詩曰 衣錦尙絅 惡其文之著也 故君子之道 闇然而日章 小人之道 的然而日亡
33. The Book of Odes says: She covered her brocade gown With a plain robe.
She did not want to show off her finery. Therefore the Superior Man acts in a way such that he conceals himself, yet every day gains in luminosity. The inferior man shows himself and every day loses luminosity.
君子之道淡而不厭 簡而文 溫而理 知遠之近 知風之自 知微之顯 可與入德矣
The Way of the Superior Man is tasteless, yet you never get sick of it. Simple, yet refined, warm-hearted yet principled. He knows the closeness of the distant, knows the origin of customs. He knows the manifestation of the subtle and can enter into virtue.
詩云 潛雖伏矣 亦孔之昭 故君子內省不疚 無惡於志 君子之所不可及者 其唯人之所不見乎
The Book of Odes says: Though the fish dive to the bottom They can be seen. Hence the Superior Man, finding no perversity within himself, has no evil in his intentions. Those things that the Superior Man is unable to attain to are exactly the things that others cannot perceive.
詩云 相在爾室 尙不愧于屋漏 故君子不動而敬 不言而信
The Book of Odes says: While in your own room, You should not be ashamed if it were Opened to the world. Therefore the Superior Man does not move, and yet is respected. He does not speak, and yet is believed.
詩曰 奏假無言 時靡有爭 是故君子不賞而民勸 不怒而民威於鈇鉞
The Book of Odes says: Make your offerings without words, And there will never be any disagreement. Therefore the Superior Man receives no awards, yet the people promote him. He is not angry, yet they are more in awe of him than they are of lethal weapons.
詩曰 不顯惟德 百辟其刑之 是故君子篤恭而天下平
The Book of Odes says: Only if you don't show it Can you develop virtue. All the princes are constrained by this. Therefore the Superior Man, through his generosity and courtesy, pacifies the realm.
詩云 予懷明德 不大聲以色
The Book of Odes says: I cherish shining virtue Not big noises and flashy colors.
子曰 聲色之於以化民 末也
Confucius said: "In terms of transforming people, sounds and appearances don't amount to much."
詩曰 德輶如毛 模猶有倫 上天之載 無聲無臭至矣
The Book of Odes says: Virtue is as light as a hair. Yet even a hair possesses the great principles. In the functions of Supreme Heaven, there are no sounds or smells. It is "perfect."
間注 Notes
1. Confucius
2. There is a pun here, since "humanity" is also pronounced jen. Thus, in Chinese, this phrase says "jen is jen."
3. Used in I-Ching divination.
4. An ancient method of divination where tortoise shells were heated over a fire until they cracked. The cracks were read according to their patterns to diagnose a situation.
5. At this point in the text, one would expect a clear enumeration of three essential points. But following this are only a set of two, followed by a set of four. James Legge and Wing-tsit Chan, following Chu-hsi, say that these three essentials should be the ceremonies, regulations and formation of ideographs mentioned in the prior passage. This judgement may be questioned, since in Confucian texts, errors in rulership are generally shortcomings in the personal character or errors in judgement on moral issues.
Since these are three essentials of rulership, we might look to the end of section 20 above, which says: "Loving study, you approach wisdom; loving energetic practice, you approach jen. Understanding shame, you approach courage. If you understand these three, you know how to polish your character; knowing how to polish your character, you know how to handle others; knowing how to handle others, you know how to govern a state or clan."
6. This is another passage which seems to be deficient in the necessary contextual background for solid interpretation. But again, I must differ with Chu-hsi's interpretation which reads shang ( ) as "former times" and its antonym hsia ( ) as "low position." Since shang and hsia are so clearly contrasted here in consecutive sentences, it seems much more sensible and natural to read them antonymically. Furthermore, though to read shang as "formerly" or "antiquity" may be possible in Classical Chinese, we rarely see it used in that way in the Analects, Great Learning or Doctrine of the Mean. The two terms almost always mean "superior" or "above" and "inferior" or "below," usually in terms of societal rank, or level of personal enlightenment.
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