| | 田子方: |
孔子見老聃，老聃新沐，方將被髮而乾，慹然似非人。孔子便而待之，少焉見曰：「丘也眩與？其信然與？向者先生形體掘若槁木，似遺物離人而立於獨也。」老聃曰：「吾遊心於物之初。」 |
| Tian Zi-fang: |
Confucius went to see Lao Dan, and arrived just as he had completed the bathing of his head, and was letting his dishevelled hair get dry. There he was, motionless, and as if there were not another man in the world. Confucius waited quietly; and, when in a little time he was introduced, he said, 'Were my eyes dazed? Is it really you? Just now, your body, Sir, was like the stump of a rotten tree. You looked as if you had no thought of anything, as if you had left the society of men, and were standing in the solitude (of yourself).' Lao Dan replied, 'I was enjoying myself in thinking about the commencement of things.' |
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孔子曰：「何謂邪？」曰：「心困焉而不能知，口辟焉而不能言，嘗為汝議乎其將。至陰肅肅，至陽赫赫；肅肅出乎天，赫赫發乎地；兩者交通成和而物生焉，或為之紀而莫見其形。消息滿虛，一晦一明，日改月化，日有所為，而莫見其功。生有所乎萌，死有所乎歸，始終相反乎無端，而莫知其所窮。非是也，且孰為之宗！」 |
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Confucius said, 'What do you mean?' Lao Dan replied, 'My mind is so cramped, that I hardly know it; my tongue is so tied that I cannot tell it; but I will try to describe it to you as nearly as I can. When the state of Yin was perfect, all was cold and severe; when the state of Yang was perfect, all was turbulent and agitated. The coldness and severity came forth from Heaven; the turbulence and agitation issued from Earth. The two states communicating together, a harmony ensued and things were produced. Some one regulated and controlled this, but no one has seen his form. Decay and growth; fulness and emptiness; darkness and light; the changes of the sun and the transformations of the moon: these are brought about from day to day; but no one sees the process of production. Life has its origin from which it springs, and death has its place from which it returns. Beginning and ending go on in mutual contrariety without any determinable commencement, and no one knows how either comes to an end. If we disallow all this, who originates and presides over all these phenomena?' |
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孔子曰：「請問遊是。」老聃曰：「夫得是，至美至樂也。得至美而遊乎至樂，謂之至人。」孔子曰：「願聞其方。」曰：「草食之獸不疾易藪，水生之蟲不疾易水，行小變而不失其大常也，喜怒哀樂不入於胸次。夫天下也者，萬物之所一也。得其所一而同焉，則四支百體將為塵垢，而死生終始將為晝夜而莫之能滑，而況得喪禍福之所介乎！棄隸者若棄泥塗，知身貴於隸也，貴在於我而不失於變。且萬化而未始有極也，夫孰足以患心！已為道者解乎此。」 |
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Confucius said, 'I beg to ask about your enjoyment in these thoughts.' Lao Dan replied, 'The comprehension of this is the most admirable and the most enjoyable (of all acquisitions). The getting of the most admirable and the exercise of the thoughts in what is the most enjoyable, constitutes what we call the Perfect man.' Confucius said, 'I should like to hear the method of attaining to it.' The reply was, 'Grass-eating animals do not dislike to change their pastures; creatures born in the water do not dislike to change their waters. They make a small change, but do not lose what is the great and regular requirement (of their nature); joy, anger, sadness, and delight do not enter into their breasts (in connexion with such events). Now the space under the sky is occupied by all things in their unity. When they possess that unity and equally share it, then the four limbs and hundred members of their body are but so much dust and dirt, while death and life, their ending and beginning, are but as the succession of day and night, which cannot disturb their enjoyment; and how much less will they be troubled by gains and losses, by calamity and happiness! Those who renounce the paraphernalia of rank do it as if they were casting away so much mud - they know that they are themselves more honourable than those paraphernalia. The honour belonging to one's self is not lost by any change (of condition). Moreover, a myriad transformations may take place before the end of them is reached. What is there in all this sufficient to trouble the mind? Those who have attained to the Dao understand the subject.' |
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孔子曰：「夫子德配天地，而猶假至言以修心，古之君子，孰能脫焉？」老聃曰：「不然。夫水之於汋也，無為而才自然矣。至人之於德也，不修而物不能離焉，若天之自高，地之自厚，日月之自明，夫何修焉！」 |
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Confucius said, '0 Master, your virtue is equal to that of Heaven and Earth, and still I must borrow (some of your) perfect words (to aid me) in the cultivation of my mind. Who among the superior men of antiquity could give such expression to them?' Lao Dan replied, 'Not so. Look at the spring, the water of which rises and overflows - it does nothing, but it naturally acts so. So with the perfect man and his virtue - he does not cultivate it, and nothing evades its influence. He is like heaven which is high of itself, like earth which is solid of itself, like the sun and moon which shine of themselves - what need is there to cultivate it?' |
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孔子出，以告顏回曰：「丘之於道也，其猶醯雞與！微夫子之發吾覆也，吾不知天地之大全也。」 |
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Confucius went out and reported the conversation to Yan Hui, saying, 'In the (knowledge of the) Dao am I any better than an animalcule in vinegar? But for the Master's lifting the veil from me, I should not have known the grand perfection of Heaven and Earth.' |
| | 襄公三十... : |
三十年，春，王正月，楚子使薳罷來聘，通嗣君也，穆叔問王子之為政何如，對曰吾儕小人，食而聽事，猶懼不給命，而不免於戾，焉與知政，固問焉，不告，穆叔告大夫曰，楚令尹將有大事子蕩將與焉，助之匿其情矣。 |
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子產相鄭伯以如晉，叔向問鄭國之政焉，對曰，吾得見與否，在此歲也，駟良方爭，未知所成若有所成，吾得見，乃可知也，叔向曰，不既和矣乎，對曰，伯有侈而愎，子皙好在人上，莫能相下也，雖其和也，猶相積惡也，惡至無日矣。 |
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三月，癸未，晉悼夫人食輿人之城杞者，絳縣人或年長矣，無子，而往與於食，有與疑年，使之年，曰臣小人也，不知紀年，臣生之歲，正月甲子朔，四百有四十五，甲子矣，其季於今，三之一也，吏走問諸朝，師曠曰，魯叔仲惠伯會郤成子于承匡之歲也，是歲也，狄伐魯，叔孫莊叔於是乎敗狄于鹹，獲長狄僑如，及虺也豹也，而皆以名其子，七十三年矣，史趙曰，亥有二首六身，下二如身，是其日數也，士文伯曰，然則二萬二千六百有六旬也，趙孟問其縣大夫，則其屬也，召之而謝過焉，曰，武不才，任君之大事。以晉國之多虞，不能由吾子。使吾子辱在泥塗久矣，武之罪也，敢謝不才，遂仕之，使助為政，辭以老，與之田，使為君復陶，以為絳縣師，而廢其輿尉，於是魯使者在晉，歸以語諸大夫，季武子曰，晉未可媮也，有趙孟以為大夫，有伯瑕以為佐，有史趙師曠而咨度焉，有叔向女齊以師保其君，其朝多君子，其庸可媮乎，勉事之而後可。 |
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夏，四月，己亥，鄭伯及其大夫盟，君子是以知鄭難之不已也。 |
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蔡景侯為大子般娶于楚，通焉，大子弒景侯。 |
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初，王儋季卒，其子括將見王而歎，單公子愆期為靈王御士，過諸廷，聞其歎而言曰，烏乎，必有此夫，入以告王，且曰，必殺之，不慼而願大，視躁而足高，心在他矣，不殺必害，王曰，童子何知，及靈王崩，儋括欲立王子佞夫，佞夫弗知，戊子，儋括圍蒍，逐成愆，成愆奔平畤，五月，癸巳，尹言多，劉毅，單蔑，甘過，鞏成，殺佞夫，括瑕廖奔晉，書曰，天王殺其弟佞夫，罪在王也。 |
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或呌于宋大廟曰，譆譆出出，鳥鳴于亳社，如曰譆譆，甲午，宋大災，宋伯姬卒，待姆也，君子謂宋共姬女而不婦，女待人，婦義事也。 |
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六月，鄭子產如陳蒞盟，歸復命，告大夫曰，陳亡國也，不可與也，聚禾粟，繕城郭，恃此二者而不撫其民，其君弱植，公子侈，大子卑，大夫敖，政多門，以介於大國，能無亡乎，不過十年矣。 |
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秋，七月，叔弓如宋，葬共姬也。 |
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鄭伯有耆酒，為窟室，而夜飲酒，擊鍾焉，朝至未己，朝者曰，公焉在，其人曰，吾公在壑谷，皆自朝布路而罷，既而朝，則又將使子皙如楚，歸而飲酒，庚子，子皙以駟氏之甲，伐而焚之，伯有奔雍梁，醒而後知之，遂奔許，大夫聚謀，子皮曰，仲虺之志云，亂者取之，亡者侮之，推亡固存，國之利也，罕，駟，豐，同生，伯有汏侈，故不免，人謂子產，就直助彊，子產曰，豈為我徒，國之禍難，誰知所儆，或主彊直，難乃不生，姑成吾所，辛丑，子產斂伯有氏之死者而殯之，不及謀而遂行印段從之，子皮止之，眾曰，人不我順，何止焉，子皮曰，夫子禮於死者，況生者乎，遂自止之，壬寅，子產入，癸卯，子石入，皆受盟于子皙氏，乙巳，鄭伯及其大夫盟于大宮，盟國人于師之梁之外，伯有聞鄭人之盟己也，怒，聞子皮之甲，不與攻己也，喜，曰，子皮與我矣，癸丑，晨，自墓門之瀆入，因馬師頡介于襄庫，以伐舊北門，駟帶率國人以伐之，皆召子產，子產曰兄弟而及此，吾從天所與，伯有死於羊肆，子產襚之，枕之股而哭之，斂而殯諸，伯有之臣在市側者，既而葬諸斗城，子駟氏欲攻子產，子皮怒之，曰，禮，國之幹也，殺有禮，禍莫大焉，乃止，於是游吉如晉還，聞難不入，復命于介，八月，甲子，奔晉，駟帶追之，及酸棗，與子上盟，用兩珪質于河，使公孫肸入盟大夫，己巳，復歸，書曰，鄭人殺良霄，不稱大夫，言自外入也，於子蟜之卒也，將葬，公孫揮與裨灶晨會事焉，過伯有氏，其門上生莠，子羽曰，其莠猶在乎，於是歲在降婁，降婁中而旦，裨灶指之曰，猶可以終歲，歲不及此次也已，及其亡也，歲在娵訾之口，其明年，乃及降婁，僕展從伯有，與之皆死，羽頡出奔晉，為任大夫，雞澤之會，鄭樂成奔楚，遂適晉，羽頡因之，與之比而事趙文子，言伐鄭之說焉，以宋之盟故，不可，子皮以公孫鉏為馬師。 |
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楚公子圍殺大司馬蒍掩而取其室，申無宇曰，王子必不免，善人，國之主也，王子相楚國，將善是封，殖而虐之，是禍國也，且司馬令尹之偏，而王之四體也，絕民之主，去身之偏，艾王之體，以禍其國，無不祥大焉，何以得免。 |
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為宋災故，諸侯之大夫會，以謀歸宋財，冬，十月，叔孫豹會晉趙武，齊公孫蠆，宋向戌，衛北宮佗，鄭罕虎，及小邾之大夫，會于澶淵，既而無歸於宋，故不書其人，君子曰，信其不可不慎乎，澶淵之會，卿不書，不信也夫，諸侯之上卿，會而不信，寵名皆棄，不信之不可也如是，詩曰，文王陟降，在帝左右，信之謂也，又曰，淑慎爾止，無載爾偽，不信之謂也，書曰，某人某人會于澶淵，宋災故，尤之也，不書魯大夫，諱之也。 |
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鄭子皮授子產政，辭曰，國小而偪，族大寵多，不可為也，子皮曰，虎帥以聽，誰敢犯子，子善相之，國無小，小能事大，國乃寬，子產為政，有事伯石，賂與之邑，子大叔曰，國皆其國也，奚獨賂焉，子產曰，無欲實難，皆得其欲，以從其事，而要其成，非我有成，其在人乎，何愛於邑，邑將焉往，子大叔曰，若四國何，子產曰，非相違也，而相從也，四國何尤焉，鄭書有之曰，安定國家，必大焉先，姑先安大，以待其所歸，既伯石懼而歸邑，卒與之，伯有既死，使大史命伯石為卿，辭，大史退，則請命焉，復命之，又辭，如是三，乃受策入拜，子產是以惡其為人也，使次己位，子產使都鄙有章，上下有服，田有封洫，廬井有伍，大人之忠儉者，從而與之，泰侈者因而斃之，豐卷將祭，請田焉，弗許，曰，唯君用鮮，眾給而已，子張怒，退而徵役，子產奔晉，子皮止之，而逐豐卷，豐卷奔晉，子產請其田里，三年而復之，反其田里，及其入焉，從政一年，輿人誦之曰，取我衣冠而褚之，取我田疇而伍之，孰殺子產，吾其與之，及三年，又誦之曰，我有子弟，子產誨之，我有田疇，子產殖之，子產而死，誰其嗣之。 |
