廣弘明集 21.23

21.23

始興王第四男蕭映諮曰。第一義諦其義第一。德亦第一不。令旨答曰。義既第一。德亦第一。又諮。直言第一。已苞德義。何得復加義字以致繁復。令旨答。直言第一在義猶昧。第一見義可得盡美。又諮。若加以義字可得盡美。何不加以德字可得盡美。令旨答。第一是德。豈待復加。但加義字則德義雙美。又諮。直稱第一足見其美。偏加義字似有所局。令旨答。第一表德。復加義字。二美俱陳。豈有所局。

Xiao Ying, fourth son of the Prince of Shixing, inquired: "Supreme-meaning truth: is its meaning supreme, and is its virtue also supreme or not?"
The imperial decree answered: "Its meaning is already supreme, and its virtue is also supreme."
[Xiao Ying] also inquired: "Simply saying 'supreme' already subsumes virtue and meaning; why must one additionally append the character 'meaning', leading to redundancy?"
The imperial decree answered: "Simply saying 'supreme', the meaning is still obscure; seeing 'meaning' in 'supreme', its excellence can be fully expressed."
[Xiao Ying] also inquired: "If appending the character 'meaning' allows its excellence to be fully expressed, why not append the character 'virtue' so that its excellence may be fully expressed?"
The imperial decree answered: "'Supreme' is virtue; how could it wait to be appended again? But appending the character 'meaning', then virtue and meaning are doubly excellent."
[Xiao Ying] also inquired: "Simply calling it 'supreme' is sufficient to see its excellence; exclusively appending the character 'meaning' seems somewhat limiting."
The imperial decree answered: "'Supreme' expresses virtue; furthermore appending the character 'meaning', both excellences are displayed together. How could it be limiting?"