《大学》英译 传 8-11 （完）

Now what is meant by saying that in order to have good government in
the country, one must first put one’s house in order, is this. He who
cannot teach the members of his own family to be good, can never
teach other people to be good. Hence the moral man, without going out
of his house, can learn the duties which he owes to the State. The duties
of a good son will teach him how to serve his Sovereign. The duties of
subordination in the family will teach him to respect authority. The
kindness of a father to his children will teach him how to treat the
multitude. 


2. The Commission of Investiture to Prince K’ang says: 
“Watch over the people as a mother watches over her new born child.”
A mother who seeks with her whole heart the good of her child,
although she makes mistakes, will never go wholly wrong. No girl ever 
had to learn how to take care of her child before marriage. 


3. When there is kindness and humanity in one family, the whole nation 
 


 
will grow kind and humane. When there is courtesy and politeness in
one family, the whole nation will all become polite and courteous. The
ambition and perversity of one man, on the other hand, may bring to
confusion and anarchy the whole nation. Such is the power of
influence. Hence the saying: “One word can ruin everything; one man
can save a nation.” 
6 
  Higher Education – Ku Hung-ming
 
4. The Emperors Yao and Shun set up humanity as their principle in
governing the Empire, and the people responded and became humane.
The Emperors Chieh and Chou set up cruelty as their principle in
governing the Empire, and the people responded and became cruel.
When rulers give orders which are contrary to that which they
themselves love to practise, the people will not obey them. Therefore,
before requiring any moral quality of the people, the ruler must himself
have that moral quality; before condemning any vice in the people, he
must himself be free of that vice. A man who does not consider his own
moral condition can never influence others for good. 


5. Therefore government in a country depends upon putting one’s house in 
order.


6. The Book of Songs says:


  The peach tree is tender and fair, 
  With its leaves all in bloom; 
  The girl is going to her new home, 
  She will rightly order her household.
 


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Only when there is order in the household, is it possible to teach the
people of the nation to be good. 


7. The Book of Songs says:


  Do your duty to your elder brothers,
  Do your duty to your younger brothers.
 
Only when a man has done his duty to his brothers at home, can he
teach the people of the nation to be good. 


8. The Book of Songs says:


  His manners were without reproach.
  He therefore brought the whole nation to order.
 
Thus only when the ruler is fit to be to his people a model father, a 
model son and a model brother, will the people take him as their model.


9. This is, then, what is meant by saying that good government in a 
country depends upon putting one’s house in order.

IX 
Now what is meant by saying that peace and order throughout the world
depend upon having good government in one’s own country, is this.
When those in authority honour old age, the people will become dutiful
sons. When those in authority respect and obey their superiors, the
people will all become good citizens. When those in authority take care
of the poor and helpless, the people will not neglect them. Thus a
gentleman has a self-measuring rule. 
What a man hates in the conduct of those who are above him, let him 
not show it in his treatment of those who are under him. What he hates
in the conduct of those who are under him, let him not show it when
doing his duty to those who are above him. What he hates in the
conduct of those who go before him, let him not be the first to show in
dealing with those who come after him. What he hates in the conduct of
those who come after him, let him not follow their example and show in
dealing with those who go before him. What he hates in the conduct of
those who are on the right hand of him, let him not show in dealing
with those who are on the left hand of him. What he hates in the
conduct of those who are on the left hand of him, let him not show in
dealing with those who are on the right hand of him. This is what is
called a self-measuring rule. 
The Book of Songs says: 
“How the people love the prince who is a father and a mother to the
people.” 


To love what the people love and to hate what the people hate: that is
what is meant by being a father and a mother to the people. 
The Book of Songs says:
 Lofty like the southern hill,
 With its rugged mass of rocks;
 Awful you are, my lord of Yin, 
 The people all look up to you. 
Those who are responsible for the government of a nation cannot be too
careful in what they do. The least mistake on their part will have awful
consequences to the world. 
The Book of Songs says:
 Before the Yin rulers had lost the hearts of the people,
 They found favour in the sight of God;
 Take warning then from the House of Yin,
 The great High Mission is not easy to hold.

This means that when a ruler gains the heart of the people, he will gain
the kingdom; when he loses the hearts of the people, he will lose the
kingdom. 
Therefore the first care of the ruler is to make sure that he has the moral 
qualities. Who has the moral qualities, has the people; who has the
people, has the land; who has the land, has the revenue; who has the
revenue, has the power to use it. 
Moral qualities are the foundation of a nation. Wealth is but the means. 
When the ruler mistakes the end for the means and the means for the
end, the result will be rapine and scrambling for wealth among the
people. Therefore the accumulation of wealth in a few hands leads to
the dissolution of Society, while the distribution of wealth among the
many contributes to the stability of Society. 
Hence it is said: 
“Words spoken in violence will return again with violence, and wealth 
gotten by violence will be taken away by violence.” 
The Commission of Investiture to Prince K’ang says: 
“The Divine Mission is not given us for ever,” that is to say, if we are
good, we shall win it; if we are not good, we shall lose it. 
In the History of the Kingdom of C’hu it is said: 
“There is naught that the people of C’hu deem precious; goodness alone
they deem precious.” 
Fan, the uncle of Duke Wen of the Kingdom of T’sin, while the Duke 
was in exile abroad, said:
“Our Prince now in exile considers nothing as precious; he only holds
as precious his love for his parents.” 
In his speech from the Throne, the Duke of T’sin said: 
“Let me have as my Minister a plain and simple man who has
absolutely no other qualification except a free and open mind and a
broad and tolerant spirit; who regards the possession of abilities by 
others as if he possessed them himself; who shows his broad and 
tolerant spirit by taking the same delight in the superior intelligence of
others as he would were it his own. Such a man will be able to protect
our children and grandchildren, the black-haired people. He will benefit
us in every way. A man, on the other hand, who, when he sees others
possessing abilities, is envious of and hates them; who, when he sees
superior intelligence in others, shows his narrow and intolerant spirit by
putting difficulties in their way, so that they cannot get known, such a
man will not be able to protect our children and grandchildren, the 
black-haired people. He will in every way be a man dangerous to us 
all.”

It is the duty of all good men to banish such a man and drive him to live
among the uncivilized heathen, not to allow him to live with us in
China. This is what is meant by saying: “It is only the truly good and
moral man who can love or hate others.” 
To see men of worth and not be able to raise them to office, but to keep 
them in a subordinate position under you, that is gross neglect of duty.
To see bad and unworthy men and not be able to remove them, – that is
weakness. 
To love and like those whom all men hate and dislike; to hate and 
dislike those whom all men love and like; that is to outrage the natural
feeling of men. Calamities will be sure to overtake a person who thus
acts. 
Thus in life there is one great law for a gentleman. If faithful and 
trustworthy, he is sure to succeed; if proud and careless, he is sure to
fail. In the same manner in the production of wealth there is one great 
law. When there are many who produce and few who consume; when 
those who work, work hard, and those who spend, spend slowly; then
there will always be plenty of wealth in the nation. 
Moral men make money to live. Immoral men live to make money.
You will never find where the rulers are human and kind that the people 
do not love honour and duty. You will never find where the people in a
nation love honour and duty, that the affairs of that nation do not
prosper, and that the wealth in the nation does not belong to the ruler. 
The noble Lord Meng Hsien said: 
“The man who keeps horses and carriages, does not look after fowls
and pigs. The family that stores ice in the house, does not rear oxen and
sheep. In the same manner the ruler of a nation should not keep a
minister whose sole aim is to exact as much money as he can from the
people. Rather than have such a minister, it were better to have a
minister who openly robs him.” 
This is what is meant by saying that what really makes a nation 
prosperous is not wealth and material prosperity, but honour and duty.
When a ruler who wishes to make his nation prosperous and great, 
devotes his attention only to questions of finance and revenue, he is
surely under the influence of some base and ignoble person. When such
a base and ignoble person directs the affairs of a nation, even though he
be a man of ability, calamities and disaster will follow, and then even a
good man who comes after him, will be able to do nothing. This, then, 
is what is meant by saying that what really makes a nation prosperous is 
not wealth and material prosperity, but honour and duty.
***