孟子·告子上（選）孟子·告子上（选）

孟子曰：「牛山之木嘗美矣。以其郊於大國也，斧斤伐之，可以為美乎？是其日夜之所息，雨露之所潤，非無萌蘗之生焉，牛羊又從而牧之，是以若彼濯濯也。人見其濯濯也，以為未嘗有材焉，此豈山之性也哉？雖存乎人者，豈無仁義之心哉？其所以放其良心者，亦猶斧斤之於木也。旦旦而伐之，可以為美乎？其日夜之所息，平旦之氣，其好惡與人相近也者幾希，則其旦晝之所為，有梏亡之矣。梏之反覆，則其夜氣不足以存。夜氣不足以存，則其違禽獸不遠矣。人見其禽獸也，而以為未嘗有才焉者，是豈人之情也哉？故苟得其養，無物不長；苟失其養，無物不消。孔子曰：『操則存，舍則亡。出入無時，莫知其鄉。』惟心之謂與？」

孟子曰：「牛山之木尝美矣。以其郊于大国也，斧斤伐之，可以为美乎？是其日夜之所息，雨露之所润，非无萌蘗之生焉，牛羊又从而牧之，是以若彼濯濯也。人见其濯濯也，以为未尝有材焉，此岂山之性也哉？虽存乎人者，岂无仁义之心哉？其所以放其良心者，亦犹斧斤之于木也。旦旦而伐之，可以为美乎？其日夜之所息，平旦之气，其好恶与人相近也者几希，则其旦昼之所为，有梏亡之矣。梏之反复，则其夜气不足以存。夜气不足以存，则其违禽兽不远矣。人见其禽兽也，而以为未尝有才焉者，是岂人之情也哉？故苟得其养，无物不长；苟失其养，无物不消。孔子曰：『操则存，舍则亡。出入无时，莫知其乡。』惟心之谓与？」

Mencius said: “The trees of Ox Mountain were beautiful once. But because it stood at the edge of a great city, axes and hatchets cut them down: could it stay beautiful? Even so, with the rest it had by day and by night and the moisture of rain and dew, shoots and sprouts did come up; but then cattle and sheep were brought to graze, and that is why it is as bare as you see it. People see the bareness and suppose it never had timber. But is that the nature of the mountain? And in a person, too, how could there be no heart of humaneness and rightness? The way a man loses his good heart is like axes and hatchets against trees. Cut down morning after morning, can it stay beautiful? With the rest it has by day and by night, in the air of the early dawn, his likes and dislikes come a little close to other people’s; but then what he does in the day fetters it and destroys it. Fettered over and over again, the night air is not enough to keep it alive. When the night air is not enough to keep it alive, he is not far from the birds and beasts. People see that he is like a bird or a beast, and suppose he never had the capacity. But is that the true condition of a man? So, given its nourishment, there is nothing that will not grow; deprived of its nourishment, there is nothing that will not wither. Confucius said: ‘Hold on to it and it stays; let it go and it is lost. It comes and goes at no fixed time, and no one knows where it lives.’ Was he not speaking of the heart?”

孟子曰：「無或乎王之不智也。雖有天下易生之物也，一日暴之，十日寒之，未有能生者也。吾見亦罕矣，吾退而寒之者至矣，吾如有萌焉何哉！今夫弈之為數，小數也；不專心致志，則不得也。弈秋，通國之善弈者也。使弈秋誨二人弈：其一人專心致志，惟弈秋之為聽；一人雖聽之，一心以為有鴻鵠將至，思援弓繳而射之。雖與之俱學，弗若之矣。為是其智弗若與？曰：非然也。」

孟子曰：「无或乎王之不智也。虽有天下易生之物也，一日暴之，十日寒之，未有能生者也。吾见亦罕矣，吾退而寒之者至矣，吾如有萌焉何哉！今夫弈之为数，小数也；不专心致志，则不得也。弈秋，通国之善弈者也。使弈秋诲二人弈：其一人专心致志，惟弈秋之为听；一人虽听之，一心以为有鸿鹄将至，思援弓缴而射之。虽与之俱学，弗若之矣。为是其智弗若与？曰：非然也。」

Mencius said: “Do not wonder that the king is not wise. Take the easiest-growing thing in the world: give it one day of sun and ten days of cold, and it will never grow. I see him only seldom, and as soon as I withdraw, the ones who chill him arrive; what can I do for the few shoots there are? Now chess is a small art; yet if you do not give it your whole mind and will, you will not master it. Yi Qiu was the best player in the whole state. Suppose Yi Qiu teaches two men to play. One gives it his whole mind and will and listens only to Yi Qiu. The other listens too, but his whole mind is on a swan that may be coming over, and how he might draw his bow and shoot a corded arrow at it. Though he learns beside the first, he will not be his equal. Is it because his intelligence is not equal? I say: it is not.”

孟子曰：「仁，人心也。義，人路也。舍其路而弗由，放其心而不知求。哀哉！人有雞犬放，則知求之；有放心，而不知求。學問之道無他，求其放心而已矣。」

孟子曰：「仁，人心也。义，人路也。舍其路而弗由，放其心而不知求。哀哉！人有鸡犬放，则知求之；有放心，而不知求。学问之道无他，求其放心而已矣。」

Mencius said: “Humaneness is the human heart; rightness is the human road. To leave the road and not walk it, to let go of the heart and not know how to look for it: how sad that is. When people’s chickens or dogs stray, they know to go after them; when the heart strays, they do not know to go after it. The way of learning is nothing else than to go after the heart that has strayed.”

孟子曰：「拱把之桐、梓，人苟欲生之，皆知所以養之者。至於身，而不知所以養之者，豈愛身不若桐、梓哉？弗思甚也。」

孟子曰：「拱把之桐、梓，人苟欲生之，皆知所以养之者。至于身，而不知所以养之者，岂爱身不若桐、梓哉？弗思甚也。」

Mencius said: “A tung or a catalpa a hand’s span or two thick: anyone who wants it to grow knows how to nourish it. But their own person they do not know how to nourish. Do they love their own person less than a tung or a catalpa? It is that they do not think, and badly.”

公都子問曰：「鈞是人也，或為大人，或為小人，何也？」

公都子问曰：「钧是人也，或为大人，或为小人，何也？」

Gongduzi asked: “We are all alike human. Yet some become great men and some become small men. Why?”

孟子曰：「從其大體為大人，從其小體為小人。」

孟子曰：「从其大体为大人，从其小体为小人。」

Mencius said: “Those who follow the greater part of themselves become great men; those who follow the lesser part become small men.”

曰：「耳目之官不思，而蔽於物。物交物，則引之而已矣。心之官則思；思則得之，不思則不得也。此天之所與我者，先立乎其大者，則其小者不能奪也。此為大人而已矣。」

曰：「耳目之官不思，而蔽于物。物交物，则引之而已矣。心之官则思；思则得之，不思则不得也。此天之所与我者，先立乎其大者，则其小者不能夺也。此为大人而已矣。」

“The organs of the ear and the eye do not think, and they are clouded by things. When a thing meets a thing, it only draws it along. The organ of the heart thinks. If it thinks, it gets it; if it does not think, it does not get it. This is what Heaven has given us. If first one sets up the greater part, the lesser cannot take it away. That is all it is to be a great man.”

孟子曰：「五穀者，種之美者也。苟為不熟，不如荑稗。夫仁，亦在乎熟之而已矣。」

孟子曰：「五谷者，种之美者也。苟为不熟，不如荑稗。夫仁，亦在乎熟之而已矣。」

Mencius said: “The five grains are the finest of seeds; but if they do not ripen, they are worth less than wild millet and barnyard grass. Humaneness, too, is simply a matter of bringing it to ripeness.”

孟子曰：「羿之教人射，必志於彀；學者亦必志於彀。大匠誨人，必以規矩；學者亦必以規矩。」

孟子曰：「羿之教人射，必志于彀；学者亦必志于彀。大匠诲人，必以规矩；学者亦必以规矩。」

Mencius said: “When Yi taught archery, he always set his mind on the full draw of the bow, and those who learn must also set their minds on the full draw. When a master carpenter teaches, he always uses the compass and the square, and those who learn must also use the compass and the square.”