廣弘明集 5.38

5.38

孫盛曰。老聃足知聖人禮樂。非玄勝之具。不獲已而制作耳。而故毀之何哉。是故屏撥禮學以全其任。自然之論。豈不知叔末。不復得返自然之道。直欲申己好之懷。然則不免情於所悅。非注心救物者也。非惟不救。乃獎其弊矣。或問。莊老所以故發此唱。蓋與聖教相為表裏。其於陶物明訓。其歸一也。盛以為不然。夫聖人之道廣大悉備矣。猶日月懸天。有何不照者哉。老氏之言皆效於六經矣。寧復有所愆之俟。佐助於聃周乎。即莊周所謂日月出矣而爝火不息者。至於虛誑譎怪儌詭之言。尚拘滯於一方。而橫稱不經之奇詞也。

Sun Sheng says: Lao Dan fully knew that the rites and music of the sages were not instruments of profound superiority, but were instituted only when there was no choice. Why then did he deliberately disparage them? Therefore, casting aside ritual and learning to preserve his thesis of natural spontaneity—did he not know that in later degenerate ages one can no longer return to the way of natural spontaneity? He merely wished to express what his own inclinations delighted in; thus he could not avoid being guided by personal preference, rather than focusing his mind on saving things. Not only did he fail to save them, but he even encouraged their shortcomings. Some may ask: Why did Zhuang and Lao make such declarations? Perhaps they form the outer and inner with the sages' teachings, and in molding things and clarifying instruction, their conclusion is one. Sheng considers this not to be so. The Way of the sages is vast and all-inclusive; like the sun and moon suspended in the sky, what do they not illuminate? The words of Laozi all emulate the Six Classics; would there still be any flaw waiting for Dan and Zhou to assist? This is what Zhuang Zhou referred to when he said: 'When the sun and moon come out, yet the torch is not extinguished.' As for his false, deceitful, bizarre, and unorthodox words, they are still confined to a single corner, yet rashly praised as extraordinary sayings outside the canon.