On Leveling All Things (2)
齊物論（二）
1 Wang Ni was a well-known senior philosopher. Students near by would consult him when they had questions.
王倪是聞名遐邇的得道哲人，學子們有問題都會到他這兒去請教。
2 Chique was an industrious young man. He had fairly profound study on various hot issues in the academic field, and had some questions in mind.
齧缺是一位用功甚勤的年青人，他對學界各樣的熱門話題都有相當的研究，也因此經常面臨一些不解的議題。
3 One day, during the class break, he went up to ask Wang Ni. “Sir, it is said that everything is made up of the same basic elements when they were examined very closely. Is it so? ”
有一天齧缺把握下課休息的時間，跑到教室前面去問王倪。齧缺說：「王老師，大家都說細微地看，萬物都是由相同的基本單位構成的。老師，你說是這樣嗎？」
齧缺問乎王倪曰：「子知物之所同是乎？」
4 Wang said, “How do I know!”
王老師回答：「我哪裡知道。」
曰：「吾惡乎知之！」
5 Chique asked again, “They said that a man knows clearly that he knows something and something are beyond his knowledge. These kind of acknowledge is what to know means. Do you know what is the category you don’t know?”
齧缺跟著又問：「有人說知之為知之，不知為不知，是知也。老師你知道哪些是你不知道的東西嗎？」
6 Wang said again, “How do I know!
王老師還是那句話：「我哪裡知道。」
「子知子之所不知邪？」曰：「吾惡乎知之！」
7 Feeling dissatisfied, Chique asked again, “You are a well-known learned scholar. If you don’t know, would nobody know it?”
齧缺仍不死心地問：「老師是聞名瑕邇的博學之士，你都不知道，那麼是不是就沒有人知道呢？」
8 Wang Ni felt that this student was serious on the issue; he had a swing of his body so as to concentrate his attentions, and said solemnly, “I don’t know yet but I would explain why a man who thinks he knows is actually doesn’t know and a man thinks himself doesn’t know is a man honestly admits that his limit ability to know the world.
王老師覺得這位學生是真的在用功研究，因此他搖了搖身體設法提高注意力，然後認真地說：「我還是不知道，不過我願意在這裡詳細地說明，為什麼我認為那些自認為明白的，其實不是真的明白; 認為不明白的，是老實地承認自己不明白的道理。
「然則物無知邪？」 曰：「吾惡乎知之！」雖然，嘗試言之。庸詎知吾所謂知之非不知邪？庸詎知吾所謂不知之非知邪？
9 For example, a man who often slept on moisture ground suffered from rheumatism. No medicine could cure his waist pain. Eventually he kicked the bucket. Eel lives in the moisture mud in its whole life. Why does eel not suffer from it?
讓我們舉一個例子來說明，有一個人他經常睡在潮濕的地上，因此得了風濕病。腰痛的無藥可治，最後一命嗚呼。可是那一生都生活在潮濕泥地的鰻魚，牠們怎麼沒有事呢？
10 It is in fear and tremble to climb onto the top of high tree. A man who has acrophobia is scary to a fit of heart attack if he is in the high position. Why does monkey feel well?
爬到高高的樹巔上是令人提心吊膽的舉動，有懼高症的人，處於這樣的環境，怕是心臟病都嚇出來了，但是猴子怎麼就沒事呢？
11 If we judge things according to a fixed criterion, then which characteristic is good or right among the man, eel and monkey?
如果我們按一定不變的標準來評斷，那麼人、鰻魚、猴子等的習慣，個性，哪個是好的，哪個是對的呢？
且吾嘗試問乎女：民濕寢則腰疾偏死，鰍然乎哉？木處則惴慄恂懼，猿猴然乎哉？三者孰知正處？
12 Do you think there is an absolute criterion in this world? Man is polyphagia; deer only lives on grass; owl likes eating snake and centipede; crow prefers to eating rat. Who among the four is lofty or wild in food?
你認為這世上有絕對的標準嗎？人類是雜食性動物，鹿則只吃草，貓頭鷹喜歡吃蛇及蜈蚣，烏鴉則愛吃老鼠。你說這四種生物，牠們在吃的品味上誰是高尚的？誰又是野蠻的呢？
13 Should we have the absolute criterion? Male monkey makes a mistake to look dog as the female monkey; male deer only mates with the female deer; eel coexists with the common fish in water. They all coexist peacefully.
我們應該有絕對的標準嗎？猴子會將狗誤認為是母的猿猴; 公鹿則只找母鹿配對;鰻魚與一般的魚在水中做伴，牠們都能相安無事。
民食芻豢，麋鹿食薦，蝍且甘帶，鴟鴉耆鼠，四者孰知正味？猿猵狙以為雌，麋與鹿交，鰍與魚游。
14 Mao Qiang and Liji were generally accepted beauties, but fishes would dive into the deep water, birds on the tree would flutter away, and deer would be frightened to flee in all directions, as soon as they saw the beauties.
毛嬙及麗姬是大家公認的美女，可是在水中的魚，看見她倆必定立刻潛入水底; 枝頭的鳥兒看見她們稍有行動，就會振翼高飛; 鹿群也會驚嚇的四處逃竄。
15 So is there a certain criterion of charm to opposite sex? The answer is no.
所以，對於吸引異性的魅力，這世上真有一定的標準嗎？答案顯然是有否定的。
毛嬙麗姬，人之所美也；魚見之深入，鳥見之高飛，麋鹿見之決驟，四者孰知天下之正色哉？
16 I therefore think people’s criteria of right and wrong, kindness and incumbency are very ambiguous and obscure so as to be difficult in making it clear.
為此，我認為人們對仁義的涵意，對對錯的標準，都是極其含混而模糊的，我們很難說清楚。」
17 Chique was somewhat disappointed in such an explanation of Wang. He said to himself, if so, who do I ask when having questions in the future.
齧缺對王老師這樣的解釋有些失望，他心裡想，如果是這樣，那我以後碰到問題應該去問誰啊！
自我觀之，仁義之端，是非之塗，樊然殽亂，吾惡能知其辯！」
18 With such a question, Chique asked directly, “If you didn’t know what is good, what is bad, what is advantage and what is disadvantage, would it mean that all men of perfect practice lack the intelligence in this aspect?”
有了這樣的疑問，齧缺直爽地又問：「如果你不知道什麼是好、什麼是壞、什麼是利、什麼是害，那是不是表示所有修行圓滿的人都缺少這方面的智慧呢？」
齧缺曰：「子不知利害，則至人固不知利害乎？」
19 Raising his head to look on far sky, Wang Ni seemed to think aloud. He murmured, “Men of perfect practice actually are no difference from gods. They don’t feel hot even if sea vaporized to dryness; they don’t feel cold even if big rivers were all frozen; they don’t feel scary even if mountains were stroke open by lightning and fierce storm threw over creatures in the deep sea. They perch loftily on the cloud, the sun and the moon following them. They had thrown off the worldly trivia far behind. They control their life and death; what they have done is done, they never suffer again. They don’t care for advantage or disadvantage, good or bad.
王倪抬起頭來，望著遠遠的天邊，幾乎自言自語地輕輕說到：「修行完備的人實際他們與神仙無異; 海洋蒸發乾了他們也不會覺得熱，大江全都凍結了他們也不會覺得冷，山被雷劈開，大風暴將深海中的生物都捲起來，修行完備的人一點也沒有驚慌之色。他們高高地居於雲端，日月都尾隨在他們的後面。他們這些人老早將世俗的那些雞毛蒜皮的事，遠遠地拋在腦後。對他們而言，生死已盡，梵行已立，所做已做，自知不再受有。哪裡又在乎什麼好、壞、利、害呢？
20 Based on this cognizance, I candidly confess that there is no fixed criterion to the world. Those who judge and criticize things in their own view are ignorant; however,in the world those who would admit their ignorance are few.”
基於這樣的認知我才說，坦白承認自己是不知的人，他們是真正瞭解世事的真相，真正明白世事無固定標準的道理。那些自以為是，凡事以自己的立場去評斷、批評的人，他們是無知的。這世上肯承認自己無知的智者是少之又少了。」
王倪曰：「至人神矣！大澤焚而不能熱，河漢冱而不能寒，疾雷破山、飄風振海而不能驚。若然者，乘雲氣，騎日月，而游乎四海之外，死生無變於己，而況利害之端乎！」