鐔津文集 6.24

6.24

君子發身。以道不以財。庶人謀生。以力不以詐。大夫趨事。以義不以利。是三者正。然後天下可以觀王道也。夫王道也者正宜也。小大之物正其宜則何有乎亂世也。夫道義固君子大夫之所宜也。利力固庶人之所宜也。曰君子而專財。曰大夫而專利。曰庶人而玩智詐。是喪其宜也矣。大夫處上猶衣也。庶人處下猶裳也。上宜衣而下宜裳必也。苟上而下之。下而上之。不亦倒且亂乎。道其何效哉。冉求嘗為季氏宰。為季氏而聚斂。孔子惡之曰。求非吾徒也。小子鳴鼓而攻之。若求者以人而利之。尚不容於君子而如此也。矧以己而利之。孰可容乎。孟子曰。上下交征利而國危矣亮乎安國家天下者。在義不在利也。

A gentleman establishes himself through the Way and not through wealth; a commoner seeks a livelihood through physical strength and not through deception; a grand master attends to affairs through righteousness and not through profit. When these three are upright, only then can the Kingly Way be observed in the world. Now, the Kingly Way is nothing other than proper fitness. If things small and large have their proper fitness upright, how could there be an age of disorder? The Way and righteousness are indeed what is fitting for gentlemen and grand masters; profit and physical strength are indeed what is fitting for commoners. If a gentleman focuses exclusively on wealth, if a grand master focuses exclusively on profit, or if a commoner toys with clever deception, they have lost what is fitting for them. A grand master occupying a high position is like an upper garment; a commoner occupying a low position is like a lower garment. It is necessary that an upper garment is fitting for the upper, and a lower garment is fitting for the lower. If what belongs above is put below, and what belongs below is put above, is that not inverted and chaotic? What effect would the Way have? Ran Qiu once served as the steward of the Ji lineage and collected heavy taxes for them. Confucius detested this, saying: 'Qiu is no disciple of mine. My little children, beat the drum and attack him!' If one like Qiu, pursuing profit for another, was still intolerable to the gentleman to such a degree, how much less could pursuing profit for oneself be tolerated? Mencius said: 'If superiors and inferiors mutually strive for profit, the state will be imperiled.' How clear it is that what brings peace to the state and the empire lies in righteousness and not in profit!