| | 盡心上: |
齊宣王欲短喪。公孫丑曰：「為朞之喪，猶愈於已乎？」 |
| Jin Xin I: |
The king Xuan of Qi wanted to shorten the period of mourning. Gong Sun Chou said, 'To have one whole year's mourning is better than doing away with it altogether.' |
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孟子曰：「是猶或紾其兄之臂，子謂之姑徐徐云爾，亦教之孝弟而已矣。」 |
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Mencius said, 'That is just as if there were one twisting the arm of his elder brother, and you were merely to say to him "Gently, gently, if you please." Your only course should be to teach such an one filial piety and fraternal duty.' |
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王子有其母死者，其傅為之請數月之喪。公孫丑曰：「若此者，何如也？」 |
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At that time, the mother of one of the king's sons had died, and his tutor asked for him that he might be allowed to observe a few months' mourning. Gong Sun Chou asked, 'What do you say of this?' |
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曰：「是欲終之而不可得也。雖加一日愈於已，謂夫莫之禁而弗為者也。」 |
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Mencius replied, 'This is a case where the party wishes to complete the whole period, but finds it impossible to do so. The addition of even a single day is better than not mourning at all. I spoke of the case where there was no hindrance, and the party neglected the thing itself.' |
