Mencius

Question 1

莊暴見孟子，曰：「暴見於王，王語暴以好樂，暴未有以對也。」曰：「好樂何如？」

Answer 1

Zhuang Bao, seeing Mencius, said to him, ‘I had an interview with the king. His Majesty told me that he loved music, and I was not prepared with anything to reply to him. What do you pronounce about that love of music?’

Question 2

孟子曰：「王之好樂甚，則齊國其庶幾乎！」

Answer 2

Mencius replied, ‘If the king’s love of music were very great, the kingdom of Qi would be near to a state of good government!’
幾 is used here as a rhetorical way of expressing a high degree of something

Question 3

他日，見於王曰：「王嘗語莊子以好樂，有諸？」

Answer 3

Another day, Mencius, having an interview with the king, said, ‘Your Majesty, I have heard, told the officer Zhuang, that you love music - was it so?’
嘗 is a pre verb character that denotes past tense

Question 4

王變乎色，曰：「寡人非能好先王之樂也，直好世俗之樂耳。」

Answer 4

The king changed colour, and said, ‘I am unable to love the music of the ancient sovereigns; I only love the music that suits the manners of the present age.’
直 = just/only
俗 = commonplace/ordinary

Question 5

孟子曰：「王之好樂甚，則齊其庶幾乎！今之樂猶古之樂也。」王曰：「可得聞與？」

Answer 5

Mencius said, ‘If your Majesty’s love of music were very great, Qi would be near to a state of good government! The music of the present day is just like the music of antiquity, as regards effecting that.’ The king said, ‘May I hear from you the proof of that?’

Question 6

孟子曰：「獨樂樂，與人樂樂，孰樂？」王曰：「不若與人。」

Answer 6

Mencius asked, ‘Which is the more pleasant - to enjoy music by yourself alone, or to enjoy it with others?’ ‘To enjoy it with others,’ was the reply.
孰 indicates a ‘which one, question
若 be like/compare with

Question 7

曰：「與少樂樂，與眾樂樂，孰樂？」曰：「不若與眾。」

Answer 7

‘And which is the more pleasant - to enjoy music with a few, or to enjoy it with many?’ ‘To enjoy it with many.’

Question 8

齊宣王問曰：「文王之囿方七十里，有諸？」

Answer 8

The king Xuan of Qi asked, ‘Was it so, that the park of king Wen contained seventy square li?’

Question 9

• 孟子對曰：「於傳有之。」
• 曰：「若是其大乎？」
• 曰：「民猶以為小也。」

Answer 9

• Mencius replied, ‘It is so in the records.’
• ‘Was it so large as that?’ exclaimed the king.
• ‘The people,’ said Mencius, ‘still looked on it as small.’

Question 10

王曰：「寡人之囿方四十里，民猶以為大，何也？」

Answer 10

The king added, ‘My park contains only forty square li, and the people still look on it as large. How is this?’

Question 11

孟子謂齊宣王曰：「王之臣有託其妻子於其友，而之楚遊者。比其反也，則凍餒其妻子，則如之何？」

Answer 11

Mencius said to the king Xuan of Qi, ‘Suppose that one of your Majesty’s ministers were to entrust his wife and children to the care of his friend, while he himself went into Chu to travel, and that, on his return, he should find that the friend had let his wife and children suffer from cold and hunger - how ought he to deal with him?’

Question 12

• 王曰：「棄之。」
• 曰：「士師不能治士，則如之何？
• 王曰：「已之。」

Answer 12

• The king said, ‘He should cast him off.’
• Mencius proceeded, ‘Suppose that the chief criminal judge could not regulate the officers under him, how would you deal with him?’
• The king said, ‘Dismiss him.’

Question 13

• 曰：「四境之內不治，則如之何？」

- 王顧左右而言他。

Answer 13

• Mencius again said, ‘If within the four borders of your kingdom there is not good government, what is to be done?’
• The king looked to the right and left, and spoke of other matters.

Question 14

• 齊宣王問曰：「湯放桀，武王伐紂，有諸？」

- 孟子對曰：「於傳有之。」

Answer 14

• The king Xuan of Qi asked, saying, ‘Was it so, that Tang banished Jie, and that king Wu smote Zhou?’
• Mencius replied, ‘It is so in the records.’

Question 15

王曰：「臣弒其君可乎？」

孟子曰：「賊仁者謂之賊，賊義者謂之殘，殘賊之人謂之一夫。聞誅一夫紂矣，未聞弒君也。」

Answer 15

• The king said, ‘May a minister then put his sovereign to death?’
• Mencius said, ‘He who outrages the benevolence proper to his nature, is called a robber; he who outrages righteousness, is called a ruffian. The robber and ruffian we call a mere fellow. I have heard of the cutting off of the fellow Zhou, but I have not heard of the putting a sovereign to death, in his case.’

Question 16

滕文公問曰：「滕，小國也，間於齊楚。事齊乎？事楚乎？」

Answer 16

The duke Wen of Teng asked Mencius, saying, ‘Teng is a small kingdom, and lies between Qi and Chu. Shall I serve Qi? Or shall I serve Chu?’

Question 17

孟子對曰：「是謀非吾所能及也。無已，則有一焉：鑿斯池也，築斯城也，與民守之，效死而民弗去，則是可為也。」

Answer 17

Mencius replied, ‘This plan which you propose is beyond me. If you will have me counsel you, there is one thing I can suggest. Dig deeper your moats; build higher your walls; guard them as well as your people. In case of attack, be prepared to die in your defence, and have the people so that they will not leave you - this is a proper course.’

Question 18

孟子將朝王，王使人來曰：「寡人如就見者也，有寒疾，不可以風。朝將視朝，不識可使寡人得見乎？」對曰：「不幸而有疾，不能造朝。」

Answer 18

As Mencius was about to go to court to see the king, the king sent a person to him with this message: ‘I was wishing to come and see you. But I have got a cold, and may not expose myself to the wind. In the morning I will hold my court. I do not know whether you will give me the opportunity of seeing you then.’ Mencius replied, ‘Unfortunately, I am unwell, and not able to go to the court.’

Question 19

明日，出吊於東郭氏，公孫丑曰：「昔者辭以病，今日吊，或者不可乎！」曰：「昔者疾，今日愈，如之何不吊？」

Answer 19

Next day, he went out to pay a visit of condolence to some one of the Dong Guo family, when Gong Sun Chou said to him, ‘Yesterday, you declined going to the court on the ground of being unwell, and to-day you are going to pay a visit of condolence. May this not be regarded as improper?’ ‘Yesterday,’ said Mencius, ‘I was unwell; to-day, I am better - why should I not pay this visit?’

Question 20

王使人問疾，醫來。孟仲子對曰：「昔者有王命，有采薪之憂，不能造朝。今病小愈，趨造於朝，我不識能至否乎？」使數人要於路，曰：「請必無歸，而造於朝！」

Answer 20

In the mean time, the king sent a messenger to inquire about his sickness, and also a physician. Meng Zhong replied to them, ‘Yesterday, when the king’s order came, he was feeling a little unwell, and could not go to the court. To-day he was a little better, and hastened to go to court. I do not know whether he can have reached it by this time or not.’ Having said this, he sent several men to look for Mencius on the way, and say to him, ‘I beg that, before you return home, you will go to the court.’

Question 21

孟子之平陸。謂其大夫曰：「子之持戟之士，一日而三失伍，則去之否乎？」

曰：「不待三。」

Answer 21

• Mencius having gone to Ping Lu, addressed the governor of it, saying, ‘If one of your spearmen should lose his place in the ranks three times in one day, would you, Sir, put him to death or not?’
• ‘I would not wait for three times to do so,’ was the reply.

Question 22

孟子曰：「然則子之失伍也亦多矣。凶年饑歲，子之民，老羸轉於溝壑，壯者散而之四方者，幾千人矣。」

Answer 22

Mencius said, ‘Well then, you, Sir, have likewise lost your place in the ranks many times. In bad calamitous years, and years of famine, the old and feeble of your people, who have been found lying in the ditches and water-channels, and the able-bodied, who have been scattered about to the four quarters, have amounted to several thousand.’

Question 23

大夫曰：「此非距心之所得為也。」

Answer 23

The governor replied, ‘That is a state of things in which it does not belong to me Ju Xin to act.’

Question 24

• 孟子曰：「今有受人之牛羊而為之牧之者，則必為之求牧與芻矣。求牧與芻而不得，則反諸其人乎？抑亦立而視其死與？」

- 曰：「此則距心之罪也。」

Answer 24

• ‘Here,’ said Mencius, ‘is a man who receives charge of the cattle and sheep of another, and undertakes to feed them for him - of course he must search for pasture-ground and grass for them. If, after searching for those, he cannot find them, will he return his charge to the owner? or will he stand by and see them die?’
• ‘Herein,’ said the officer, ‘I am guilty.’

Question 25

他日，見於王曰：「王之為都者，臣知五人焉。知其罪者，惟孔距心。為王誦之。」王曰：「此則寡人之罪也。」

Answer 25

Another day, Mencius had an audience of the king, and said to him, ‘Of the governors of your Majesty’s cities I am acquainted with five, but the only one of them who knows his faults is Kong Ju Xin.’ He then repeated the conversation to the king, who said, ‘In this matter, I am the guilty one.’

Question 26

孟子謂蚔鼃曰：「子之辭靈丘而請士師，似也，為其可以言也。今既數月矣，未可以言與？」

Answer 26

Mencius said to Qi Wa, ‘There seemed to be reason in your declining the governorship of Ling Qiu, and requesting to be appointed chief criminal judge, because the latter office would afford you the opportunity of speaking your views. Now several months have elapsed, and have you yet found nothing of which you might speak?’

Question 27

蚔鼃諫於王而不用，致為臣而去。齊人曰：「所以為蚔鼃，則善矣；所以自為，則吾不知也。」

Answer 27

On this, Qi Wa remonstrated on some matter with the king, and, his counsel not being taken, resigned his office and went away. The people of Qi said, ‘In the course which he marked out for Qi Wa he did well, but we do not know as to the course which he pursues for himself.’

Question 28

公都子以告。曰：「吾聞之也：有官守者，不得其職則去；有言責者，不得其言則去。我無官守，我無言責也，則吾進退，豈不綽綽然有餘裕哉？」

Answer 28

His disciple Gong Du told him these remarks. Mencius said, ‘I have heard that he who is in charge of an office, when he is prevented from fulfilling its duties, ought to take his departure, and that he on whom is the responsibility of giving his opinion, when he finds his words unattended to, ought to do the same. But I am in charge of no office; on me devolves no duty of speaking out my opinion - may not I therefore act freely and without any constraint, either in going forward or in retiring?’

Question 29

孟子為卿於齊，出吊於滕，王使蓋大夫王驩為輔行。王驩朝暮見，反齊滕之路，未嘗與之言行事也。

Answer 29

Mencius, occupying the position of a high dignitary in Qi, went on a mission of condolence to Teng. The king also sent Wang Huan, the governor of Gai, as assistant-commissioner. Wang Huan, morning and evening, waited upon Mencius, who, during all the way to Teng and back, never spoke to him about the business of their mission.

Question 30

公孫丑曰：「齊卿之位，不為小矣；齊滕之路，不為近矣。反之而未嘗與言行事，何也？」

Answer 30

Gong Sun Chou said to Mencius, ‘The position of a high dignitary of Qi is not a small one; the road from Qi to Teng is not short. How was it that during all the way there and back, you never spoke to Huan about the matters of your mission?’

Question 31

曰：「夫既或治之，予何言哉？」

Answer 31

Mencius replied, ‘There were the proper officers who attended to them. What occasion had I to speak to him about them?’

Question 32

燕人畔。王曰：「吾甚慚於孟子。」

Answer 32

The people of Yan having rebelled, the king of Qi said, ‘I feel very much ashamed when I think of Mencius.’

Question 33

• 陳賈曰：「王無患焉。王自以為與周公，孰仁且智？」

- 王曰：「惡！是何言也？」

Answer 33

• Chen Jia said to him, ‘Let not your Majesty be grieved. Whether does your Majesty consider yourself or Zhou Gong the more benevolent and wise?’
• The king replied, ‘Oh! what words are those?’

Question 34

曰：「周公使管叔監殷，管叔以殷畔。知而使之，是不仁也；不知而使之，是不智也。仁智，周公未之盡也，而況於王乎？賈請見而解之。」

Answer 34

‘The duke of Zhou,’ said Jia, ‘appointed Guan Shu to oversee the heir of Yin, but Guan Shu with the power of the Yin State rebelled. If knowing that this would happen he appointed Guan Shu, he was deficient in benevolence. If he appointed him, not knowing that it would happen, he was deficient in knowledge. If the duke of Zhou was not completely benevolent and wise, how much less can your Majesty be expected to be so! I beg to go and see Mencius, and relieve your Majesty from that feeling.’

Question 35

• 見孟子，問曰：「周公何人也？」

- 曰：「古聖人也。」

Answer 35

• Chen Jia accordingly saw Mencius, and asked him, saying, ‘What kind of man was the duke of Zhou?’
• ‘An ancient sage,’ was the reply.