《中庸》中英文版 第十六章

　　《中庸》中英文版

　　第十六章 知天--天生我材必有用

　　子曰：“舜其大孝也與!德為圣人，尊為天子，富有四海之內(nèi)。宗廟饗之，子孫保之。故大德必得其位，必得其祿，必得其名，必得其壽。故天之生物，必因其材而篤焉。故栽者培之，傾者覆之。《詩》曰：‘嘉樂君子，憲憲令德。宜民宜人，受祿于天。保佑命之，自天申之。’故大德者必受命。”

　　The Master said, "How greatly filial was Shun! His virtue was that of a sage; his dignity was the throne; his riches were all within the four seas. He offered his sacrifices in his ancestral temple, and his descendants preserved the sacrifices to himself.

　　"Therefore having such great virtue, it could not but be that he should obtain the throne, that he should obtain those riches, that he should obtain his fame, that he should attain to his long life.

　　"Thus it is that Heaven, in the production of things, is sure to be bountiful to them, according to their qualities. Hence the tree that is flourishing, it nourishes, while that which is ready to fall, it overthrows.

　　"In the Book of Poetry, it is said, 'The admirable amiable prince displayed conspicuously his excelling virtue, adjusting his people, and adjusting his officers. Therefore, he received from Heaven his emoluments of dignity. It protected him, assisted him, decreed him the throne; sending from Heaven these favors, as it were repeatedly.'

　　"We may say therefore that he who is greatly virtuous will be sure to receive the appointment of Heaven."

　　【原文】

　　子曰：“舜其大孝也與?德為圣人，尊為天子，富有四海之內(nèi)。宗廟饗之(1)，子孫保之。故大德必得其位，必得其祿，必得其名，必得其壽。故天之生物，必因其材(2)而篤(3)焉。故栽者培之(4)，傾者覆之(5)?！对姟吩唬?lsquo;嘉樂君子，憲憲令德。宜民宜人，受祿于天。保佑命之，自天申之。’(6)故大德者必受命。”

　　【注釋】

　　(1)宗廟：古代天子、諸侯祭祀先王的地方。饗(xiang)：一種祭祀形式，祭先王。之，代詞，指舜。(2)材，資質(zhì)，本性。(3)篤：厚，這里指厚待。 (4)培：培育。 (5)覆：傾覆，摧敗。(6)“嘉樂君子……”：引自《詩經(jīng)•大雅•假樂》。嘉樂，即《詩經(jīng)》之“假樂”，“假”通”嘉”，意為美善。憲憲，《詩經(jīng)》作“顯顯”，顯明興盛的樣子。令，美好。申，重申。

　　【譯文】

　　孔子說：“舜該是個最孝順的人了吧?德行方面是圣人，地位上是尊貴的天子，財(cái)富擁有整個天下，宗廟里祭祀他，子子孫孫都保持他的功業(yè)。所以，有大德的人必定得到他應(yīng)得的地位，必定得到他應(yīng)得的財(cái)富，必定得到他應(yīng)得的名聲，必定得到他應(yīng)得的長壽。所以，上天生養(yǎng)萬物，必定根據(jù)它們的資質(zhì)而厚待它們。能成材的得到培育，不能成材的就遭到淘汰?！对娊?jīng)》說：‘高尚優(yōu)雅的君子，有光明美好的德行，讓人民安居樂業(yè)，享受上天賜予的福祿。上天保佑他，任用他，給他以重大的使命。’所以，有大德的人必定會承受天命。”

　　【讀解】

　　天生我材必有用。

　　只要你修身而提高德行，“居易以俟命”，總有一天會受命于天，擔(dān)當(dāng)起治國平天下的重任。到那時，名譽(yù)、地位、財(cái)富都已不在話下，應(yīng)有的都會有。就像前蘇聯(lián)故事片《列寧在十月》里的主人公瓦西里說的：“面包會有的，一切都會有的。”

　　由此看來，儒學(xué)并不是絕對排斥功利，而只是反對那種急功近利，不安分守己的做法。換言之，儒學(xué)所強(qiáng)調(diào)的，是從內(nèi)功練起，修養(yǎng)自身，提高自身的德行和才能，然后順其自然，水到渠成地獲得自己應(yīng)該獲得的一切。

　　這其實(shí)也正是中庸之道的精神——凡事不走偏鋒，不走極端，而是循序漸進(jìn)，一步一個腳印走下去。