| | 智行: |
或问曰：“士或明哲穷理，或志行纯笃，二者不可兼，圣人将何取？”对曰：“其明哲乎。夫明哲之为用也，乃能殷民阜利，使万物无不尽其极者也。圣人之可及，非徒空行也，智也。伏羲作八卦，文王增其辞，斯皆穷神知化，岂徒特行善而已乎！《易离象》称‘大人以继明照于四方’，且大人、圣人也，其馀象皆称君子，盖君子通于贤者也，聪明惟圣人能尽之，大才通人有而不能尽也。《》美唐尧，‘钦’‘明’为先，驩兜之举共工，四岳之荐鲧，尧知其行，众尚未知信也。若非尧则裔土多凶族，兆民长愁苦矣。明哲之功也如是，子将何从？” |
| | Someone asked: "Some scholars may be wise and understand profound principles, while others may have sincere and steadfast aspirations. Since these two qualities cannot coexist, which will the sage choose?" The reply was: "He would choose those who are wise." Wisdom and prudence, when applied, enable the nurturing of the people and the enrichment of benefits, allowing all things to reach their utmost potential. The sage's attainability is not merely through empty actions, but through wisdom. Fuxi created the Eight Trigrams, and King Wen added their commentaries; these were all manifestations of profound understanding of divine principles and transformation—how could they merely be about performing good deeds alone! The Yi Li Xiang states, "A great man continues the light and shines it in all directions." Moreover, a great man is a sage; other trigrams refer to gentlemen. This is because gentlemen are connected with the virtuous. Wisdom and intelligence can only be fully realized by sages, while those of great talent may possess them but cannot fully exhaust their depths. The Shu (Book of Documents) praises Tang Yao, placing "qin" and "ming" as the foremost virtues. When Huandou recommended Gonggong and the Four Peaks recommended Gun, Yao knew their conduct, while the people still did not yet trust them. If it were not for Yao, then the land would be filled with many wicked tribes, and the multitude of people would remain in perpetual sorrow and suffering. The achievements of wisdom and prudence are thus; which will you follow?"
|
| | 智行: |
或曰：“俱谓贤者耳，何乃以圣人论之？”对曰：“贤者亦然。人之行莫大于孝，莫显于清；曾参之孝，有虞不能易；原宪之清，伯夷不能间。然不得与游、夏列在四行之科，以其才不如也。仲尼问子贡曰：‘汝与回也孰愈？’对曰：‘赐也何敢望回？回也闻一以知十，赐也闻一以知二。’子贡之行不若颜渊远矣，然而不服其行，服其闻一知十，由此观之，盛才所以服人也。仲尼亦奇颜渊之有盛才也，故曰：‘回也非助我者也，于吾言无所不说。’颜渊达于圣人之情，故无穷难之辞，是以能独获亹亹之誉，为七十子之冠；曾参虽质孝，原宪虽体清，仲尼未甚叹也。” |
| | Someone said: "They are both merely called virtuous men, why then discuss them in terms of sages?" The reply was: "Virtuous men are also like this." A person's conduct is nothing greater than filial piety, and nothing more evident than integrity; Zeng Shen's filial piety could not be altered by Yu of the Shang dynasty. Yuan Xian's integrity could not be undermined by Boyi. Yet they could not be ranked among You, Xia, and the other three categories of conduct, because their talents were inferior. Zhongni asked Zigong: "Between you and Hui, who is superior?" Zigong replied: "How dare I compare to Hui?" "Hui can understand ten things from one, while I can only grasp two from one." Zigong's conduct was far inferior to that of Yanyuan, yet he did not submit to him in terms of conduct, but rather admired his ability to understand ten things from one. From this we see that extraordinary talent is what truly convinces others. Zhongni also marveled at Yanyuan's extraordinary talent, hence he said: "Hui is not one who helps me; there is nothing of my words that he does not find pleasing." Yanyuan understood the sage's sentiments thoroughly, hence there were no endless objections or arguments, and thus he alone received the praise of "weiwei," becoming the foremost among the seventy disciples; Zeng Shen, though inherently filial, and Yuan Xian, though embodying integrity, were not greatly praised by Zhongni.
|
| | 智行: |
或曰：“苟有才智，而行不善，则可取乎？”对曰：“何子之难喻也。水能胜火，岂一升之水、灌一林之火哉？柴也愚，何尝自投于井？夫君子仁以博爱，义以除恶，信以立情，礼以自节，聪以自察，明以观色，谋以行权，智以辨物，岂可无一哉？谓夫多少之间耳。且管仲背君事雠，奢而失礼，使桓公有九合诸侯、一匡天下之功，仲尼称之曰：‘微管仲，吾其被发左衽矣。’召忽伏节死难，人臣之美义也；仲尼比为匹夫匹妇之为谅矣。是故圣人贵才智之特能，立功立事益于世矣，如愆过多、才智少，作乱有馀，而立功不足，仲尼所以避阳货而诛少正卯也。何谓可取乎？汉高祖数赖张子房权谋以建帝业，四皓虽美行而何益夫倒悬？此固不可同日而论矣！” |
| | Someone asked: "If someone possesses talent and wisdom but their conduct is not virtuous, can they still be considered admirable?" The reply was: "How difficult it is to enlighten you." Water can overcome fire, but could one sheng of water extinguish a forest fire? Chai was foolish, yet how often did he throw himself into a well? A gentleman, through benevolence, extends universal love; through righteousness, removes evil; through trustworthiness, establishes sincerity; through propriety, regulates himself; through wisdom, examines himself; through clarity, observes appearances; through strategy, exercises flexibility; and through intelligence, discerns things—how could he possibly lack even one of these? It is merely a matter of degree. Moreover, Guan Zhong betrayed his lord and served an enemy, was extravagant and lacked propriety; yet he enabled Duke Huan of Qi to achieve the feat of uniting the feudal lords nine times and restoring order to the world. Confucius praised him by saying: "Were it not for Guan Zhong, we would all be wearing our hair loose and dressing with the left over the right." Zhao Hu upheld his principles and died a martyr's death—this is the noble virtue of a loyal subject; Confucius compared them to the mere righteousness of common men and women. Therefore, sages value exceptional talent and intelligence that can accomplish feats beneficial to the world. If one has many faults and little wisdom, their capacity for chaos is great while their ability to achieve merit is slight—this was why Confucius avoided Yang Huo and executed Shaozheng Mao. What then could be considered admirable? Emperor Gaozu of Han relied repeatedly on Zhang Liang's strategies and cunning to establish his imperial cause. Though the Four Sages had virtuous conduct, what benefit did they bring in reversing a situation as dire as hanging upside down? This is indeed not something that can be compared on equal terms!
|
| | 智行: |
或曰：“然则仲尼曰‘未知焉得仁’，乃高仁耶？何谓也？”对曰：“仁固大也，然则仲尼此亦有所激，然非专小智之谓也。若有人相语曰：‘彼尚无有一智也，安得乃知为仁乎？’昔武王崩，成王幼，周公居摄，管、蔡启殷畔乱，周公诛之。成王不达，周公恐之，天乃雷电风雨以彰周公之德，然后成王寤。成王非不仁厚于骨肉也，徒以不聪睿之故，助畔乱之人，几丧周公之功，而坠文、武之业。召公见周公之既反政，而犹不知，疑其贪位，周公为之作《》，然后悦。夫以召公怀圣之资，而犹若此乎！末业之士，苟失一行，而智略褊短，亦可惧矣！仲尼曰：‘可与立，未可与权。’孟轲曰：‘子莫执中，执中无权，犹执一也。’仲尼、孟轲可谓达于权智之实者也。殷有三仁：微子介于石不终日，箕子内难而能正其志，比干谏而剖心。君子以微子为上，箕子次之，比干为下。故《春秋》大夫见杀，皆讥其不能以智自免也。且徐偃王知修仁义，而不知用武，终以亡国。鲁隐公怀让心，而不知佞伪，终以致杀。宋襄公守节，而不知权，终以见执。晋伯宗好直，而不知时变，终以陨身。叔孙豹好善，而不知择人，终以凶饿。此皆蹈善而少智之谓也。故《》贵‘’夫明哲之士者，威而不慑，困而能通，决嫌定疑，辨物居方。穰祸于忽杪，求福于未萌，见变事则达其机，得经事则循其常；巧言不能推，令色不能移；动作可观，则出辞为师表，比诸志行之士，不亦谬乎！” |
| | Someone said: "Then, if Zhongni said 'Without knowledge, how can one attain benevolence?' is he elevating benevolence above all?" What does this mean?" The reply was: "Benevolence is indeed great, but in saying this, Zhongni was also responding to a particular context. However, he did not mean to emphasize mere petty wisdom." If someone were to say to another: "He does not even possess a single bit of wisdom, how could he possibly know what benevolence is?" After King Wu died and King Cheng was still a child, Duke of Zhou assumed regency. Guan and Cai incited the Yin to rebel in chaos, and the Duke of Zhou executed them. King Cheng did not understand, and the Duke of Zhou feared this; Heaven then sent thunder, lightning, wind, and rain to demonstrate the virtue of the Duke of Zhou. Only after that did King Cheng come to realization. King Cheng was not lacking in kindness and affection toward his kin, but due solely to his lack of wisdom, he aided those who had rebelled, nearly destroying the Duke of Zhou's achievements and undermining the cause of King Wen and King Wu. Zhao Gong, upon seeing that the Duke of Zhou had already returned power to King Cheng but still did not understand, suspected him of being greedy for authority. The Duke of Zhou wrote Jun Shi for him, and only then was Zhao Gong satisfied. Even with Zhao Gong's virtuous nature, he still acted in this way! Scholars of minor attainments, if they lose even one virtue, and whose wisdom and strategies are narrow and limited, can indeed be a cause for concern! Confucius said: "He may be able to stand by principles, but he cannot yet grasp the art of flexibility." Meng Ke said: "Zimo adhered to the mean. To adhere to the mean without flexibility is still merely clinging to one fixed principle." Confucius and Meng Ke can truly be said to have understood the reality of flexible wisdom. The Yin dynasty had three men of benevolence: Weizi, who remained as firm as stone and did not waver even for a day; Ji Zi, who faced inner turmoil yet maintained his upright will; and Bi Gan, who advised the king and was 剖心 (had his heart cut out). Gentlemen regard Weizi as the highest, Ji Zi next in rank, and Bi Gan as the lowest. Therefore, in Chunqiu, when ministers were killed, they were all criticized for their inability to use wisdom to save themselves. Moreover, King Xu Yanwang knew how to cultivate benevolence and righteousness but failed to employ military strength, and in the end he lost his state. Duke Yin of Lu harbored a heart of yielding, yet failed to recognize flattery and deceit, which ultimately led to his death. Duke 襄 of Song adhered strictly to principles but lacked flexibility, and in the end was captured. Bao Zong of Jin favored uprightness yet failed to understand changing circumstances, and ultimately lost his life. Shu Sun Bao cherished virtue but did not know how to choose people wisely, and in the end suffered misfortune and starvation. These are all examples of individuals who practiced virtue yet lacked wisdom. Therefore, the Daya values "being both wise and prudent in order to preserve one's life." A man of wisdom and prudence is one who inspires awe without being intimidating, who can find solutions even in adversity, who resolves doubts and dispels suspicions, and who discerns things and takes the proper course. He wards off calamity before it arises, seeks blessings before they sprout; when encountering change, he grasps its essence, and when dealing with established matters, he follows the norm; flattering words cannot sway him, nor can insincere expressions move him; His actions are admirable, and his words serve as a model for others. Compared to those who merely possess virtuous aspirations, is this not a great difference!"
|
