| | 公孫丑下: |
孟子之平陸。謂其大夫曰：「子之持戟之士，一日而三失伍，則去之否乎？」 |
| Gong Sun Chou II: |
Mencius having gone to Ping Lu, addressed the governor of it, saying, 'If one of your spearmen should lose his place in the ranks three times in one day, would you, Sir, put him to death or not?' |
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曰：「不待三。」 |
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'I would not wait for three times to do so,' was the reply. |
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「然則子之失伍也亦多矣。凶年饑歲，子之民，老羸轉於溝壑，壯者散而之四方者，幾千人矣。」 |
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Mencius said, 'Well then, you, Sir, have likewise lost your place in the ranks many times. In bad calamitous years, and years of famine, the old and feeble of your people, who have been found lying in the ditches and water-channels, and the able-bodied, who have been scattered about to the four quarters, have amounted to several thousand.' |
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曰：「此非距心之所得為也。」 |
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The governor replied, 'That is a state of things in which it does not belong to me Ju Xin to act.' |
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曰：「今有受人之牛羊而為之牧之者，則必為之求牧與芻矣。求牧與芻而不得，則反諸其人乎？抑亦立而視其死與？」 |
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'Here,' said Mencius, 'is a man who receives charge of the cattle and sheep of another, and undertakes to feed them for him - of course he must search for pasture-ground and grass for them. If, after searching for those, he cannot find them, will he return his charge to the owner? or will he stand by and see them die?' |
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曰：「此則距心之罪也。」 |
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'Herein,' said the officer, 'I am guilty.' |
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他日，見於王曰：「王之為都者，臣知五人焉。知其罪者，惟孔距心。為王誦之。」王曰：「此則寡人之罪也。」 |
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Another day, Mencius had an audience of the king, and said to him, 'Of the governors of your Majesty's cities I am acquainted with five, but the only one of them who knows his faults is Kong Ju Xin.' He then repeated the conversation to the king, who said, 'In this matter, I am the guilty one.' |
