鐔津文集 8.13

8.13

寂子為郝氏之隱者也。其性簡靜不齷齪事苛禮。故為俗所謗憎。終以傲誕譏之。寂子初以流俗之說宜不足顧。雖明儕規之亦未始奉教。及壯道業且修而其謗益甚。來相規者愈勤。寂子撫然歎曰。世真無知我者也。乃坐規者與之語曰。俗謂我傲。豈非以吾特立獨行與世不相雜乎。又豈非以吾不能甘言柔顏而與世順俯仰乎。規者曰。不出是也。寂子曰。言道德禮樂者大要在誠。非直飾容貌而事俯仰言語也。吾惡世俗之為禮者。但貌恭而身僶俛。考其誠則萬一無有。內則自欺外實欺人。故吾於人欲其誠信。不專在言語容貌俯仰耳。所謂人者孰不可以誠信接之。誠信之通雖容貌揖讓。不亦末乎。昔嚴子陵於漢乃臥。見盧鴻於唐輒不拜。正謂以誠信待天下也。子謂二子其非乎是耶。必以為傲則吾無如之何也。今俗謂之恭敬。而不問仁鄙義與不義。權利所存則蘧蒢僶俛。馳走於其下甘役身而不殆。苟為權與利不在雖賢與義與坐必倨與視必瞪。施施然驕氣凌人。書曰。傲狠明德正。此之謂也。嗚呼俗之所為如是。且不自引其過而反譏我。亦猶蒙塗污而笑不潔。子往矣無更規我。

Jizi was a recluse of the Hao clan. By nature, he was simple and tranquil, not bothering himself with pedantic formalities. Hence, he was slandered and detested by worldly folk, who in the end mocked him as arrogant and extravagant. At first, Jizi considered worldly talk unworthy of attention; even when clear-sighted peers admonished him, he never followed their instruction. By the time he reached his prime, his cultivation of the Way progressed, yet the slander grew all the more severe, and those who came to admonish him became even more diligent. Jizi sighed wistfully and said: "The world truly has no one who understands me." He then had the admonisher sit down and said to him: "The worldly call me arrogant—is it not because I stand apart and walk alone, not mingling with the world? And is it not because I cannot offer sweet words and compliant expressions to follow the worldly nodding and bowing?" The admonisher said: "It is nothing other than this." Jizi said: "In speaking of the Way, virtue, ritual, and music, the essential thing lies in sincerity; it is not merely adorning one's facial expression and attending to nodding, bowing, and words. I despise worldly etiquette: people merely have reverent appearances and bent bodies, yet if you examine their sincerity, they do not have even one in ten thousand. Internally they deceive themselves; externally they actually deceive others. Therefore, regarding others, I desire sincerity and trust, not focusing solely on words, facial expressions, nodding, and bowing. Among those called human beings, who cannot be engaged with sincerity and trust? When sincerity and trust penetrate, are not even appearances, bows, and yields merely secondary? Long ago, Yan Ziling simply lay in bed in the Han, and Lu Hong refused to bow in the Tang; this was precisely treating the world with sincerity and trust. Do you consider these two gentlemen wrong or right? If one must consider this arrogance, then there is nothing I can do. What the worldly nowadays call respect takes no heed of whether someone is benevolent or base, righteous or unrighteous; wherever power and profit reside, people bow and scrape, scurrying beneath them and willingly serving as drudges without weariness. But if power and profit are absent, even toward the worthy and righteous, they will surely sit arrogantly and glare, strutting about with an overbearing air. The Book of Documents says: 'Arrogant and perverse, while treating the brilliant virtue as upright'—this is what it means. Alas! Such is the conduct of the worldly, yet instead of citing their own faults, they turn around to mock me. It is just like being smeared with filth and laughing at the unclean. Go on your way; do not admonish me further."