大哉聖人之道
27. How great is the Tao of the sage!
洋洋乎發育萬物 峻極于天
Superabundant, it develops all things, extending up to Heaven.
優優大哉 禮儀三百 威儀三千 待其人而後行
How excellent it is! It embraces the three hundred rules of ceremony, and the three thousand rules of conduct; it waits for the right person and then functions.
故曰 苟不至德 至道不凝焉
Hence it is said: "If you do not perfect your virtue, the perfect Tao cannot be actualized."
故君子尊德性而道問學 致廣大而盡精微 極高明而道中庸 溫故而知新 敦厚以崇禮
Therefore the Superior Man esteems his virtuous nature and follows the path of inquiry, extending himself in breadth and greatness, penetrating all subtleties, penetrating its height and brilliance, following the course of the actualization of the Mean. He reviews the old and learns the new, thickening his character through the valorization of propriety.
是故 居上不驕 爲下不倍 國有道 其言足以興 國無道 其黙足以容
Therefore he abides in a position of power without arrogance, and abides in a low position without being rebellious. When the government is just, he can speak and be praised. When the government is wicked, he can conceal himself by silence.
詩曰 旣明且哲 以保其身 其此之謂與
The Book of Odes says: His intelligence and wit Were his protection. Does this not reflect the same meaning?
子曰 愚而好自用 賤而好自專 生乎今之世 反古之道 如此者 灾及其身者也
28. Confucius said: "To be ignorant and like to act as you will; to be of low rank and ignore all the rules; to be living in the present and be following the norms of the past: all these will bring you trouble."
非天子 不議禮 不制度 不考文
If you are not the emperor, you cannot determine the rules of propriety, set weights and measures, or create ideographs.
今天下 [欲要]車同軌 書同文 行同倫
In the present realm, carriages have the same axle-widths, documents are written with the same characters and people follow the same norms of conduct.
雖有其位 苟無其德 不敢作禮樂焉 雖有其德 苟無其位 亦不敢作禮樂焉
But even if you are emperor, if you lack virtue, you cannot presume to create ritual or music. And even if you possess sufficient virtue, but you are not in the position of emperor, you cannot presume to create ritual or music.
子曰 吾說夏禮 杞不足徵也 吾學殷禮 有宋存焉 吾學周禮 今用之 吾從周
Confucius said: "I can describe the Hsia rituals, but the documents from Ch'i cannot verify it. I have learned the Yin rituals, and they are still preserved in the Sung. I have learned the Chou rituals, which are still in use. I follow the Chou."
王天下有三重焉 其寡過矣乎
29. In ruling the realm there are three essentials through which one can lessen his mistakes.[5]
上焉者 雖善無徵 無徵不信 不信民弗從 下焉者 雖善不尊 不尊不信 不信民弗從
If you are in a position of rank, even if you are good, if your goodness is not evident, you will not be trusted. Not being trusted, the people will not follow you. If you lack rank, then you will not be respected. Lacking respect, you will not be trusted. Without trust the people will not follow you.[6]
故君子之道 本諸身[德] 徵諸庶民[位] 考諸三王而不謬 建諸天地而不悖 質諸鬼神而無疑 百世以俟聖人而不惑
Therefore in the Superior Man's practice of his Way, he starts with himself and then manifests his character to all the people, such that when he contemplates the ways of the three former sage-kings, he cannot feel any shame. He is established between Heaven and Earth without any discord. He presents himself before the spirits of his ancestors without doubting. He waits for a hundred generations for a sage to appear without confusion.
質諸鬼神而無疑 知天也 百世以俟聖而不惑 知人也
If you can present yourself to the ancestral spirits without doubting, you know Heaven. If you can wait a hundred generations for the appearance of a sage, you know human beings.
是故 君子動而世爲天下道 行而世爲天下法 言而世爲天下則 遠之則有望 近之則不厭
Therefore, the people regard the movement of the Superior Man as the Way of the world. They regard his actions as the norm of the world. They regard his words as the pattern for the world. When they are away from him, they long for him. When they are near him, they never get tired of him.
詩曰 在彼無惡 在此無射 庶幾夙夜 以永終譽 君子 未有不如此而蚤有譽於天下者也
The Book of Odes says: When he is away, he is not hated. When he is here, he is not disliked. In every situation, from morning to night, Their praise of him is unceasing. There has never been a Superior Man who gained rapid recognition from the world and who was not like this.
仲尼祖述堯舜 憲章文武 上律天時 下襲水土
30. Confucius transmitted the legacy of (sage-emperors) Yao and Shun and modeled his character on that of (sage-kings) Wen and Wu. He was ruled by the Heavenly seasons from above, and combined the Earth and Waters below.
辟如天地之無不持載 無不覆幬 辟如四時之錯行 如日月之代明
He was like Heaven and Earth, which have nothing they do not support, and nothing they do not cover. His function was like the revolution of the four seasons, the alternation of sun and moon.
萬物竝育而不相害 道竝行而不相悖 小德川流 大德敦化 此天地之所以爲大也
He nourishes the myriad things and they grow up together without harming each other, and they follow their courses simultaneously without interfering with each other. His smaller power is like the rivers and streams. His great power is seen in deep transformations. This is why Heaven and Earth are called "great."
唯天下至聖 爲能聰明睿知足以有臨也 寬裕溫柔足以有容也 發强剛毅 足以有執也 齊莊中正 足以有敬也 文理密察 足以有別也
31. Only the perfect sage of the realm possesses the acumen, sharpness and insight necessary for overseeing things, and at the same time has enough generosity, open-mindedness, warmth and flexibility to accept everything. He also has enough energy, strength, firmness and gumption to maintain what he has and enough self-awareness, gravity, centeredness and correctness to be respected and enough refinement, principle, depth and analytical ability to discriminate.
溥博淵泉 而時出也
Extremely vast, unfathomably deep--he uses his abilities according to the situation.
溥博如天 淵泉如淵 見而民莫不敬 言而民莫不信 行而民莫不說
As vast as Heaven, as deep as an abyss, when he shows himself, there are none who do not respect him. When he speaks, there are none who do not believe him. When he acts, there are not who do not appreciate him.
是以聲名洋溢乎中國施及蠻貊 舟車所至 人力所通 天之所覆 地之所載 日月所照 霜露所隊 凡有血氣者 莫不尊親 故曰配天
Therefore you can hear his name overflowing from the central kingdoms out to the uncivilized regions. Wherever boats and wagons go, wherever human power can reach to; in every place supported by the Earth; those places illuminated by the sun and moon; wherever dew and frost fall; wherever there are breathing beings, there are none who do not respect him and cherish him. Therefore he is associated with "Heaven."
唯天下至誠 爲能經綸天下之大經 立天下之大本 知天地之化育 夫焉有所倚
32. Only that person who has fully actualized sincerity is able to adjust the strings of the Great Net of the World; is able to establish himself in the Great Root of the World; is able to understand the transformations and the nurturing of Heaven and Earth.
肫肫其仁 淵淵其淵 浩浩其天
So sincere is his jen; so unfathomable is his depth; so vast is his spaciousness.
苟不固聰明聖知 達天德者 其孰能知之
Who is able to understand this, but one who has the firm, acute, luminous sagely intelligence--who is permeated with Heavenly Virtue?