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Scope: Letting Be, and Exercising Forbearance Request type: Paragraph
Condition 1: Contains text "聞在宥天下不聞治天下也" Matched:1.
Total 1 paragraphs. Page 1 of 1.

在宥 - Letting Be, and Exercising Forbearance

English translation: James Legge [?]
Books referencing 《在宥》 Library Resources
1 在宥:
聞在宥天下,不聞治天下也。在之也者,恐天下之淫其性也;宥之也者,恐天下之遷其德也。天下不淫其性,不遷其德,有治天下者哉!昔堯之治天下也,使天下欣欣焉人樂其性,是不恬也;桀之治天下也,使天下瘁瘁焉人苦其性,是不愉也。夫不恬不愉,非德也。非德也而可長久者,天下無之。人大喜邪,毗於陽。大怒邪,毗於陰。陰陽並毗,四時不至,寒暑之和不成,其反傷人之形乎!使人喜怒失位,居處無常,思慮不自得,中道不成章,於是乎天下始喬詰、卓鷙,而後有盜跖、曾、史之行。故舉天下以賞其善者不足,舉天下以罰其惡者不給,故天下之大不足以賞罰。自三代以下者,匈匈焉終以賞罰為事,彼何暇安其性命之情哉!而且說明邪,是淫於色也;說聰邪,是淫於聲也;說仁邪,是亂於德也;說義邪,是悖於理也;說禮邪,是相於技也;說樂邪,是相於淫也;說聖邪,是相於藝也;說知邪,是相於疵也。天下將安其性命之情,之八者,存可也;亡可也;天下將不安其性命之情,之八者,乃始臠卷、獊囊而亂天下也。而天下乃始尊之惜之,甚矣天下之惑也!豈直過也而去之邪!乃齊戒以言之,跪坐以進之,鼓歌以儛之,吾若是何哉!故君子不得已而臨邪天下,莫若無為。無為也,而後安其性命之情。故貴以身於為天下,則可以託天下;愛以身於為天下,則可以寄天下。故君子苟能無解其五藏,無擢其聰明,尸居而龍見,淵默而雷聲,神動而天隨,從容無為而萬物炊累焉。吾又何暇治天下哉!
Letting Be, and Exercising...:
I have heard of letting the world be, and exercising forbearance; I have not heard of governing the world. Letting be is from the fear that men, (when interfered with), will carry their nature beyond its normal condition; exercising forbearance is from the fear that men, (when not so dealt with), will alter the characteristics of their nature. When all men do not carry their nature beyond its normal condition, nor alter its characteristics, the good government of the world is secured. Formerly, Yao's government of the world made men look joyful; but when they have this joy in their nature, there is a want of its (proper) placidity. The government of the world by Jie, (on the contrary), made men look distressed; but when their nature shows the symptoms of distress, there is a want of its (proper) contentment. The want of placidity and the want of contentment are contrary to the character (of the nature); and where this obtains, it is impossible that any man or state should anywhere abide long. Are men exceedingly joyful? The Yang or element of expansion in them is too much developed. Are they exceedingly irritated? The Yin or opposite element is too much developed. When those elements thus predominate in men, (it is as if) the four seasons were not to come (at their proper times), and the harmony of cold and heat were not to be maintained - would there not result injury to the bodies of men? Men's joy and dissatisfaction are made to arise where they ought not to do so; their movements are all uncertain; they lose the mastery of their thoughts; they stop short midway, and do not finish what they have begun. In this state of things the world begins to have lofty aims, and jealous dislikes, ambitious courses, and fierce animosities, and then we have actions like those of the robber Zhi, or of Zeng (Shen) and Shi (Qiu). If now the whole world were taken to reward the good it would not suffice, nor would it be possible with it to punish the bad. Thus the world, great as it is, not sufficing for rewards and punishments, from the time of the three dynasties downwards, there has been nothing but bustle and excitement. Always occupied with rewards and punishments, what leisure have men had to rest in the instincts of the nature with which they are endowed? Moreover, delight in the power of vision leads to excess in the pursuit of (ornamental) colours; delight in the power of hearing, to excess in seeking (the pleasures of) sound; delight in benevolence tends to disorder that virtue (as proper to the nature); delight in righteousness sets the man in opposition to what is right in reason; delight in (the practice of) ceremonies is helpful to artful forms; delight in music leads to voluptuous airs; delight in sageness is helpful to ingenious contrivances; delight in knowledge contributes to fault-finding. If all men were to rest in the instincts of their nature, to keep or to extinguish these eight delights might be a matter of indifference; but if they will not rest in those instincts, then those eight delights begin to be imperfectly and unevenly developed or violently suppressed, and the world is thrown into disorder. But when men begin to honour them, and to long for them, how great is the deception practised on the world! And not only, when (a performance of them) is once over, do they not have done with them, but they prepare themselves (as) with fasting to describe them, they seem to kneel reverentially when they bring them forward, and they go through them with the excitements of music and singing; and then what can be done (to remedy the evil of them)? Therefore the superior man, who feels himself constrained to engage in the administration of the world will find it his best way to do nothing. In (that policy of) doing nothing, he can rest in the instincts of the nature with which he is endowed. Hence he who will administer (the government of) the world honouring it as he honours his own person, may have that government committed to him, and he who will administer it loving it as he loves his own person, may have it entrusted to him. Therefore, if the superior man will keep (the faculties lodged in) his five viscera unemployed, and not display his powers of seeing and hearing, while he is motionless as a representative of the dead, his dragon-like presence will be seen; while he is profoundly silent, the thunder (of his words) will resound; while his movements are (unseen) like those of a spirit, all heavenly influences will follow them; while he is (thus) unconcerned and does nothing, his genial influence will attract and gather all things round him: what leisure has he to do anything more for the government of the world?

Total 1 paragraphs. Page 1 of 1.