Jin Xin, Part One

孟子曰：「挾貴而問，挾賢而問，挾長而問，挾有勳勞而問，挾故而問，皆所不答也。滕更有二焉。」

Mencius said: "Those who ask relying on their nobility, those who ask relying on their worth, those who ask relying on their age, those who ask relying on their merit, and those who ask relying on old acquaintance, I answer none of them. Teng Geng had two of these."

孟子曰：「於不可已而已者，無所不已；於所厚者薄，無所不薄也。其進銳者，其退速。」

Mencius said: "One who stops where he cannot stop will stop at everything; one who treats lightly those whom he should treat generously will treat everyone lightly. One who advances sharply retreats quickly."

孟子曰：「君子之於物也，愛之而弗仁；於民也，仁之而弗親。親親而仁民，仁民而愛物。」

Mencius said: "The noble person toward things loves them but is not benevolent toward them; toward the people he is benevolent but not intimate. He is intimate with his kin and benevolent to the people, and benevolent to the people and loving to things."

孟子曰：「知者無不知也，當務之為急；仁者無不愛也，急親賢之為務。堯舜之知而不遍物，急先務也；堯舜之仁不遍愛人，急親賢也。不能三年之喪，而緦小功之察；放飯流歠，而問無齒決，是之謂不知務。」

Mencius said: "The wise know everything, but take the most pressing matters at hand as urgent; the benevolent love everyone, but take being close to the worthy as urgent. Yao and Shun's wisdom did not extend to all things, because they were urgent about priorities; Yao and Shun's benevolence did not extend to loving everyone, because they were urgent about being close to the worthy. One who cannot keep the three-year mourning yet examines closely the fine details of the three-month and five-month mourning, who eats and drinks greedily yet asks about not biting through dried meat with the teeth, this is called not knowing what is urgent."

孟子曰：「不仁哉，梁惠王也！仁者以其所愛及其所不愛，不仁者以其所不愛及其所愛。」

Mencius said: "How unbenevolent was King Hui of Liang! The benevolent extend what they love to what they do not love; the unbenevolent extend what they do not love to what they love."

公孫丑問曰：「何謂也？」

Gongsun Chou asked: "What does this mean?"

「梁惠王以土地之故，糜爛其民而戰之，大敗，將復之，恐不能勝，故驅其所愛子弟以殉之，是之謂以其所不愛及其所愛也。」

Mencius said: "King Hui of Liang, for the sake of land, had his people torn apart in battle, and was greatly defeated; about to fight again, fearing he could not win, he drove the sons and younger brothers he loved to die for him. This is called extending what he did not love to what he loved."

孟子曰：「《春秋》無義戰。彼善於此，則有之矣。徵者上伐下也，敵國不相徵也。」

Mencius said: "In the Spring and Autumn Annals there are no righteous wars. That one is better than this one does exist. 'Campaign' means the superior punishing the inferior. States of equal rank do not campaign against one another."

孟子曰：「盡信《書》，則不如無《書》。吾於《武成》，取二三策而已矣。仁人無敵於天下。以至仁伐至不仁，而何其血之流杵也？」

Mencius said: "To believe the Book of Documents entirely would be worse than having no Book of Documents. As for the 'Completion of the War,' I accept only two or three bamboo slips. The benevolent have no enemy in the world. If the most benevolent attacked the most unbenevolent, how could blood have floated the pestles?"

孟子曰：「有人曰：『我善為陳，我善為戰。』大罪也。國君好仁，天下無敵焉。南面而征北狄怨，東面而征西夷怨。曰：『奚為後我？』武王之伐殷也，革車三百兩，虎賁三千人。王曰：『無畏！寧爾也，非敵百姓也。』若崩厥角稽首。徵之為言正也，各欲正己也，焉用戰？」

Mencius said: "Some say: 'I am good at drawing up battle lines; I am good at fighting.' That is a great crime. If the ruler of a state loves benevolence, he has no enemy in the world. When he campaigned facing south, the northern Di resented it; when he campaigned facing east, the western Yi resented it. They said: 'Why do you put us last?' When King Wu attacked Yin, he had three hundred war chariots and three thousand tiger-like warriors. The king said: 'Do not be afraid! I come to give you peace, not to be an enemy to the people.' The people knocked their heads to the ground as if a mountain had collapsed. 'Campaign' means to correct; each wants to correct himself; what need is there for fighting?"

孟子曰：「梓匠輪輿能與人規矩，不能使人巧。」

Mencius said: "Carpenters, wheelwrights and cartwrights can give people the compass and square, but cannot make them skillful."

孟子曰：「舜之飯糗茹草也，若將終身焉；及其為天子也，被袗衣，鼓琴，二女果，若固有之。」

Mencius said: "When Shun ate dried rations and wild vegetables, he seemed as if he would be like that for life; when he became Son of Heaven, wearing embroidered robes, playing the zither, with the two daughters attending him, it seemed as if he had always had it."

孟子曰：「吾今而後知殺人親之重也：殺人之父，人亦殺其父；殺人之兄，人亦殺其兄。然則非自殺之也，一閒耳。」

Mencius said: "From now on I know how grave it is to kill another man's kin: if one kills another man's father, another will kill one's father; if one kills another man's elder brother, another will kill one's elder brother. Then one has not killed them oneself, but it differs by only one step."

孟子曰：「古之為關也，將以御暴。今之為關也，將以為暴。」

Mencius said: "In ancient times they set up gates to guard against violence. Now they set up gates to commit violence."

孟子曰：「身不行道，不行於妻子；使人不以道，不能行於妻子。」

Mencius said: "If one does not practice the Way oneself, it will not be practiced even on one's wife and children; if one commands others not according to the Way, one cannot command even one's wife and children."

孟子曰：「周於利者，凶年不能殺；周於德者，邪世不能亂。」

Mencius said: "One who has stored up enough profit cannot be starved by a bad year; one who has stored up enough virtue cannot be thrown into disorder by a wicked age."

孟子曰：「好名之人，能讓千乘之國；苟非其人，簞食豆羹見於色。」

Mencius said: "One who loves fame can yield a state of a thousand chariots; if one is not that kind of person, even a basket of rice and a bowl of soup will show in his expression."

孟子曰：「不信仁賢，則國空虛。無禮義，則上下亂。無政事，則財用不足。」

Mencius said: "If benevolent and worthy people are not trusted, the state is empty. If there is no ritual and righteousness, high and low are in disorder. If there is no government business, resources will be insufficient."

孟子曰：「不仁而得國者，有之矣；不仁而得天下，未之有也。」

Mencius said: "There are those who, being unbenevolent, obtain a state; but there has never been one who, being unbenevolent, obtained the world."

孟子曰：「民為貴，社稷次之，君為輕。是故得乎丘民而為天子，得乎天子為諸侯，得乎諸侯為大夫。諸侯危社稷，則變置。犧牲既成，粢盛既潔，祭祀以時，然而旱乾水溢，則變置社稷。」

Mencius said: "The people are most valuable, the altars of the state come next, and the ruler is of least weight. So one who wins the hearts of the common people becomes Son of Heaven; one who wins the Son of Heaven becomes a lord; one who wins a lord becomes a senior official. If a lord endangers the altars of the state, he is replaced. If the sacrificial victims are already complete, the grain offerings clean, and the sacrifices made at their proper times, and yet there is drought or flood, then the altars are replaced."

孟子曰：「聖人，百世之師也，伯夷、柳下惠是也。故聞伯夷之風者，頑夫廉，懦夫有立志；聞柳下惠之風者，薄夫敦，鄙夫寬。奮乎百世之上。百世之下，聞者莫不興起也。非聖人而能若是乎，而況於親炙之者乎？」

Mencius said: "The sage is the teacher of a hundred generations, as Boyi and Liuxia Hui were. So those who hear the ethos of Boyi, the greedy and obstinate become honest, and the weak gain resolve; those who hear the ethos of Liuxia Hui, the mean become generous, and the narrow become broad-minded. They rose to action a hundred generations ago. After a hundred generations, those who hear of them are all moved. Could anyone but a sage do this, much less those who were personally scorched by their influence?"

孟子曰：「仁也者，人也。合而言之，道也。」

Mencius said: "Benevolence is the human being. Put together, it is the Way."

孟子曰：「孔子之去魯，曰：『遲遲吾行也。』去父母國之道也。去齊，接淅而行，去他國之道也。」

Mencius said: "When Confucius left Lu he said: 'Go slowly.' This is the way of leaving the state of one's parents. When he left Qi, he did not wait to strain the rice he had washed, and left; this is the way of leaving another state."

孟子曰：「君子之戹於陳蔡之閒，無上下之交也。」

Mencius said: "That the noble person was in distress between Chen and Cai was because he had no dealings with those above or below."

貉稽曰：「稽大不理於口。」

Mo Ji said: "I am greatly disliked by people's talk."

孟子曰：「無傷也。士憎茲多口。《詩》云：『憂心悄悄，慍於群小。』孔子也。『肆不殄厥慍，亦不隕厥問。』文王也。」

Mencius said: "No harm. Scholars dislike such gossip. The Book of Songs, in the 'Cypress Boat' ode of the Odes of Bei, says: 'My anxious heart is troubled, I am resented by a crowd of petty people.' This is Confucius. 'And so he did not remove their resentment, nor lose his own good name.' This is King Wen."

孟子曰：「賢者以其昭昭，使人昭昭；今以其昬昬，使人昭昭。」

Mencius said: "The worthy used their own clarity to make others clear; now people use their own confusion to try to make others clear."

孟子謂高子曰：「山徑之蹊閒，介然用之而成路。為閒不用，則茅塞之矣。今茅塞子之心矣。」

Mencius said to Gaozi: "A mountain path, if one walks it steadily, becomes a road. If one does not walk it for a while, couch grass blocks it. Now couch grass blocks your heart."

高子曰：「禹之聲，尚文王之聲。」

Gaozi said: "Yu's music was better than King Wen's music."

孟子曰：「何以言之？」

Mencius said: "On what grounds do you say so?"

曰：「以追蠡。」

Gaozi said: "Because the bell knobs are nearly worn through."

曰：「是奚足哉？城門之軌，兩馬之力與？」

Mencius said: "How could that be enough? Is the rut at the city gate made by the strength of two horses?"

齊飢。陳臻曰：「國人皆以夫子將復為發棠，殆不可復。」

Qi was in famine. Chen Zhen said: "The people of the state all think that you, Master, will again open the granary of Tang, and I fear you must not do so again."

孟子曰：「是為馮婦也。晉人有馮婦者，善搏虎，卒為善士。則之野，有眾逐虎。虎負嵎，莫之敢攖。望見馮婦，趨而迎之。馮婦攘臂下車。眾皆悅之，其為士者笑之。」

Mencius said: "That would be playing Feng Fu. There was a man of Jin named Feng Fu, who was good at fighting tigers, and later became a good gentleman. Out in the countryside, a crowd was chasing a tiger. The tiger had its back to a mountain corner, and no one dared touch it. Seeing Feng Fu, they ran up to greet him. Feng Fu rolled up his sleeves and got down from the cart. The crowd all welcomed him, while those who were gentlemen laughed at him."

孟子曰：「口之於味也，目之於色也，耳之於聲也，鼻之於臭也，四肢之於安佚也，性也，有命焉，君子不謂性也。仁之於父子也，義之於君臣也，禮之於賓主也，智之於賢者也，聖人之於天道也，命也，有性焉，君子不謂命也。」

Mencius said: "The mouth's liking for flavor, the eye's for color, the ear's for sound, the nose's for scent, and the four limbs' for ease are natural, but there is Heaven's decree in them, and the noble person does not call them nature. Benevolence in father and son, righteousness in ruler and minister, ritual in guest and host, wisdom in the worthy, and the sage with respect to the Way of Heaven are decreed, but there is nature in them, and the noble person does not call them decree."

浩生不害問曰：「樂正子，何人也？」

Haosheng Buhai asked: "What sort of person is Yuezheng Zi?"

孟子曰：「善人也，信人也。」

Mencius said: "He is a good man and a trustworthy man."

「何謂善？何謂信？」

(Haosheng Buhai asked:) "What is called good? What is called trustworthy?"

曰：「可欲之謂善，有諸己之謂信。充實之謂美，充實而有光輝之謂大，大而化之之謂聖，聖而不可知之之謂神。樂正子，二之中，四之下也。」

Mencius said: "What is worthy of desire is called good; what exists in oneself is called trustworthy. To be full is called beautiful; to be full and radiant is called great; to be great and able to transform is called sage; to be sage and unfathomable is called divine. Yuezheng Zi is within the two of good and trustworthy, and below the four of beautiful, great, sage and divine."

孟子曰：「逃墨必歸於楊，逃楊必歸於儒。歸，斯受之而已矣。今之與楊墨辯者，如追放豚，既入其苙，又從而招之。」

Mencius said: "One who flees from the Mohists will surely turn to the Yangists, and one who flees from the Yangists will surely turn to the Confucians. When they come back, simply accept them. Now those who debate with the Yangists and Mohists are like those chasing a stray pig, who, after it has already entered the pen, go on to bind its feet."

孟子曰：「有布縷之徵，粟米之徵，力役之徵。君子用其一，緩其二。用其二而民有殍，用其三而父子離。」

Mencius said: "There are levies of cloth and thread, levies of grain, and levies of labor service. The noble person uses one of these and eases the other two. If he uses two, the people starve; if he uses three, fathers and sons are scattered."

孟子曰：「諸侯之寶三：土地，人民，政事。寶珠玉者，殃必及身。」

Mencius said: "A lord has three treasures: land, people and government. One who takes pearls and jade as treasure will surely have disaster fall upon himself."

盆成括仕於齊。孟子曰：「死矣盆成括！」

Pencheng Kuo took office in Qi. Mencius said: "Pencheng Kuo is going to die!"

盆成括見殺。門人問曰：「夫子何以知其將見殺？」

Pencheng Kuo was killed. A disciple asked: "How did you know he would be killed?"

曰：「其為人也小有才，未聞君子之大道也，則足以殺其軀而已矣。」

Mencius said: "He was a person with a little talent but had not heard of the great Way of the noble person, which was enough to get his body killed, that is all."

孟子之滕，館於上宮。有業屨於牖上，館人求之弗得。或問之曰：「若是乎從者之廀也？」

Mencius went to Teng and lodged at the Upper Palace. There was an unfinished sandal on the window, and the keeper of the lodge looked for it and could not find it. Someone asked Mencius: "Do your followers hide things like this?"

曰：「子以是為竊屨來與？」

Mencius said: "Do you think they came in order to steal sandals?"

曰：「殆非也。夫子之設科也，往者不追，來者不距。苟以是心至，斯受之而已矣。」

Mencius said: "Probably not. The Master sets up his teaching: those who leave are not pursued, and those who come are not refused. If they come with such a heart, simply accept them."

孟子曰：「人皆有所不忍，達之於其所忍，仁也；人皆有所不為，達之於其所為，義也。人能充無慾害人之心，而仁不可勝用也；人能充無穿逾之心，而義不可勝用也。人能充無受爾汝之實，無所往而不為義也。士未可以言而言，是以言餂之也；可以言而不言，是以不言餂之也，是皆穿逾之類也。」

Mencius said: "Everyone has something he cannot bear to do; extending that to what he can bear to do is benevolence. Everyone has something he will not do; extending that to what he does is righteousness. If a person can fill out the heart that does not want to harm others, benevolence will be inexhaustible in use; if a person can fill out the heart that does not want to dig through walls and climb over them, righteousness will be inexhaustible in use. If a person can fill out the substance of not accepting being addressed contemptuously as 'you,' then there is nowhere he goes that is not righteous. For a scholar to speak when he should not speak is to probe with words; to not speak when he should speak is to probe with silence; both are of the sort of digging through walls and climbing over them."

孟子曰：「言近而指遠者，善言也；守約而施博者，善道也。君子之言也，不下帶而道存焉。君子之守，修其身而天下平。人病舍其田而芸人之田，所求於人者重，而所以自任者輕。」

Mencius said: "Words that are near yet whose purport is far are good words; keeping to the essentials while extending broadly is the good Way. The noble person's words do not go below the belt, yet the Way lies within them. The noble person's discipline lies in cultivating himself, and the world is at peace. The fault of people is to give up their own field and weed another's field, demanding a lot of others while taking little upon themselves."

孟子曰：「堯舜，性者也；湯武，反之也。動容周旋中禮者，盛德之至也；哭死而哀，非為生者也；經德不回，非以干祿也；言語必信，非以正行也。君子行法，以俟命而已矣。」

Mencius said: "Yao and Shun had it as their natural endowment; Tang and Wu returned to it. That every movement, appearance and turn accords with ritual is the utmost of abundant virtue; weeping for the dead with grief is not for the sake of the living; holding to virtue without crookedness is not to seek salary; speaking always with sincerity is not to make one's conduct upright. The noble person acts according to the rules and waits for Heaven's decree, that is all."

孟子曰：「說大人，則藐之，勿視其巍巍然。堂高數仞，榱題數尺，我得志弗為也；食前方丈，侍妾數百人，我得志弗為也；般樂飲酒，驅騁田獵，後車千乘，我得志弗為也。在彼者，皆我所不為也；在我者，皆古之制也，吾何畏彼哉？」

Mencius said: "When you persuade a great man, look down on him and do not look at his imposing air. His hall is several ren high and its eaves several feet; if I attained my aims, I would not do that. Food laid out ten feet square before him and hundreds of concubines; if I attained my aims, I would not do that. Pleasure and drinking, galloping and hunting, a thousand chariots following behind; if I attained my aims, I would not do that. What he has are all what I would not do; what I have are all the institutions of antiquity; why should I fear him?"

孟子曰：「養心莫善於寡慾。其為人也寡慾，雖有不存焉者，寡矣；其為人也多欲，雖有存焉者，寡矣。」

Mencius said: "For nourishing the heart, nothing is better than having few desires. A person with few desires, even if there is something not preserved, it is little; a person with many desires, even if there is something preserved, it is little."

曾皙嗜羊棗，而曾子不忍食羊棗。公孫丑問曰：「膾炙與羊棗孰美？」

Zeng Xi was fond of sheep dates, and Master Zeng could not bear to eat sheep dates. Gongsun Chou asked: "Which is better, minced roast meat or sheep dates?"

孟子曰：「膾炙哉！」

Mencius said: "Minced roast meat!"

公孫丑曰：「然則曾子何為食膾炙而不食羊棗？」

Gongsun Chou said: "Then why did Master Zeng eat minced roast meat but not sheep dates?"

曰：「膾炙所同也，羊棗所獨也。諱名不諱姓，姓所同也，名所獨也。」

Mencius said: "Minced roast meat is something shared; sheep dates were his father's own. One avoids using a personal name but not the family name; the family name is shared, and the personal name is one's own."

萬章問曰：「孔子在陳曰：『盍歸乎來！吾黨之士狂簡，進取，不忘其初。』孔子在陳，何思魯之狂士？」

Wan Zhang asked: "When Confucius was in Chen he said: 'Why not return! The scholars of my home district are unrestrained and unfussy, ambitious, and do not forget their beginnings.' When Confucius was in Chen, why did he think of the unrestrained scholars of Lu?"

孟子曰：「孔子『不得中道而與之，必也狂獧乎！狂者進取，獧者有所不為也』。孔子豈不欲中道哉？不可必得，故思其次也。」

Mencius said: "Confucius said: 'If I cannot find people of the middle way to be with, it must be the unrestrained and the cautious! The unrestrained are ambitious, and the cautious do not do certain things.' Would Confucius not want people of the middle way? He could not be sure of getting them, so he thought of the next best."

「敢問何如斯可謂狂矣？」

(Wan Zhang asked:) "May I ask what could be called unrestrained?"