Follow us on Facebook to receive important updates Follow us on Twitter to receive important updates Follow us on sina.com's microblogging site to receive important updates Follow us on Douban to receive important updates
Chinese Text Project
Simplified Chinese version
Back Forward
Daoism -> Zhuangzi -> Outer Chapters -> Heaven and Earth -> 14.1

The filial son who does not flatter his father,
and the loyal minister who does not fawn on his ruler,
are the highest examples of a minister and a son.
When a son assents to all that his father says,
and approves of all that his father does,
common opinion pronounces him an unworthy son;
when a minister assents to all that his ruler says,
and approves of all that his ruler does,
common opinion pronounces him an unworthy minister.
Nor does any one reflect that this view is necessarily correct.
But when common opinion (itself) affirms anything and men therefore assent to it,
or counts anything good and men also approve of it,
then it is not said that they are mere consenters and flatterers
- is common opinion then more authoritative than a father, or more to be honoured than a ruler?
Tell a man that he is merely following (the opinions) of another,
and at once he flushes with anger.
Tell a man that he is flatterer of others,
and immediately he flushes with anger.
And yet all his life he is merely following others,
and flattering them.
His illustrations are made to agree with theirs; his phrases are glossed: to win the approbation of the multitudes.
From first to last, from beginning to end, he finds no fault with their views.
He will let his robes hang down,
display the colours on them,
and arrange his movements and bearing,
so as to win the favour of his age,
and yet not call himself a flatterer.
He is but a follower of those others,
approving and disapproving as they do,
and yet he will not say that he is one of them.
This is the height of stupidity.
He who knows his stupidity
is not very stupid;
he who knows that he is under a delusion
is not greatly deluded.
He who is greatly deluded will never shake the delusion off; he who is very stupid will all his life not become intelligent.
If three men be walking together, and (only) one of them be under a delusion (as to their way), they may yet reach their goal,
the deluded being the fewer;
but if two of them be under the delusion, they will not do so,
the deluded being the majority.
天下At the present time, when the whole world is under a delusion,
though I pray men to go in the right direction,
I cannot make them do so
- is it not a sad case?


Enjoy this site? Please help.Site design and content copyright 2006-2024. When quoting or citing information from this site, please link to the corresponding page or to https://ctext.org/ens. Please note that the use of automatic download software on this site is strictly prohibited, and that users of such software are automatically banned without warning to save bandwidth. 沪ICP备09015720号-3Comments? Suggestions? Please raise them here.