Bilingual Sage Wisdom|孟子 仁政之②：享受快乐

记者 王娟 王晓莹 绘画 徐进 实习生 郭致岐

孟子见梁惠王，王立于沼上，顾鸿雁麋鹿，曰：“贤者亦乐此乎？”

孟子对曰：“贤者而后乐此，不贤者，虽有此，不乐也。《诗》云：‘经始灵台，经之营之，庶民攻之，不日成之。经始勿亟，庶民子来。王在灵囿，唐鹿攸伏，麀鹿濯濯，白鸟鹤鹤。王在灵沼，於牣鱼跃。’文王以民力为台为沼。而民欢乐之，谓其台曰灵台，谓其沼曰灵沼，乐其有麋鹿鱼鳖。古之人与民偕乐，故能乐也。《汤誓》曰：‘时日害丧？予及女偕亡。’民欲与之偕亡，虽有台池鸟兽，岂能独乐哉？”

（出自《孟子·梁惠王上》）  

译文：

孟子拜见梁惠王之时，正值惠王站在池塘边。惠王环视飞禽走兽，问道：“具有高尚品德的贤者，也喜欢像我这样的愉快生活吗？”

孟子回答：“先有了高尚的品德，才会体会到这种豪华生活的真正乐趣；品德达不到的人，即使有享受这种生活的条件，也不能得到快乐。《诗经·大雅·灵台》上说：‘开始构筑灵台的时候，细心劳作，百姓们齐心协力，没用几天就完成了。文王并没有催促，百姓们却踊跃参加。文王去苑囿游览，看到了群鹿安逸憩息，白鸟翎毛光洁。文王去水塘，成群的鱼儿欢腾畅游。’文王役使百姓为他修楼台、挖池塘，百姓们反而欢乐无比倍感荣幸，虔诚地尊称楼台为灵台，池塘为灵沼，并且因为其中充满了鸟兽虫鱼而欢欣。像文王这样的古代贤人，能够与民同乐，所能体味到拥有楼台池塘等设施的真正乐趣。《尚书·汤誓》里说，‘夏桀这个太阳什么时候死去，我宁可与他一起灭亡。’像这种让百姓怨恨到宁肯与他同归于尽的君王，即使拥有再多的水榭阁台、鸟兽虫鱼，又怎能独享欢乐呢？”

Mencius, another day, saw King Hui of Liang. The king went and stood with him by a pond, and, looking round at the large geese and deer, said, “Do wise and good princes also find pleasure in these things?”

Mencius replied, “Being wise and good, they have pleasure in these things. If they are not wise and good, though they have these things, they do not find pleasure. It is said in the Book of Poetry, ‘He measured out and commenced his marvellous tower; He measured it out and planned it. The people addressed themselves to it, And in less than a day completed it. When he measured and began it, he said to them-Be not so earnest: But the multitudes came as if they had been his children. The king was in his marvellous park; The does reposed about, The does so sleek and fat: And the white birds came glistening. The king was by his marvellous pond; How full was it of fishes leaping about!’ King Wen used the strength of the people to make his tower and his pond, and yet the people rejoiced to do the work, calling the tower ‘the marvellous tower’, calling the pond ‘the marvellous pond’, and rejoicing that he had his large deer, his fishes, and turtle. The ancients caused the people to have pleasure as well as themselves, and therefore they could enjoy it. In the Declaration of Tang it is said, ‘O sun, when will you expire? We will die together with you.’ The people wished for Jie's death, though they should die with him. Although he had towers, ponds, birds, and animals, how could he have pleasure alone?”