鐔津文集 6.14

6.14

Nature is what humans possess inherently by being born. Destiny is what humans receive from Heaven by being born. Virtue is what can rectify humans. Arts are what can sustain humans. Yet nature and destiny have thickness and thinness, while virtue and arts have greatness and smallness. Nature and destiny are what life obtains, yet one never completely obtains their fullness or scarcity. Virtue and arts are what a person ought to be capable of, yet one is not necessarily completely capable in both greatness and smallness. Among the ancients, some were abundant in nature yet sparse in destiny, but the ancients were not deluded. Among the ancients, some were accomplished in arts yet deficient in virtue, but the ancients were not disordered. Therefore it is said: sages and worthies do not have complete virtue, and the noble person does not have complete capability. Possessing the internal while lacking the external is why sages and worthies do not have complete virtue. Being capable in virtue while not being capable in arts is why the noble person does not have complete capability. Virtue is superior; arts are inferior. The noble person cultivates what is superior and rectifies what is inferior. Therefore he does not need to be skilled in the hundred crafts, yet he is more honored than the hundred craftsmen. Nature is internal; destiny is external. Sages and worthies rectify their nature and submit to their destiny; thus in distress they do not worry, and in success they do not doubt. Yi Yin was a worthy of antiquity. When he was plowing in the fields of Youxin, the farmers who plowed beside him surpassed him in skill, yet Yi Yin did not dare compete with them. Lü Wang was a worthy of antiquity. When he was fishing at Jijin, the fishermen at the ford surpassed him in skill, yet Lü Wang did not dare compete with them. When the virtue of these two men became manifest in the Shang and Zhou, the common people of the world were rectified through them. Confucius was a sage of antiquity. In the prime of his travels, he was like a lone traveler with no leisure to rest. When the times and destiny were gravely awry and things were in turmoil, he never lost his Way. Yanzi, Zisi, Yuan Xian, and Meng Ke were worthies of antiquity. Living in distress in secluded alleys and humble lanes, they joyfully spent their lives, and none of them altered their joy. Virtue is the collective term for benevolence, righteousness, loyalty, and filial piety. Nature is the origin of the Way, virtue, contemplation, and thought. When benevolence, righteousness, loyalty, and filial piety are cultivated, they suffice to extend to others. The learning of the noble person is to learn what is correct; why must it be multifaceted? When the Way, virtue, contemplation, and thought are illuminated, they suffice to secure one's life. The fulfillment of sages and worthies is to fulfill their life; why must it encompass everything? For this reason, in an age of sages and worthies, diviners, physiognomists, and shamans have nowhere to deploy their cleverness. Before the noble person, Sun Wu, Wu Qi, Shen Buhai, and Shang Yang have nowhere to boast of their methods. The school of the Xia people was called Xiao; the school of the Yin people was called Xu; the school of the Zhou people was called Xiang. The schools of the Three Dynasties all served to instruct people to learn virtue. Virtue and righteousness are the root of learning; culture and arts are the branch of learning. In the height of the Three Dynasties, they taught the world to learn the root. In the decline of the Three Dynasties, they taught the world to learn the branches. When learning the branches, the world becomes deceitful. When learning the root, the world becomes genuine. For this reason, the noble person values consolidating the root; sages and worthies value exhausting the principle. The ancients had a saying: "The wealth of Jin and Chu cannot be matched. Let them take their wealth; I have my benevolence. Let them take their rank; I have my righteousness. Why should I feel dissatisfied?" The ancients had a saying: "Rejoicing in Heaven and knowing destiny, what do I worry about? Exhausting principle and fully developing nature, what do I doubt?"