第六章 親仁
Chapter 6 On Drawing Near to Goodhearted People
同是人。類不齊。
Many different kinds of people
All live on the earth together.
流俗眾。仁者希。
There are many who follow the crowd.
There are few who are truly humane.
果仁者。人多畏。
Yet those who are truly humane
Are often feared by other people,
言不諱。色不媚。
For they don’t hide behind words
Or try to please with their looks.
能親仁。無限好。
To follow the truly humane
Will bring immeasurable good.
德日進。過日少。
Virtue will grow day by day;
Mistakes will slowly fade away.
不親仁。無限害。
Not to follow the truly humane
Will bring immeasurable harm,
小人進。百事壞。
Unworthy people will draw near you,
And everything will go awry.
第七章 餘力學文
Chapter 7 On Studying Whenever We Can
不力行。但學文。
Cultural refinements have value,
But not at the expense of real work.
長浮華。成何人。
If you’re just superficially polished,
Then what can you expect to become?
但力行。不學文。
But if you do nothing but work
And have no understanding of culture,
任己見。昧理真。
You will be bound by your own narrow views,
And your notions of truth will be murky.
讀書法。有三到。
When you’re pursuing your studies,
On the “three places” focus attention:
心眼口。信皆要。
Your mind, your eyes and your mouth.
It’s important to train all these three.
方讀此。勿慕彼。
When you’ve taken up study of something,
Don’t let yourself become sidetracked.
此未終。彼勿起。
Be sure that you’ve finished one project
Before starting off on another.
寬為限。緊用功。
Let your goals be lofty and broad.
Let your efforts be focused and steady.
工夫到。滯塞通。
Once you have skill and experience,
You’ll solve every problem with ease.
心有疑。隨札記。
When a question comes up in your reading,
Make note of it before you forget.
就人問。求確義。
Then ask someone else who will know,
And who can explain the meaning.
房室清。牆壁淨。
Your room should be kept neat and tidy,
With walls and floors uncluttered and clean.
几案潔。筆硯正。
Your desk should be kept in good order,
Pencils, paper, and pens well arranged.
墨磨偏。心不端。
If your desk and papers are messy,
It is likely your mind’s mixed up too.
字不敬。心先病。
If your writing is sloppy and careless,
It’s likely your mind is not focused.
列典籍。有定處。
Each of the books that you use
Should have its proper place on the shelf.
讀看畢，還原處。
After you’ve finished your reading,
Put them back in the place they belong.
雖有急。卷束齊。
Although you may be in a hurry,
You should close your books the right way.
有缺壞。就補之。
If the pages or covers are damaged,
Be sure to take time to repair them.
非聖書。屏勿視。
What hasn’t been written by sages
Is not something you should be reading.
蔽聰明。壞心志。
Such books block your intelligence
And undermine your resolve.
勿自暴。勿自棄。
Don’t ever look down on yourself
Or fail to progress toward goodness.
聖與賢。可馴致。
We all can gradually learn
To become worthies and sages.
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