Jin Xin, Part One

曰：「如琴張、曾皙、牧皮者，孔子之所謂狂矣。」

Mencius said: "Such as Qin Zhang, Zeng Xi and Mu Pi, whom Confucius called the unrestrained."

「何以謂之狂也？」

(Wan Zhang asked:) "Why are they called unrestrained?"

曰：「其志嘐嘐然，曰『古之人，古之人』。夷考其行而不掩焉者也。狂者又不可得，欲得不屑不潔之士而與之，是獧也，是又其次也。孔子曰：『過我門而不入我室，我不憾焉者，其惟鄉原乎！鄉原，德之賊也。』」

Mencius said: "Their aims are lofty and grand, saying 'The ancients! The ancients!' But when one examines their conduct plainly, it does not live up to it. Since the unrestrained cannot be had, one wants to get scholars who disdain what is impure and be with them; these are the cautious, and this is the next best. Confucius said: 'Those who pass by my gate and do not enter my room, whom I do not regret, are only the village worthies! The village worthy is the thief of virtue.'"

曰：「何如斯可謂之鄉原矣？」

Wan Zhang said: "What can be called a village worthy?"

曰：「『何以是嘐嘐也？言不顧行，行不顧言，則曰：古之人，古之人。行何為踽踽涼涼？生斯世也，為斯世也，善斯可矣。』閹然媚於世也者，是鄉原也。」

Mencius said: "'Why are they so grand? Their words do not look to their conduct, and their conduct does not look to their words, yet they say: The ancients! The ancients! Why is their conduct so lonely and cold? Born in this age, one acts for this age, and it is fine if one gets by.' One who fawns on the age in a smooth way is a village worthy."

萬子曰：「一鄉皆稱原人焉，無所往而不為原人，孔子以為德之賊，何哉？」

Wan Zhang said: "The whole village calls him a worthy man, and wherever he goes he is a worthy man; why did Confucius consider him a thief of virtue?"

曰：「非之無舉也，刺之無刺也；同乎流俗，合乎汙世；居之似忠信，行之似廉潔；眾皆悅之，自以為是，而不可與入堯舜之道，故曰德之賊也。孔子曰：『惡似而非者：惡莠，恐其亂苗也；惡佞，恐其亂義也；惡利口，恐其亂信也；惡鄭聲，恐其亂樂也；惡紫，恐其亂朱也；惡鄉原，恐其亂德也。』君子反經而已矣。經正，則庶民興；庶民興，斯無邪慝矣。」

Mencius said: "One finds nothing to point out in blaming him and nothing to pick on in criticizing him; he goes with the common current and fits in with the corrupt age; in his dwelling he seems loyal and trustworthy, and in his conduct he seems honest and incorruptible; the multitude are all pleased with him and he thinks himself right, yet one cannot enter the Way of Yao and Shun with him, and so he is called a thief of virtue. Confucius said: 'I hate what seems right but is not: I hate weeds, for fear they will confuse the sprouts; I hate flatterers, for fear they will confuse righteousness; I hate glib talkers, for fear they will confuse good faith; I hate the tunes of Zheng, for fear they will confuse true music; I hate purple, for fear it will confuse vermilion; I hate village worthies, for fear they will confuse virtue.' The noble person simply returns to the constant way. When the constant way is right, the common people rise up; when the common people rise up, there is no evil."

孟子曰：「由堯舜至於湯，五百有餘歲，若禹、皋陶，則見而知之；若湯，則聞而知之。由湯至於文王，五百有餘歲，若伊尹、萊朱則見而知之；若文王，則聞而知之。由文王至於孔子，五百有餘歲，若太公望、散宜生，則見而知之；若孔子，則聞而知之。由孔子而來至於今，百有餘歲，去聖人之世，若此其未遠也；近聖人之居，若此其甚也，然而無有乎爾，則亦無有乎爾。」

Mencius said: "From Yao and Shun to Tang was more than five hundred years; people like Yu and Gao Yao saw it with their own eyes and knew it; people like Tang heard of it and knew it. From Tang to King Wen was more than five hundred years; people like Yi Yin and Lai Zhu saw it with their own eyes and knew it; people like King Wen heard of it and knew it. From King Wen to Confucius was more than five hundred years; people like Taigong Wang and San Yisheng saw it with their own eyes and knew it; people like Confucius heard of it and knew it. From Confucius until now is a little over a hundred years; the distance from the age of the sage is not far like this; the closeness to the sage's dwelling is so near; yet there is no one who has it, so there will be no one who has it, I suppose."