第十一章 知物--君子之道費而隱
君子之道費而隱。夫婦之愚,可以與知焉;及其至也,雖圣人亦有所不知焉。夫婦之不肖,可以能行焉;及其至也,雖圣人亦有所不能焉。天地之大也,人猶有所憾。故君子語大,天下莫能載焉;語小,天下莫能破焉。
《詩》云:‘鳶飛戾天,魚躍于淵。’言其上下察也。君子之道,造端乎夫婦;及其至也,察乎天地。”
The way which the superior man pursues, reaches wide and far, and yet is secret.
Common men and women, however ignorant, may intermeddle with the knowledge of it; yet in its utmost reaches, there is that which even the sage does not know. Common men and women, however much below the ordinary standard of character, can carry it into practice; yet in its utmost reaches, there is that which even the sage is not able to carry into practice. Great as heaven and earth are, men still find some things in them with which to be dissatisfied. Thus it is that, were the superior man to speak of his way in all its greatness, nothing in the world would be found able to embrace it, and were he to speak of it in its minuteness, nothing in the world would be found able to split it.
It is said in the Book of Poetry, "The hawk flies up to heaven; the fishes leap in the deep." This expresses how this way is seen above and below.
The way of the superior man may be found, in its simple elements, in the intercourse of common men and women; but in its utmost reaches, it shines brightly through Heaven and earth.
【原文】
君子之道費而隱(1)。夫婦(2)之愚,可以與知焉(3),及其至也,雖圣人亦有所不知焉。夫婦之不肖,可以能行焉,及其至也,雖圣人亦有所不能焉。天地之大也,人猶有所憾。故君子語大,天下莫能載焉;語小,天下莫能破焉(4)?!对姟吩疲?ldquo;鳶飛戾天,魚躍于淵(5)。”言其上下察也(6)。君子之道,造端乎夫婦(7),及其至也,察乎天地。
【注釋】
(1)費:廣大。隱:精微。(2)夫婦:匹夫匹婦,指普通男女。(3)與:動詞,參與。 (4)破:分開。 (5)鳶飛戾天,魚躍于淵:引自《詩經•大雅•旱麓》。鳶,老
鷹。戾,到達。(6)察:昭著,明顯。 (7)造端:開始。
【譯文】
君子的道廣大而又精微。普通男女雖然愚昧,也可以知道君子的道;但它的最高深境界,即便是圣人也有弄不清楚的地方,普通男女雖然不賢明,也可以實行君子的道,但它的最高深境界,即便是圣人也有做不到的地方。大地如此之大,但人們仍有不滿足的地方。所以,君子說到“大”,就大得連整個天下都載不下;君子說到“小”,就小得連一點兒也分不開。《詩經》說:“鳶鳥飛向天空,魚兒跳躍深水。”這是說上下分明。君子的道,開始于普通男女,但它的最高深境界卻昭著于整個天地。
【讀解】本文來源:考試大網
這一章另起爐灶,回到第一章“道也者,不可須臾離也,可離非道也”進行闡發(fā),以下八章(13一20)都是圍繞這一中心而展開的。
正因為道不可須臾離開,所以,道就應該有普遍的可適應性,應該“放之四海而皆準”,連匹夫匹婦,普通男女都可以知道,可以學習,也可以實踐。
不過,知道是一回事,一般性地實踐是一回事,要進入其高深境界又是另一回事了。所以,道又必須有精微奧妙的一方面,供德行高,修養(yǎng)深的學者進行深造,進行創(chuàng)造性的實踐。
如此兩方面的性質結合起來,使道既廣大又精微,既有普及性又有提高性,既下里巴人又陽春白雪,說到底,是一個開放的、兼容的、可發(fā)展的體系。
道是如此,世界上的許多事情也都是如此。說到唱歌,卡拉0K誰都可以來上幾句,但要唱出歌星級水平可就是另一回事了。
說用電腦打字,坐下來一兩個小時,一個完全的外行也可以打出一串字來,可要成為電腦專家就是另一回事了。說到下棋,知道下棋規(guī)則,棋癮大得不可思議的人滿街都是,可要成為一名真正的棋手就是另外一回事了。
諸如此類,不勝枚舉。凡事都有一知半解與精通的區(qū)別,匹夫匹婦與“圣人”的分別也就在這里。