Page 32 - 《孟子》（二）中·英对照版
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?孟
子
commission, and the prince determined that the
three years’ mourning should be observed. His aged
relatives, and the body of the officers, did not wish
that it should be so, and said, “The former princes
of Lu, that kingdom which we honour, have, none
of them, observed this practice, neither have any of
our own former princes observed it. For you to act
contrary to their example is not proper. Moreover,
the History says, ‘In the observances of mourning
and sacrifice, ancestors are to be followed,’ meaning
that they received those things from a proper source
to hand them down.”
The prince said again to Ran You, “Hitherto, I
have not given myself to the pursuit of learning, but
have found my pleasure in horsemanship and sword-
exercise, and now I don’t come up to the wishes
of my aged relatives and the officers. I am afraid I
may not be able to discharge my duty in the great
business that I have entered on; do you again consult
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