit a low cart, shaving the ankle-bone to squeeze a skewed shoe, cutting a long sword to fill a short sheath, and slicing a foot of jade to slip into a narrow case.

抱朴子曰：止波之修鱗，不出窮谷之隘；鸞棲之峻木，不秀培螻之卑，九疇之格言，不吐庸猥之口，金版之高算，不出恆民之懷，睹百抱之支，則足以知其本之不細，睹汪濊之文，則足以覺其人之淵邃。

Baopuzi said: The long-scaled swimmer that can still the waves does not come out of the narrows of a poor vale; the steep wood where the simurgh perches does not grow on the lowness of a mound (the base text reads 'pei lou,' 'lou' being an error for 'pou'). The fine words of the Nine Divisions are not uttered from common mouths; the high reckoning of the golden tablets does not come from ordinary men's breasts. Seeing a branch of a hundred spans, one knows its root is not slender; seeing billowing writing, one feels that man is deep indeed.

抱朴子曰：桑林鬱藹，無補柏木之悽冽；膏壤帶郭，無解黔敖之蒙袂。然繭纊綈紈，引之自出，千倉萬箱，於是乎生。故識遠者貴本，見近者務末。

Baopuzi said: A lush mulberry grove cannot mend the pine and cypress's chill austerity; rich soil girding the walls cannot dispel Qian'ao's sleeve-covering hunger. Yet silk floss and fine gauze are drawn out from there, and a thousand stores and ten thousand bins are born from there. So the far-seeing prize the root; the near-sighted busy the branches.

抱朴子曰：體粗者系形，知精者得神，原始見終者，有可推之緒，得之未朕者，無假物之因。是以晝見天地，未足稱明，夜察分毫，乃為絕倫。

Baopuzi said: One whose grasp is coarse is tied to the form; one whose knowing is keen attains it in the spirit. One who traces the origin and sees the end has threads that can be followed; one who gets it before the sign has formed has no cause to borrow from outer things. Thus to see heaven and earth in daylight does not count as sight; to discern a fraction of a hair by night is beyond compare.

抱朴子曰：鐓藻春耀，不能離柯以久鮮；吞舟之魚，不能捨水而攝生。是以名美而實不副者，必無沒節之風；位高而器不稱者，不免致寇之敗。

Baopuzi said: The ornament strung gleaming like spring flowers cannot leave the bough and keep fresh long; the boat-swallowing fish cannot leave the water and keep life. Thus one whose fame is fair but whose substance falls short is sure to lack the manner of keeping integrity to the end; one whose seat is high but whose capacity does not match cannot escape the ruin of summoning the foe.

抱朴子曰：忍痛苦之藥石者，所以除伐命之疾；嬰甲冑之重冷者，所以捍鋒鏑之集；潔操履之拘苦者，所以全拔萃之業；納拂心之至言者，所以無易方之惑也。

Baopuzi said: To bear the pain of drugs and moxa is to remove the illness that fells life; to bear the weight and cold of armor is to ward the gathering of blade and arrow; to keep pure in the bonds of conduct is to keep whole a work that stands out; to receive utmost words that grate the heart is to have no confusion of changing course.

抱朴子曰：鸞鳳競粒於庭場，則受褻於雞鶩；龍麟雜廁於芻豢，則見覿於六牲。是以商老棲峻以播邈世之操，卞隨赴深以全遺物之聲。

Baopuzi said: If the luan and phoenix vie for grains in the barnyard, they are insulted by chickens and ducks; if the dragon and the unicorn are mixed among the fodder-beasts, they are seen as common stock. Thus the four old men of Mount Shang lodged on the heights to spread an integrity beyond the age, and Bian Sui went to the deep to keep whole the fame of leaving things behind.

抱朴子曰：浚井不渫則泥濘滋積，嘉穀不耘則荑莠彌蔓。學而不思則閡實繁，講而不精則長惑喪功。

Baopuzi said: A well not dredged—mud and silt gather; fine grain unweeded—tares and weeds spread. Learning without thinking—blockage and muddle multiply; discoursing without care—confusion grows and the work is lost.

抱朴子曰：積萬金於篋匱，雖儉乏而不用，則未知其有異於貧窶。懷逸藻於胸心，不寄意於翰素，則未知其有別於庸猥。

Baopuzi said: Ten thousand gold heaped in chests, though one is stinted it is not used—then none can tell how it differs from poverty. Rare ornament hidden in the breast, never entrusted to brush and silk—then none can tell how it differs from the common and mean.

抱朴子曰：南威青琴，姣冶之極，而必俟盛飾以增麗，回賜遊夏，雖天才雋朗，而實須《墳》《誥》以廣智。

Baopuzi said: Nanwei and Qingqin, lovely to the utmost, still must wait on rich adornment to add to their beauty; Yan Hui, Duanmu Ci, Ziyou, and Zixia, though heaven-granted and shining, truly needed the Mounds and the Codes to widen their wisdom.

抱朴子曰：丹幃接網，組帳重蔭，則醜姿翳矣；朱漆飾致，錯塗炫耀，則枯木隱矣。是以六藝備則卑鄙化為君子，眾譽集則孤陋邈乎貴遊。

Baopuzi said: Vermilion curtains meeting the net, sash-tents doubled in shade—then the homely form is hidden; red lacquer and ornamented coating, bright paintwork flashing—then dead wood is concealed. Thus when the Six Arts are complete the base turns noble man; when many praises gather, the lone and uncouth looms like honored company.

抱朴子曰：繁林翳薈，則羽族雲萃；玄淵浩汗，則鱗群兢赴。德盛業廣，則宅心者眾，舍瑕錄用，即遠懷近集。

Baopuzi said: Where the forest is dense and shady, the winged tribes gather like clouds; where the dark deep stretches vast, the scaled hosts vie to come. When virtue swells and work is broad, many set their hearts upon him; cast out flaws and record the able—the far are cherished and the near assemble.

抱朴子曰：尋飛絕景之足，而不能騁逸放於呂梁；凌波泳淵之屬，而不能陟峻而攀危。故離朱剖秋毫於百步，而不能辯八音之雅俗；子野合通靈之絕響，而不能指白黑於咫尺。

Baopuzi said: Feet that can catch the wind and outstrip shadows cannot gallop loose on Lüliang; the kind that ride waves and swim the deeps cannot mount the steep and climb the sheer. Thus Lizhu split an autumn hair at a hundred paces yet could not tell the eight tones' refined from common; Ziye could join notes that commune with spirits yet could not point out white from black at arm's length.

抱朴子曰：四聰廣闢，則羲和納景；萬仞虛己，則行潦交赴。故博辨之道弘，則異聞畢集；庭燎之耀輝，則奇士叩角；誹謗之木設，則有過必知；敢諫之鼓懸，則直言必獻。

Baopuzi said: When the four hearings open wide, Xihe gathers in the light; when ten thousand ren empty themselves, the rain-pools vie to flow in. Thus when the way of broad discourse is great, strange reports all gather; when the courtyard torch shines, rare officers knock upon the horn; when the slander-wood stands, a fault is surely known; when the daring-remonstrance drum hangs, straight speech is surely offered.

抱朴子曰：能言莫不褒堯，而堯政不必皆得也；舉世莫不貶桀，而桀事不必盡失也。故一條之枯，不損繁林之蓊藹；蒿麥冬生，無解畢發之肅殺。西施有所惡而不能減其美者，美多也；嫫母有所美而不能救其醜者，醜篤也。

Baopuzi said: All who can speak praise Yao—yet Yao's rule need not have been all gain; all the world blames Jie—yet Jie's deeds need not have been all loss. Thus one branch withered does not lessen the thick forest's lushness; artemisia and wheat sprouting in winter cannot dispel the severity of frost. That Xishi has a flaw cannot diminish her beauty—the beauty is much; that Momu has a grace cannot rescue her ugliness—the ugliness runs deep.

抱朴子曰：身與名，難兩濟；功與神，鮮並全。支離其德者，苦而必安；用以適世，者樂而多危。故鷙禽以奮擊拘縶，言鳥以智慧見寵，瓊瑤以符辨剖判，三金以琦玩治鑠，蘭茝以芬馨剪刈，文梓以含音受伐。是以翠蚪睹化益而登玄云，靈鳳值孟戲而反丹穴，子永嘆天倫之偉，漆園悲被繡之犧。

Baopuzi said: Self and name can hardly both be served; work and spirit rarely can both be kept. One who lets virtue grow ragged suffers yet surely rests; one who makes himself fit for the age enjoys yet is often in peril (the base text's word order is likely shifted). Thus the bird of prey is caged for striking; the talking bird is prized for cleverness; jasper is cut for its veining; the three metals are smelted for rare playthings; orchid and angelica are cut for their scent; the veined catalpa is felled for its voice. Thus the green dragon, seeing Huayi, mounted the dark clouds; the numinous phoenix, meeting Mengxi, returned to the cinnabar cave; Ziyong sighed at the greatness of heaven's order; Qiyuan grieved for the embroidered victim.

抱朴子曰：萬麋傾角，猛虎為之含牙；千禽鱗萃，鷙鳥為之握爪。是以四國流言，公旦不能遏；謗者盈路，而子產無以塞。

Baopuzi said: Ten thousand elk dipping their antlers together—against them the fierce tiger sheathes its teeth; a thousand birds gathered like scales—against them the raptor closes its claws. Thus when slander flew through the four states, Gongdan could not dam it; when railers filled the roads, Zichan had no way to stop them.

抱朴子曰：威施之豔，粉黛無以加，二至之氣，吹噓不能增。是以懷英逸之量者，不務風格以示異；體邈俗之器者，不恤小譽以徇通。

Baopuzi said: Xishi's fairness—powder and paint have nothing to add; the breath of the two solstices—blowing cannot increase it. Thus one who holds a rare and surpassing measure does not busy himself with style to show singularity; one whose substance is a vessel beyond the age does not fret over small fame to bend to the common.

抱朴子曰：鱗止鳳儀，所患在少；狐鳴梟呼，世忌其多。是以俊乂盈朝，而求賢者未倦；讒佞作威，而忠貞者切齒。

Baopuzi said: The unicorn's pause and the phoenix's grace—the worry is their fewness; the fox's howl and the owl's cry—the age hates their plenty. Thus when the court is full of the excellent and able, the seeker of worth still is not wearied; when slanderers and flatterers wield their awe, the loyal and true grit their teeth.

抱朴子曰：多力何必孟賁烏獲，逸容凱唯鄭旦毛嬙，飈迅非徒驊騮驌驦，立斷未獨沈閭干將。是以能立素王之業者，不必東魯之丘；能洽掩枯之仁者，不必西鄰之昌。

Baopuzi said: Great strength need not be a Meng Ben or a Wu Huo; surpassing looks are not only a Zheng Dan or a Mao Qiang (the base text reads 'kai wei,' 'kai' being an error for 'qi'); storm-swift speed is not only a Hualiu or a Sushuang; standing decision is not only a Shenlü or a Ganjiang. Thus one who can establish the work of the uncrowned king need not be Qiu of eastern Lu; one who can join in the humaneness of covering the withered need not be Chang of the western neighbor.

抱朴子曰：靈鳳振響於朝陽，未有惠物之益，而莫不澄聽於下風焉。鴟梟宵集於垣宇，未有分釐之損，而莫不掩耳而注鏑焉。故善言之往，無遠不悅；惡言之來，靡近不忤。猶日月無謝於貞明，枉矢見忘於暫出。

Baopuzi said: The numinous phoenix beats its note in the morning sun—no benefit given to things, yet none but listens rapt in the wind below. The owl perches on the wall at night—no harm at all, yet none but covers his ears and eyes the arrow. Thus when good words go out, none so far they are not pleased; when evil words come, none so near they are not crossed. As sun and moon are not thanked for their bright rectitude, so the crooked arrow is forgotten for its brief going out.

抱朴子曰：影無違形之狀，名無離實之文。故背源之水，必不能揚長流以東漸；非時之華，必不能稽輝藻於冰霜。

Baopuzi said: No shadow is at odds with the form's shape; no name leaves the reality's text. Thus water cut from its source surely cannot lift a long current to flood east; a flower out of its season surely cannot hold its shining ornament upon the frost.

抱朴子曰：鋸牙之獸，雖低伏而見憚；揮斧之蟲，雖口止全形而不威。故君子被褐，窮而不可輕；小人軒冕，達而不足重。

Baopuzi said: The saw-toothed beast, though crouched low, is still feared; the axe-wielding insect, though its form is whole, is not awe-inspiring (the base text keeps a partial graph). Thus the noble man wears coarse wool—poor yet not to be slighted; the petty man wears carriage and cap—risen yet not worth weight.

抱朴子曰：逸麟逍遙大荒之表，故無機阱之禍；靈鶬振翅玄圃之峰，以違罩羅之患。何必曲穴而永懷怵惕。何必銜蘆而慘慘畏容。故充乎宰割之用者，必愛乎芻豢者也。給乎煎熬之膳者，必安乎庭立者也。

Baopuzi said: The free unicorn roams beyond the great wilds, so it has no calamity of snare and pit; the numinous cang spreads its wings on the dark garden's peak to flee the harm of net and snare. Why dwell in a cramped hole forever nursing fear? Why hold the reed in the beak, trembling and dreading for room? Thus what furnishes the butcher's use is surely the fodder-loving; what supplies the boiled and roasted dish is surely what rests content to stand in the yard.

抱朴子曰：聰者貴於理遺音於千載之外，而得興亡之跡。明者珍於鑑逸群於寒瘁之中，而抽匡世之器。若夫聆繁會之響，而顧問於庸工，非延州之清聽也。枉英遠之才，而諮之於常人，非獨見之奇識也。故與不賞物者而論用凌儕之器，是使瞽者指五色也；與妒勝己者而謀舉疾惡之賢，是與狐議治裘也。

Baopuzi said: The keen man is prized for drawing out lost notes from beyond a thousand ages and catching the tracks of rise and fall. The discerning man is treasured for spying the surpassing amid cold and want and drawing out a tool to right the age. As for hearing a dense concert yet asking a common player—that is not Yanzhou's clear hearing. Bending a rare and far-reaching talent yet consulting an ordinary man—that is not the rare sight of the lone-seeing. Thus to discuss with one who cannot tell things apart the use of a tool beyond its kind is to have a blind man point out the five colors; to plot with one who envies those above him the raising of a worthy who hates evil is to plan furs with a fox.

抱朴子曰：鸗駁危苦於嶮峻之端，不樂口弗守之役，吉光飢渴於冰霜之野，不願犧牲之鮑，孤竹不以絕粒易鹿臺之富，子廉不以困匱貿銅山之豐。

Baopuzi said: The pied horse suffers at the edge of the steep yet does not rejoice [a passage in the base text is corrupt and lost]; the Jiguang hungers and freezes on the frosty waste yet would not have a victim's full-fed fare. The lone bamboo does not trade starving for the riches of Lutai; Zilian does not swap want for the plenty of Copper Mountain.