《论语》中英文版
第七章 述而篇(15)
冉有曰:“夫子為衛君乎?”子貢曰:“諾。吾將問之。”入,曰:“伯夷、叔齊何人也?”曰:“古之賢人也。”曰:“怨乎?”曰:“求仁而得仁,又何怨。”出,曰:“夫子不為也。”
Ran You said, "Is our Master for the ruler of Wei?"
Zi Gong said, "Oh! I will ask him."
He went in accordingly, and said, "What sort of men were Bo Yi and Shu Qi?"
"They were ancient worthies," said the Master. "Did they have any repinings because of their course?" The Master again replied, "They sought to act virtuously, and they did so; what was there for them to repine about?"
On this, Zi Gong went out and said, "Our Master is not for him."
【原文】
冉有曰:“夫子为卫君乎①?”子贡曰:“诺②,吾将问之。”入,曰:“伯夷、叔齐何人也③?”曰:“古之贤人也。”曰:“怨乎?”曰:“求仁而得仁④,又何怨?”出,曰:“夫子不为也。”
【今译】
冉有问道:“老师赞助卫国的国君吗?”子贡说:“好吧,我去问问老师。”子贡进到孔子屋里,问道:“伯夷、叔齐是什么样的人呢?”孔子说:“是古代的贤人。”子贡又问道:“他们有怨恨吗?”孔子说:“他们追求仁而得到了仁,又有什么怨恨呢?”子贡出来,对冉求说:“老师不赞助卫国的国君。”
【注释】
①为(wèi):帮助。卫君:指卫出公蒯辄。卫灵公死,由其孙子蒯辄继位。
②诺(nuò):应答声。
③伯夷、叔齐:商代孤竹国国君的两个儿子。相传其父要立次子叔齐作继位人,叔齐却不从。孤竹君死后,兄弟互相推让,先后逃到周国。周武王伐纣,两人曾叩马谏阻。武王灭商后,兄弟两人耻食周粟,逃到首阳山,共采蕨薇以充饥,结果双双饿死在首阳山下。封建社会把他两当作抱节守志的典范。
④求仁而得仁:追求仁德,得到的也是仁德。
【评点】
本章记叙孔子以仁为依据判断是非。公元前493年,孔子一行还在卫国。当时卫国发生了蒯聩和蒯辄(卫出公)父子争夺君位的事件。卫出公想请孔子来帮助自己。冉有便向子贡打听,孔子是否愿帮助蒯辄。
子贡的问话,不是单刀直入,而是以迂迴曲折的手法进行试探。他先从历史上打出与卫国父子争位相反的两个人:伯夷、叔齐,问这两个人是什么样的人,接着又深入一步问:“怨乎?”孔子说:“求仁而得仁,又何怨?”孔子这样高度赞扬伯夷、叔齐,自然不会赞成卫出公了。既然不赞成卫出公,他也就不可能在卫国做官了,自然也不会出面帮助蒯辄的忙。 |