鐔津文集 4.11

4.11

或曰。吾嘗聞。人之性有上下。猶手足焉。不可移也。故孔子曰。唯上智與下愚不移。韓子曰。上焉者善焉而已矣。下焉者惡焉而已矣。孟子曰。然則犬之性猶牛之性。牛之性猶人之性。而與子之謂性者疑。若無賢不肖也。無人之與畜也。混然為一不辨其上下焉。而足可加於首。首可置於足。顛之倒之。豈見其不移者也。子何以異於聖賢之說耶。叟曰。吾雖與子終日云云。而子猶頑而不曉。將無可奈何乎。子接吾語而不以心通。仍以事責我耶。我雖巧說。亦何以逃于多言之誅乎。仲尼曰。唯上智與下愚不移者。蓋言人有才不才。其分定矣。才而明者。其為上矣。不才而昧者。其為下矣。豈曰其性有上下哉。故其先曰。性相近也。習相遠也。而上智與下愚不移。次之苟以性有上下而不移也。則飲食男女之性。唯在於智者。而愚者不得有之。如皆有之則不可謂其性定於上下也。韓子之言。其取乎仲尼。所謂不移者也。不能遠詳其義而輒以善惡定其上下者。豈誠然耶。善惡情也。非性也。情有善惡。而性無善惡者何也。性靜也。情動也。善惡之形見於動者也。孟子之言犬之性猶牛之性。牛之性猶人之性者。孟氏其指性之所欲也。宜其不同也。吾之所言者性也。彼二子之所言者情也。情則孰不異乎。性則孰不同乎。或曰。然則犬牛猶人也。眾人猶聖賢也。何以見乎眾人。與聖賢耶。曰子誠不知也。犬牛則犬牛矣。眾人則眾人矣。聖賢則聖賢矣。夫犬牛所以為犬牛者。犬牛性而不別也。眾人之所以為眾人者。眾人靈而不明也。賢人之所以為賢人者。賢人明而未誠也。聖人之所以為聖人者。則聖人誠且明也。夫誠也者。所謂大誠也（夫或作大或作性）中庸之道也。靜與天地同其理。動與四時合其運。是故聖人以之禮也。則君臣位焉。父子親焉。兄弟悌焉。男女辨焉。老者有所養。少者有所教。壯者有所事。弱者有所安。婚娶喪葬則終始得其宜。天地萬物莫不有其序。以之樂也。朝廷穆穆天下無憂。陰陽和也。風雨時也。凡有血氣之屬。莫不昭蘇歌於郊社宗廟而鬼神來假以之刑也。則軍旅獄訟理。而四夷八蠻畏其威。其民遠罪而遷善。以之政也。則賢者日進。佞者絕去。制度大舉。聲明文物。可示於後世仁之則。四海安義之則。萬物宜智之則。事業舉信之則。天下以實應。聖人之以中庸作也如此。

Someone said: "I have heard that human nature has higher and lower grades, just like the hands and feet, which cannot be interchanged. Therefore Confucius said: 'Only the highest wisdom and the lowest stupidity do not change.' Master Han said: 'Those of the upper grade are simply good; those of the lower grade are simply evil.' Mencius said: 'Is the nature of a dog then like the nature of an ox, and the nature of an ox like the nature of a human?' Yet your account of nature seems to hold that there is no distinction between the worthy and the unworthy, nor between humans and beasts; it blends them into one without distinguishing their higher and lower grades, so that feet could be placed on the head, and the head placed on the feet—turned completely upside down! How does this show what does not change? How do you differ from the teachings of the sages and worthies?"

The elder said: "Although I talk on and on with you all day, you remain stubborn and unenlightened; is there nothing to be done? You take up my words without connecting them with your mind, and still reproach me with mere matters of fact! Though I might speak skillfully, how could I escape the condemnation of being verbose? When Zhongni said, 'Only the highest wisdom and the lowest stupidity do not change,' he meant that people have talent and lack of talent, and their allotments are fixed. Those who are talented and clear-sighted are the upper; those who are untalented and benighted are the lower. How could he have meant that their nature has higher and lower grades? Therefore, he first said: 'By nature they are near to one another; by habituation they grow far apart,' and then followed this with 'the highest wisdom and the lowest stupidity do not change.' If we were to hold that nature has higher and lower grades that cannot change, then the nature that desires food, drink, men, and women would belong only to the wise, and the foolish would not possess it. If all possess it, one cannot say that their nature is fixed in higher and lower grades. Master Han's words drew upon what Zhongni called 'do not change'; failing to examine its meaning deeply, he rashly fixed higher and lower grades by goodness and evil—how could that be correct? Good and evil pertain to the passions (qing), not to nature. Why is it that the passions have good and evil, whereas nature has neither good nor evil? Nature is tranquil; the passions are active. The forms of good and evil become visible in activity. When Mencius said that the nature of a dog is like the nature of an ox, and the nature of an ox is like the nature of a human, Master Meng was pointing to what nature desires; naturally these are not the same. What I speak of is nature; what those two masters spoke of is the passions. As for passions, who is not different? As for nature, who is not identical?"

Someone said: "If that is so, then dogs and oxen are like humans, and ordinary people are like the sages and worthies. How then are ordinary people and sages and worthies distinguished?"

[The elder] said: "You truly do not understand. Dogs and oxen are dogs and oxen; ordinary people are ordinary people; sages and worthies are sages and worthies. What makes dogs and oxen to be dogs and oxen is that they have nature but lack discernment. What makes ordinary people to be ordinary people is that they have spiritual awareness (ling) but lack clarity. What makes worthy people to be worthy people is that they are clear but not yet fully authentic (cheng). What makes sages to be sages is that they are both authentic and clear. Now authenticity is what is called great authenticity (some editions read 'da' [great], others read 'xing' [nature]); it is the Way of the Mean. In stillness, it shares its principle with Heaven and Earth; in movement, it accords in its operation with the four seasons. For this reason, when the sage applies it to ritual propriety, rulers and ministers take their proper stations, fathers and sons are affectionate, brothers are fraternal, men and women are distinguished; the elderly have someone to care for them, the young have someone to teach them, the able-bodied have someone to serve, the weak have someone to secure them; weddings and funerals obtain their proper fitness from beginning to end; and none of the myriad things of Heaven and Earth lacks its order. When he applies it to music, the court is dignified and harmonious, the world is free of sorrow, yin and yang are in harmony, the wind and rain are timely, and among all creatures possessing blood and breath, none fails to be revived and gladdened; songs are sung at the suburban altars and the ancestral temple, and the ghosts and spirits arrive. When he applies it to punishments, the armies, prisons, and litigations are well-ordered, the four Yi and eight Man barbarians stand in awe of his majesty, and the common people stay far from crime and turn toward goodness. When he applies it to governance, the worthy advance daily, the flatterers are cut off and banished, institutions are broadly established, and cultural glory and institutional splendor can be displayed to later generations. Loving them with benevolence, the four seas are peaceful; ordering them with righteousness, the myriad things are fitting; directing them with wisdom, affairs are accomplished; sustaining them with trustworthiness, the world responds with actuality. Such is the sage's enactment of the Mean."