《中庸》英译（十三）

子曰：“道不远人，人之为道而远人，不可以为道。诗云：‘伐柯，伐柯，其则不远。’执柯以伐柯，睨而视之，犹以为远。故君子以人治人，改而止。忠恕违道不远，施诸己而不愿，亦勿施于人。君子之道四，丘未能一焉：所求乎子以事父，未能也；所求乎臣以事君，未能也；所求乎弟以事兄，未能也；所求乎朋友，先施之，未能也。庸德之行，庸言之谨；有所不足，不敢不勉；有余不敢尽。言顾行，行顾言，君子胡不慥慥尔！”

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XIII.

Confucius remarked: “The moral law is not something away from the actuality of human life. When men take up something away from the actuality of human life as the moral law, that is not the moral law. ”

The Book of Songs says: “‘In hewing an axe handle, the pattern is not far off.’

“Thus when we take an axe handle in our hand to hew the other and glance from one to the other there is still some distance between them as compared with the relation between the moral law and the man himself. Wherefore the moral man in dealing with men appeals to the common human nature and changes the manner of their lives and nothing more.

“When a man carries out the principles of conscientiousness and reciprocity he is not far from the moral law. What you do not wish others should do unto you, do not do unto them.

“There are four things in the moral life of a man, not one of which have I been able to carry out in my life. To serve my father as I would expect my son to serve me: that I have not been able to do. To serve my sovereign as I would expect a minister under me to serve me: that I have not been able to do. To act towards my elder brother as I would expect my younger brother to act towards me: that I have not been able to do. To be the first to behave towards friends as I would expect them to behave towards me: that I have not been able to do.

“In the discharge of the ordinary duties of life and in the exercise of care in ordinary conversation, whenever there is shortcoming never fail to strive for improvement, and when there is much to be said, always say less than what is necessary ; words having respect to actions and actions having respect to words. Is it not just this thorough genuineness and absence of pretence which characterises the moral man?”