| | 告子上: |
公都子问曰：“钧是人也，或为大人，或为小人，何也？” |
| Gaozi I: |
The disciple Gong Du said, 'All are equally men, but some are great men, and some are little men - how is this?' |
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孟子曰：“从其大体为大人，从其小体为小人。” |
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Mencius replied, 'Those who follow that part of themselves which is great are great men; those who follow that part which is little are little men.' |
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曰：“钧是人也，或从其大体，或从其小体，何也？” |
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Gong Du pursued, 'All are equally men, but some follow that part of themselves which is great, and some follow that part which is little - how is this?' |
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曰：“耳目之官不思，而蔽于物，物交物，则引之而已矣。心之官则思，思则得之，不思则不得也。此天之所与我者，先立乎其大者，则其小者弗能夺也。此为大人而已矣。” |
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Mencius answered, 'The senses of hearing and seeing do not think, and are obscured by external things. When one thing comes into contact with another, as a matter of course it leads it away. To the mind belongs the office of thinking. By thinking, it gets the right view of things; by neglecting to think, it fails to do this. These - the senses and the mind - are what Heaven has given to us. Let a man first stand fast in the supremacy of the nobler part of his constitution, and the inferior part will not be able to take it from him. It is simply this which makes the great man.' |
