廣弘明集 5.42

5.42

天下之善一也。而或師或妖。天下之正道一也。而云正復為奇斯反。鄙見所未能通也。盛字安國。仕晉為給事中祕書監。少遊涉墳素而以史籍為懷。故曰。賢聖玄邈得諸言表。而仁愛自我陶染庶物。漸漬之功莫過乎經史。著晉陽春秋三十餘卷。評老氏中賢之流。故知為尹述書。乃祖承有據嵇子云。老子就涓子學九仙之術。尋乎導養。斯言有徵。至於聖也。則不云學。故語曰。生知者上。學知者次。王何所位典達鴻猷。故班固序人九等之例。孔丘等為上上。類例皆是聖。李耳等為中上。類例皆是賢。聖有至聖亞聖。賢有大賢中賢。並以神機有利鈍。故智用有漸頓也。盛敘老非大賢。取其閑放自牧不能兼濟於天下。坐觀周衰遁於西裔。行及秦壤。死於扶風。葬於槐里。非遁天之仙信矣。

The goodness of the world is one, yet it is now teacher, now monstrous; the correct way of the world is one, yet it is said that the correct turns into the bizarre. This contradiction is something my humble view cannot fathom. Sheng, courtesy name Anguo, served the Jin dynasty as Attendant Gentleman and Director of the Palace Library. In his youth he roamed through the ancient classics and kept historical records in his heart. Therefore he said: 'Worthy men and sages are profound and distant, understood beyond words; benevolence and love proceed from oneself to mold and influence the myriad things; in their gradual permeation, nothing surpasses the classics and histories.' He authored the Jinyang chunqiu in over thirty fascicles, evaluating Laozi as being of the class of middling worthies. Thus we know that when composing texts for the Yin, his ancestral lineage was based on evidence. Master Ji said: 'Laozi studied the arts of the nine immortals from Master Juan.' Investigating gymnastics and nourishing life, these words have proof. As for a sage, it is not said that he learns. Hence the saying goes: 'Those who are born with knowledge are the highest; those who learn and so acquire knowledge come next.' What position did Wang [Bi] and He [Yan] occupy to comprehend such grand designs? Therefore, Ban Gu's classification of people into nine ranks placed Confucius and his peers in the upper-upper rank, all of which are sages; Li Er and his peers were placed in the middle-upper rank, all of which are worthies. Among sages there are supreme sages and secondary sages; among worthies there are great worthies and middling worthies. Because their spiritual capacity can be sharp or dull, the functioning of their wisdom proceeds gradually or suddenly. Sheng described Lao[zi] as not being a great worthy, noting his leisurely detachment and self-discipline, and his inability to universally benefit the world: he sat watching the decline of Zhou and fled to the western border; traveling as far as the Qin lands, he died in Fufeng and was buried in Huaili. That he was not an immortal who fled heaven is truly credible.