| 家○上○下○二○ ○二年七月三十一日 | 亦遠矣○是以未嘗聞任氏之風俗○其不可與經 | 其於得大魚難矣○飾小說以乾風令○其於大達 | 皆惊而相告也○夫揭竿累○趣灌瀆○守鯢鮒○ | 北○莫不厭若魚者○已而后世輇才諷說之徒○ | 公子得若魚○離而腊之○自制河以東○蒼梧已 | 波若山○海水震蕩○聲侔鬼神○惮赫千里○任 | 魚食之○牽巨鈎○陷没而下騖○揚而奋鬐○白 | ○投竿東海○旦旦而釣○期年不得魚○已而大 | 任公子為大鈎巨緇○五十犗以為餌○蹲乎會稽 | 肆○ | 水然活耳○君乃言此○曾不如早索我於枯魚之 | 作色曰○吾失我常與○我無所處○我得鬥升之 | 越之王○激西江之水而迎子○可乎○鮒魚忿然 | 有鬥升之水而活我哉○周曰○諾○我且南游吴 | 子何為者耶○對曰○我○東海之波臣也○君豈 | 顧視車轍○中有鮒魚焉○周問之曰○鮒魚來○ | 莊周忿然作色曰○周昨來○有中道而呼者○周 | ○我將得邑金○將貸子三百金○可乎○ | 莊周家貧○故往貸粟於監河侯○監河侯曰○諾 | 焚和○月固不勝火○於是乎有僓然而道盡○ | 之間○慰暋沈屯○利害相摩○生火甚多○衆人 | 憂兩陷而無所逃○螴蜳不得成○心若縣於天地 | 於是乎有雷有霆○水中有火○乃焚大槐○有甚 | ○金與火相守則流○陰陽錯行○則天地大駭○ | 未必愛○故孝己憂而曾參悲○木與木相摩則然 | ○三年而化為碧○人親莫不欲其子之孝○而孝 | 未必信○故伍員流於江○萇弘死於蜀○藏其血 | 來死○桀○紂亡○人主莫不欲其臣之忠○而忠 | 外物不可必○故龍逢誅○比乾戮○箕子狂○惡 |
莊子南華經
第二十六章外物 |
| 君曰○献若之龜○ | 對曰○且之網得白龜焉○其圓五尺○ | 明日○餘且朝○君曰○漁何得○ | 君曰○令餘且會朝○ | 左右曰○有○ | 君曰○漁者有餘且乎○ | 元君覺○使人占之○曰○此神龜也○ | ○ | 之淵○予為清江使河伯之所○漁者餘且得予○ | 宋元君夜半而梦人被發窺阿門○曰○予自宰路 | 以每成功○奈何哉○其載焉終矜爾○ | 反無非傷也○動無非邪也○聖人躊躇以興事○ | 隱○與其譽堯而非桀○不如兩忘而閉其所譽○ | 之丑○中民之行易進焉耳○相引以名○相結以 | 抑固窶邪○亡其略弗及邪○惠以歡為○驁終身 | 老萊子曰○夫不忍一世之傷○而驁萬世之患○ | ○ | 仲尼揖而退○蹙然改容而問曰○業可得進乎○ | 子矣○ | 仲尼至○曰○丘○去汝躬矜與汝容知○斯為君 | 老萊子曰○是丘也○召而來○ | 海○不知其誰氏之子○ | 人於彼○修上而趨下○末偻而后耳○視若管四 | 老萊子之弟子出薪○遇仲尼○反以告○曰○有 | 金椎控其頤○徐别其頰○無傷口中珠○ | 不布施○死何含珠為○接其鬢○壓其顓○儒以 | 曰○詩○固有之曰○青青之麦○生於陵陂○生 | 小儒曰○未解裙襦○口中有珠○ | ○事之何若○ | 儒以○詩○禮○發冢○大儒臚傳曰○東方作矣 | 於世亦遠矣○ |
| 出乎爭○柴生乎守○官事果乎衆宜○春雨日時 | 者不勝○德溢乎名○名溢乎暴○謀稽乎誸○知 | 游○則六鑿相攘○大林丘山之善於人也○亦神 | ○心有天游○室無空虛○則婦姑勃谿○心無天 | 之穿之○日夜無降○人則顧塞其竇○胞有重閬 | 生○物之有知者恃息○其不殷○非天之罪○天 | 道不欲壅○壅則哽○哽而不止則跈○跈則衆害 | 徹為顫○口徹為甘○心徹為知○知徹為德○凡 | 教不學○承意不彼○目徹為明○耳徹為聰○鼻 | 唯至人乃能游於世而不僻○順人而不失己○彼 | 也○且以狶韋氏之流觀今之世○夫孰能不波○ | 曰○至人不留行焉○夫尊古而卑今○學者之流 | ○雖相與為君臣○時也○易世而無以相賤○故 | 非至知厚德之任與○覆墜而不反○火馳而不顧 | ○且得游乎○夫流遁之志○决絶之行○噫○其 | 莊子曰○人有能游○且得不游乎○人而不能游 | 莊子曰○然則無用之為用也亦明矣○ | 惠子曰○無用○ | 黄泉○人尚有用乎○ | 且大也○人之所用容足耳○然則厠足而墊之致 | 莊子曰○知無用而始可與言用矣○夫地非不廣 | 惠子謂莊子曰○子言無用○ | ○ | 善矣○嬰儿生○無碩師而能言○與能言者處也 | 不畏網而畏鵜鶘○去小知而大知明○去善而自 | 困○神有所不及也○雖有至知○萬人謀之○魚 | 鉆而無遺筴○不能避刳腸之患○如是則知有所 | 見梦於元君○而不能避餘且之網○知能七十二 | 乃刳龜○七十二鉆而無遺筴○仲尼曰○神龜能 | 曰○殺龜以卜吉○ | 龜至○君再欲殺之○再欲活之○心疑○卜之○ |
| 家○上○下○二○ ○二年七月三十一日 | 有錯字請通知我 | 安得夫忘言之人而與之言哉○ | 得兔而忘蹄○言者所以在意○得意而忘言○吾 | 荃者所以在魚○得魚而忘荃○蹄者所以在兔○ | 諸侯吊之○三年○申徒狄因以踣河○ | ○務光怒之○紀他聞之○帥弟子而蹲於窾水○ | 死者半○堯與許由天下○許由逃之○湯與務光 | 演門有親死者○以善毁爵為官師○其黨人毁而 | 嘗過而問焉○ | ○賢人未嘗過而問焉○小人所以合時○君子未 | 所以駴世○聖人未嘗過而問焉○君子所以駴國 | 聖人之所以駴天下○神人未嘗過而問焉○賢人 | 佚者之所未嘗過而問焉○ | 老○寧可以止遽○雖然○若是勞者之務也○非 | 過半而不知其然○靜默可以補病○眦媙可以沐 | ○草木怒生○銚鎒於是乎始修○草木之倒植者 |
Contingencies are uncertain. Hence the decapitation of Lung Feng, the disembowelment of Pi Kan, the enthusiasm of Chi Tzu, the death of Wu Lai, the flights of Chieh and Chou.
No sovereign but would have loyal ministers; yet loyalty does not necessarily inspire confidence. Hence Wu Yuan found a grave in the river; and Ch'ang Hung perished in Shu, his blood, after being preserved three years, turning into green jade.
No parent but would have filial sons; yet filial piety does not necessarily inspire love. Hence Hsiao Chi sorrowed, and Tseng Shen grieved.
Wood rubbed with wood produces fire. Metal exposed to fire will liquefy. If the Positive and Negative principles operate inharmoniously, heaven and earth are greatly disturbed. Thunder crashes, and with rain comes lightning, scorching up the tall locust-trees. One fears lest sky and land should collapse and leave no escape. Unable to lie perdu, the heart feels as though suspended between heaven and earth.
So in the struggle between peace and unrest, the friction between good and evil, much fire is evolved which consumes the inner harmony of man. But the mind is unable to resist fire. It is destroyed, and with it Tao comes to an end.
Chuang Tzu's family being poor, he went to borrow some corn from the prince of Chien-ho.
"Yes," said the prince. "I am just about collecting the revenue of my fief, and will then lend you three hundred ounces of silver. Will that do?"
At this Chuang Tzu flushed with anger and said, "Yesterday, as I was coming along, I heard a voice calling me. I looked round, and in the cart-rut I saw a stickleback. I said, 'And what do you want stickleback?'
"'I am a denizen of the eastern ocean,' replied the stickleback. 'Pray, Sir, a pint of water to save my life.'
"'Yes,' said I. 'I am just going south to visit the princes of Wu and Yueh. I will bring you some from the west river. Will that do?'
"At this the stickleback flushed with anger and said, 'I am out of my element. I have nowhere to go. A pint of water would save me. But to talk to me like this,--you might as well put me in a dried-fish shop at once.'"
Jen Kung Tzu got a huge hook on a big line, which he baited with fifty oxen. H squatted down at Kuei-chi, and cast into the eastern ocean. Every day he fished, but for a whole year he caught nothing. Then came a great fish which swallowed the bait, and dragging the huge hook dived down below. This way and that way it plunged about, erecting the dorsal fin. The white waves rolled mountain high. The great deep was shaken up. The noise was like that of so many devils, terrifying people for many miles around.
But when Jen Kung Tzu had secured his fish, he cut it up and salted it. And from Chih-ho eastwards, and from Ts'ang-wu northwards, there was none but ate his fill of that fish. Even among succeeding generations, gobemounches of the day recounted the marvelous tale.
To take a rod and line, and go to a pool, and catch small fry is a very different thing from catching big fish. And by means of a little show of ability to secure some small billet is a very different thing from really pushing one's way to the front. So that those who do not imitate the example of Jen Kung Tzu will be very far from becoming leaders in their generation.
When some Confucianists were opening a grave in accordance with their Canons of Poetry and Rites, the master shouted out, "Day is breaking. How are you getting on with the work?"
"Not got off the burial-clothes yet," answered an apprentice. "There is a pearl in the mouth."
Now the Canon of Poetry says---
The greenest corn Grows over graves. In life, no charity; In death, no pearl.So seizing the corpse's brow with one hand, and forcing down its chin with the other, these Confucianists proceed to tap its cheeks with a metal hammer, in order to make the jaws open gently and not injure the pearl!
A disciple of Lao Lai Tzu while out gathering fuel, chanced to meet Confucius. On his return, he said, "There is a man over there with a long body and short legs, round shoulders and drooping ears. He looks as though he were sorrowing over mankind. I know not who he can be."
"It is Confucius!" cried Lao Lai Tzu. "Bid him come hither."
When Confucius arrived, Lao Lai Tzu addressed him as follows:--
"Ch'iu! Get rid of your dogmatism and your spacious knowledge, and you will be really a superior man."
Confucius bowed and was about to retire, when suddenly his countenance changed and he enquired, "Shall I then be able to enter upon Tao?"
"The wounds of one generation being too much," answered Lao Lai Tzu, "you would take to yourself the sorrows of all time. Are you not weary? Is your strength equal to the task? To employ goodness as a passport to influence through the gratification of others, is an everlasting shame. Yet this is the common way of all, to lure people by fame, to bind them by ties of gratification.
"Better than extolling Yao and cursing Chieh is oblivion of both, keeping one's praises to oneself. These things react injuriously on self; the agitation of movement results in deflection. The true Sage is a passive agent. If he succeeds, be simply feels that he was provided by no effort of his own with the energy necessary to success."
Prince Yuan of Sung dreamed one night that a man with disheveled hair peeped through a side door and said, "I have come from the waters of Tsai-lu. I am a marine messenger attached to the staff of the River God. A fisherman, named Yu Ch'ieh, has caught me."
When the prince awaked, he referred his dream to the soothsayers, who said, "This is a divine tortoise."
"Is there any fisherman," asked the prince, "whose name is Yu Ch'ieh?"
Being told there was, the prince gave orders for his appearance at court; and the next day Yu Ch'ieh had an audience.
"Fisherman," said the prince, "what have you caught?"
"I have netted a white tortoise," replied the fisherman, "five feet in semi-circumference."
"Bring your tortoise," said the prince. But when it came, the prince could not make up his mind whether to kill it or keep it alive. Thus in doubt, he had recourse to divination, and received the following response:-- Slay the tortoise for purpose of divination and good fortune will result.
So the tortoise was dispatched. After which, out of seventy two omens taken, not a single one proved false.
"A divine tortoise," said Confucius, "can appear to prince Yuan in a dream, yet it cannot escape the net of Yu Ch'ieh. Its wisdom can yield seventy two faultless omens, yet it cannot escape the misery of being cut to pieces. Truly wisdom has its limits; spirituality, that which it cannot reach. In spite of the highest wisdom, there are countless snares to be avoided. If a fish has not to fear nets, there are always pelicans. Get rid of small wisdom, and great wisdom will shine upon you. Put away goodness and you will be naturally good. A child does not learn to speak because taught by professors of the art, but because it lives among people who can themselves speak."
Hui Tzu said to Chuang Tzu, "Your theme, Sir, is the useless."
"You must understand the useless," replied Chuang Tzu, "before you can discuss the useful. For instance, the earth is of huge proportions, yet man uses of it only as much as is covered by the sole of his foot. By and by, he turns up his toes and goes beneath it to the Yellow Spring. Has he any further use for it?"
"He has none," replied Hui Tzu.
"And in like manner," replied Chuang Tzu, "may be demonstrated the use of the useless. Could a man transcend the limits of the human, would he not do so? Unable to do so, how should he succeed?
"The determination to retire, to renounce the world,--such alas! is not the fruit of perfect wisdom or immaculate virtue. From cataclysms ahead, these do not turn back; nor do they heed the approach of devouring flame. Although there are class distinctions of high and low, these are but for a time, and under the changed conditions of a new sphere are unknown.
"Wherefore it has been said, 'The perfect man leaves no trace behind.'
"For instance, to glorify the past and to condemn the present has always been the way of the scholar. Yet if Hsi Wei Shih and individuals of that class were caused to reappear in the present day, which of them but would accommodate himself to the age? Only the perfect man can transcend the limits of the human and yet not withdraw from the world, live in accord with mankind and yet suffer no injury himself. He has that within which makes him independent of others.
"If the eye is unobstructed, the result is sight. If the ear is unobstructed the result is hearing. If the nose is unobstructed, the result is sense of smell. If the mouth is unobstructed, the result is sense of taste. If the mind is unobstructed, the result is wisdom. If wisdom is unobstructed, the result is Te.
"Tao may not be obstructed. To obstruct is to strangle. This affects the base, and all evils spring into life.
"All sentient beings depend upon breath. If this does not reach them in sufficient quantity, it is not the fault of God. God supplies it day and night without cease, but man stops the passage.
"Man has for himself a spacious domain. His mind may roam to heaven. If there is no room in the house, the wife and mother-in-law run against one another. If the mind cannot roam to heaven, the faculties will be in a state of antagonism. Those who would benefit mankind from deep forests or lofty mountains are simply unequal to the strain upon their higher natures.
"Ill regulated virtue ends in reputation. Ill regulated reputation ends in notoriety. Scheming leads to confusion. Knowledge begets contentions. Obstinacy produces stupidity. Organized government is for the general good of all.
"Spring rains come in due season, and plants and shrubs burst up from the earth. Weeding and tending do not begin until such plants and shrubs have reached more than half their growth, and without being conscious of the fact.
"Repose gives health to the sick. Rubbing the eyelids removes the wrinkles of old age. Quiet will dispel anxieties. These remedies however are the resource only of those who need them. Others who are free from such ills pay no attention thereto. [Meditation practitioners should know that meditation also improves health.]
"That which the true Sage marvels at in the empire, claims not the attention of the Divine man. That which the truly virtuous man marvels at in his own sphere, claims not the attention of the true Sage. That which the superior man marvels at in his State, claims not the attention of the truly virtuous man. How the mean man adapts himself to his age, claims not the attention of the superior man.
"The keeper of the Yen gate, having maltreated himself severely in consequence of the death of his parents, received a high official post. His relatives thereupon maltreated themselves, and some half of them died.
"Yao offered the empire to Hsu Yu, but Hsu Yu fled. T'ang offered it to Wu Kuang, but Wu Kuang declined with anger.
"When Chi T'o heard of Hsu Yu's flight, he took all his disciples with him and jumped into the river K'uan; upon which the various feudal princes mourned for three years, and Shen T'u T' had the river filled up.
"The raison d'etre of a fish-trap is the fish. When the fish is caught, the trap may be ignored. The raison d'etre of a rabbit-snare is the rabbit. When the rabbit is caught the snare may be ignored. The raison d'etre of language is an idea to be expressed. When the idea is expressed, the language may be ignored. But where shall I find a man to ignore language, with whom I may be able to converse?"
Edited on 9th June 2008