Page 111 - 《孟子》(一)中·英对照版
P. 111
梁
惠
王
下
protection his own kingdom. It is said in the Book of
Poetry,“I fear the Majesty of Heaven, and will thus
preserve its favouring decree.’”
The king said, “A great saying! But I have an
infirmity, —I love valour.”
“I beg Your Majesty,” was the reply, “not to
love small valour. If a man brandishes his sword,
looks fiercely, and says, ‘How dare he withstand
me?’ —this is the valour of a common man, who
can be the opponent only of a single individual.
I beg Your Majesty to greaten it. It is said in the
Book of Poetry, ‘The king blazed with anger, and
he marshalled his hosts, to stop the march to Chu,
to consolidate the prosperity of Zhou, to meet the
expectations of the nation.’ This was the valour
of king Wen. King Wen, in one burst of his anger,
gave repose to all the people of the kingdom. In
the Book of History it is said, ‘Heaven having
produced the inferior people, made for them rulers
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