Horses' Hooves (1)
馬蹄（一）
1 The horse has hooves to protect its feet so as able to gallop steadily on the snow-covered ground. It has thick mane to keep from wind and cold. There is flourishing pasture on the grassland and clear water in the river, by which horse can gallop freely on the vast field. This life style is very normal to the horse. The luxury stall is unnecessary to him.
馬有蹄子保護牠的腳，使牠能安穩地跑過霜雪覆蓋的地面。牠有濃密的鬃毛，為其防風禦寒。草原上有豐盛的牧草，河流裡有清徹的河水，有了這些大自然免費供應的物質，馬兒就能揚起尾巴，馳騁在曠野中。這種生活情境，對馬兒而言是再自然不過的事了，豪華的馬棚對牠來說都是多餘的。
馬，蹄可以踐霜雪，毛可以御風寒。齕草飲水，翹足而陸，此馬之真性也。雖有義臺路寢，無所用之。
2 The wild horses on the grassland someday met Bo Le who was said to have particular understanding of the nature of horses.
這些草原上的野馬，有一天，終於遇上了伯樂，這位自稱對馬性有獨到見解的人。
3 Bo Le tamed the horses by trimming their mane, paring their hooves thin, branding their bodies, tying rein to their heads, shackling their feet. Under those conditions he observed their steadiness and to rank them.
伯樂將這些馬兒的鬃毛修剪整齊，將馬蹄削薄，並在身上烙印，還將韁繩套在馬脖子上，用枷鎖綑緊馬兒的腳。就在這樣的情形下，他觀察馬兒的穩定性，並以此來評定馬兒的等級。
4 Owing to those taming, two or three out of ten horses were tortured to death.
結果，經過這樣的折騰，百分之二十∼三十的馬兒都被他弄死了。
及至伯樂，曰：「我善治馬。」燒之，剔之，刻之，雒之。連之以羈馽，編之以皁棧，馬之死者十二三矣；
5 Not only that, in the following steps, Bo Le starved the horses making them hungry and thirsty so as to observe their endurance. Under the condition of hunger and thirst, the horses were force to gallop or trot.
接下來，伯樂還故意不給馬兒東西吃，不給馬水喝，以觀察其耐性; 在飢渴的情形下，還要牠們小跑或急跑。
6 Bo Le fixed bridle to horses’ mouths and urged on them with knotted whip to strictly train them run in tidy team. In such training, five out of ten horses died from the tiredness.
伯樂在馬嘴上繫著刺痛的馬勒，手中又拿著帶結的馬鞭在後面驅趕，嚴格地訓練牠們學習整隊齊跑的課程。在這樣的要求下，又有百分之五十的馬兒給累死了。
飢之，渴之，馳之，驟之，整之，齊之，前有橛飾之患，而後有鞭筴之威，而馬之死者已過半矣！
7 Ceramist bragged that he was veteran of ceramic making. If he wanted to make a round ceramic vessel, he used the compasses; if he wanted to make the square ceramic vessel, he used the square rule. Carpenters were the same in bragging about his craft. If they wanted to make a curve parts, they used the hook ruler; if they wanted to saw a straight line, they used the line marker.
陶藝家吹牛說他是玩陶高手，當他要做圓的東西，他就利用圓規；當他想做方的東西時，他就用直角尺。木匠也是這樣，他們吹噓自己擅長於木工，因此，他們想刨個弧型時就用鉤；想要鋸個直條時就用繩墨。
8 However, in the viewpoint of ceramic soil and wood, they dislike the tool such as compasses, square rule, hook ruler and line marker.
可是，如果站在陶土及木頭的立場上看，它們又哪里會喜歡什麼圓規，直角尺，鉤以及繩墨呢？
9 Traditionally, we all praised Bo Le’s awareness of the nature of horses and respected the professional knowledge of ceramist and carpenter generation after generation.
然而，我們一代又一代的人都讚頌伯樂對馬性的瞭解，也尊敬陶藝家及工匠的專業知識。
陶者曰：「我善治埴。圓者中規，方者中矩。」匠人曰：「我善治木。」曲者中鉤，直者應繩。夫埴木之性，豈欲中規矩鉤繩哉？然且世世稱之曰：「伯樂善治馬，而陶匠善治埴木。」此亦治天下者之過也。
10 Such mistakes in recognition also happened to the politicians. They thought that they had good policy to govern the country. But in the viewpoint of people, nobody would like the exorbitant taxes and levies; not to mention the endless services and penal sheets.
我們這樣錯誤的認知，其實也發生在政治家的身上，認為他們具有治國的良策。可是站在老百姓的立場，又有哪個人會對那些苛捐雜稅、還有做不完的勞役，以及交不完的罰單欣然接受呢！
11 I think that statesmen who really know how to govern the country are different from the politicians, because people are inherent the necessary skills to live by themselves. They can weave and plant to make them live, which are their common nature and self-possessed. So we can say that the common nature is inherent.
我認為真正懂得治國的政治家，他們是不會那樣做的，因為老百姓都具有求生的天性，他們會編織衣服，他們會耕田來養活自己；這些都是他們的通性，是每個人都具備的。所以我們才說這些通性是天生的，是與生俱來的。
12 People in the primitive society appeared to be tranquil and composed. At that time there was no path crossing the mountains and no boat crossing the rivers, but creature lived in their own realm prosperously generation after generation.
因此原始社會的人類，他們是寧靜的，他們看起來比較安靜、穩重。那時沒有路徑穿過山岳，沒有船隻，橋樑橫越河流，萬物都在他們自己的範圍內生生不息。
13 Birds and animal flocked and tree flourished. Human, bird and animal coexisted peacefully. They wholly were not afraid of human. You might touch them and they were not frightened. People might climb up to see magpie’s nest; however, the magpie still stayed there. Every creature was one of the members of the family of Nature. All were on very intimate terms. In the society of human, there was no difference between the gentleman and the common people and all were equal without the discrimination of knowledge, skill, senior and junior.
鳥獸群集，樹木昌盛，人與鳥獸和平相處，牠們完全對人不具戒懼心。你用手去觸摸，牠們也不會驚嚇，人們可以爬上樹去窺看喜鵲的巢穴，喜鵲也不會飛走。萬物都是一家人，大家都不分彼此。在人類群聚的社會裡，你也分不出誰是紳士，誰是一般平民老百姓。大家都是人，在沒有知識，技能，誰高誰低的分別下，每個人都是平等的。
夫至德之世，同與禽獸居，族與萬物並。惡乎知君子小人哉！
14 Their virtues were fine, not to mention going astray. Their live were simple that their desires were low. So people in such group were uniform and integral, among which each one conserved his endowed nature.
他們的品性不會出問題，更無誤入歧途這回事。他們生活樸素，內心的慾望極低。所以這樣的群體中，人們自動地統合在一起，每個人都不會失去自然賦予的天性。
同乎無知，其德不離；同乎無欲，是謂素樸。素樸而民性得矣。
15 Gradually people’s civilization came into being. When the so-called sages appeared, they all-out advocated such moral rules as benevolence and righteousness. Since then people’s hearts have been teemed with doubt, confuse, jealousness and distrust.
慢慢地，人類文明逐漸形成，等到所謂聖人出現，他們努力地提倡仁義等道德標準，從此懷疑、迷惑、猜忌、不信任等情緒才開始深入人心。
及至聖人，蹩躠為仁，踶跂為義，而天下始疑矣。
16 They have to be delighted with music and discriminate people’s rank in rite and by clothes, for which the discrimination appeared in the society.
他們必須仰賴音樂才會得到快樂。利用儀式，服裝來區分人的高下尊貴。因為這樣的發展，人類社會開始分化，有了彼此之分。
澶漫為樂，摘辟為禮，而天下始分矣。
17 To make a vase for sacrifice, they have to split away a wood to carve it into vase. It is the same with the nature of humanity spoiled for surrendering those artificial moral rules.
為了一個祭祀用的花瓶，人們必須將木頭切開，雕刻使之成為花瓶。同樣地，為了屈就仁義等人為的道德標準，人們自然的天性就被破壞了。
18 If the nature of humanity were intact, people would not need such things as music and etiquette. If the five notes of the ancient Chinese five-tone scale were in ordered, people would not use six pitches to regulate them.
如果人類原始的天性不被破壞，人們就根本不須要音樂及禮儀這些東西。因為五聲不亂，人們也不須要六律來規範樂曲。
19 It is craftsman’s fault to forcefully distort natural resource into various vessels. It is sage’s fault to spoil the nature of humanity to bridle those artificial codes of conduct on people.
將自然提供的天然資源，強加扭曲以製成各式器皿，這是工匠們的錯。將天性破壞掉，以配合仁義這些人為的行為框架，這是聖人的錯。
吾意善治天下者不然。彼民有常性，織而衣，耕而食，是謂同德；一而不黨，命曰天放。故至德之世，其行填填，其視顛顛。當是時也，山無蹊隧，澤無舟梁；萬物群生，連屬其鄉；禽獸成群，草木遂長。是故禽獸可係羈而游，鳥鵲之巢可攀援而闚。故純樸不殘，孰為犧尊！白玉不毀，孰為珪璋！道德不廢，安取仁義！性情不離，安用禮樂！五色不亂，孰為文采！無聲不亂，孰應六律！夫殘樸以為器，工匠之罪也；毀道德以為仁義，聖人之過也。