We are all human,
but we are not the same.
流俗众。仁者希。
There are many who follow the crowd.
There are few who are truly humane.
Most of us are ordinary;
only a very few have great virtues and high moral
principles.
果仁者。人多畏。
Yet those who are truly humane
Are often feared by other people,
A truly virtuous person
is greatly respected by others.
言不讳。色不媚。
For they don’t hide behind words
Or try to please with their looks.
He will not be afraid to speak the truth and
he will not fawn on others.
能亲仁。无限好。
To follow the truly humane
Will bring immeasurable good.
If I can be close to and learn from people of great virtue
and compassion,
I will benefit immensely.
德日进。过日少。
Virtue will grow day by day;
Mistakes will slowly fade away.
My virtues will grow daily and
my wrongdoings will lessen day by day.
不亲仁。无限害。
Not to follow the truly humane
Will bring immeasurable harm,
If I choose not to be close to and learn from people of
great virtue,
I will suffer a great loss.
小人进。百事坏。
Unworthy people will draw near you,
And everything will go awry.
People without virtue will get close to me and
nothing I attempt will succeed.
第七章 余力学文
Chapter 7 On Studying Whenever We Can
Chapter 7 After All the Above Are Accomplished, Study
Further and Learn Literature and Art to Improve Your Cultural
and Spiritual Life
不力行。但学文。
Cultural refinements have value,
But not at the expense of real work.
If I do not actively practice what I have learned,
but continue to study on the surface,
长浮华。成何人。
If you’re just superficially polished,
Then what can you expect to become?
even though my knowledge is increasing, it is only
superficial.
What kind of person will I be?
但力行。不学文。
But if you do nothing but work
And have no understanding of culture,
If I do apply my knowledge diligently,
but stop studying,
任己见。昧理真。
You will be bound by your own narrow views,
And your notions of truth will be murky.
I will only do things based on my own opinion, thinking it