《戎夷》英译

戎夷离开齐国到鲁国去。碰上天气酷寒，在鲁国城门关闭后才赶到城边，天气越来越冷。戎夷便对那个门徒说：“您把衣给我穿，我就会活下来，我把衣给您穿，您就会活下来。我是治理国家的杰出人才，为了普天下的利益而爱惜自己的生命；您，是一个普通人，不必吝惜自己的生命，您把您的衣给我吧。”门徒说：“我这平庸的人，又怎么能慷慨地把衣给您这个杰出的人穿呢？”戎夷听了，叹息说：“唉，我的主张看来不能实现了！”说完，便把身上的衣脱下来给门徒穿。到了半夜，自己冻死了，却救活了这个门徒。

说戎夷能够把一个时代治理好，那还还没有证明；但是，他那想有利于人类的思想，算是达到不能再高的程度了！

<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> 

Rong Yi

Rong Yi left the State of Qi for the State of Lu. It happened to be a very cold day. When he arrived there, the gate of the State of Lu was already tight-shut, and he had to spend the night in the open air outside with a disciple of his. As the night advanced, it turned colder and colder.

“If you give your clothes to me,” said Rong Yi to his disciple, “I will be able to survive the cold, and vice versa. I’m an eminent personage destined for the governing of the country. For the sake of the whole world, I must love my life. You are an ordinary person, and there is no need for you to treasure your life. Would you give your clothes to me, please?”

“Since I am an ordinary person,” replied his disciple, “how can I be so generous as to give my clothes to such a superior being as you?”

“Ai!” Rong Yi uttered a deep sigh. “It seems my proposal is doomed!” So saying, he took off his clothes and gave them to his follower. In the midnight, Rong Yi died, but he had saved his student.

History does not provide any evidence proving Rong Yi’s ability to run well a whole historical period. However, his ideal of benefiting the whole of mankind has reached a height that can hardly be surpassed.