鐔津文集 13.14

13.14

故侍郎中山公。其喪下葬日。客有感其舊德而為哀辭。以見意也。然客本佛氏者。外遺形質內融情偽。不宜有所感而哀之也。蓋不忍視其賢人歿而君子之道益寡。嗟嘆之不已。姑託哀而辭之。雖然公之功德在人。名與迹太史氏播之。而其人未必悉知公道德之本至者也。公之所本者誠也。故其始也。修身事親。而鄉人傚之。其中也。仕於朝廷守大節不變。而天子擢之。其老也。以禮而退表師乎士大夫。而天下儀之。然士之行道於世。多初銳而中懈。先是而後謬。孰如公進退始卒無毫𩬊之失。蓋其修誠厚本而致是爾。公既謝去軒冕。益以清淨養其壽命。故蒙忝公之交游。亦親識知公之道德所以至者且詳可法也矣。嗚呼辱公之顧待異矣。不復睹矣。辭曰。

On the day the late Vice Minister, Lord Zhongshan, was buried, a guest, moved by his former virtue, composed an elegy to express his sentiments. Yet this guest originally belongs to the Buddhist fold: externally relinquishing physical form and internally dissolving passion and falsehood, he ought not to be moved to mourn. It is simply that, unable to bear seeing a worthy man pass away while the Way of the gentleman grows ever scarcer, and sighing incessantly, he provisionally resorts to mourning in this elegy. Nevertheless, though the Duke's merits and virtues rest with the people, and his name and deeds have been broadcast by the Grand Historians, those people do not necessarily fully know the supreme source of the Duke's morality. That which the Duke took as his foundation was sincerity. Therefore, in the beginning, he cultivated himself and served his parents, and the villagers emulated him. In the middle, he served in the imperial court, maintaining great integrity without wavering, and the Son of Heaven promoted him. In his old age, he retired according to ritual, acting as a model for the scholar-officials, and the world took him as an exemplar. Yet when scholars practice the Way in the world, most are keen at first but slacken midway, correct at the beginning but falling into error later. Who can match the Duke, whose advances and retreats, from beginning to end, were without the slightest flaw? It was simply that by cultivating sincerity and solidifying his foundation, he achieved this. After the Duke laid aside carriage and cap, he increasingly nurtured his longevity with purity and tranquility. Having humbly enjoyed the privilege of associating with the Duke, I also personally came to know that by which the Duke's morality attained its height, and in detail it can serve as a model. Alas, to have been favored by the Duke's exceptional regard, and never to see him again! The elegy says: