Gao Zi I · Passage 04 / 20 · 孟子 6A.4

Mencius 6A.4: food and sex belong to nature

Gaozi grants that food and sexual desire belong to nature and then claims that benevolence is internal while righteousness is external.

告子曰：「食、色，性也。仁，內也，非外也。義，外也，非內也。」孟子曰：「何以謂仁內義外也？」曰：「彼長而我長之，非有長於我也。猶彼白而我白之，從其白於外也。故謂之外也。」曰：「異。於白馬之白也，無以異於白人之白也。不識長馬之長也，無以異於長人之長歟？且謂長者義乎？長之者義乎？」曰：「吾弟則愛之，秦人之弟則不愛也，是以我為悅者也，故謂之內。長楚人之長，亦長吾之長，是以長為悅者也，故謂之外也。」曰：「嗜秦人之炙，無以異於嗜吾炙。夫物則亦有然者也。然則嗜炙亦有外歟？」

gào zǐ yuē：「shí、 sè， xìng yě。 rén， nèi yě， fēi wài yě。 yì， wài yě， fēi nèi yě。」 mèng zǐ yuē：「hé yǐ wèi rén nèi yì wài yě？」 yuē：「bǐ cháng ér wǒ cháng zhī， fēi yǒu cháng wū wǒ yě。 yóu bǐ bái ér wǒ bái zhī， cóng qí bái wū wài yě。 gù wèi zhī wài yě。」 yuē：「yì。 wū bái mǎ zhī bái yě， wú yǐ yì wū bái rén zhī bái yě。 bù shí cháng mǎ zhī cháng yě， wú yǐ yì wū cháng rén zhī cháng yú？ qiě wèi cháng zhě yì hū？ cháng zhī zhě yì hū？」 yuē：「wú dì zé ài zhī， qín rén zhī dì zé bú ài yě， shì yǐ wǒ wéi yuè zhě yě， gù wèi zhī nèi。 cháng chǔ rén zhī cháng， yì cháng wú zhī cháng， shì yǐ cháng wéi yuè zhě yě， gù wèi zhī wài yě。」 yuē：「shì qín rén zhī zhì， wú yǐ yì wū shì wú zhì。 fū wù zé yì yǒu rán zhě yě。 rán zé shì zhì yì yǒu wài yú？」

The philosopher Gao said, 'To enjoy food and delight in colours is nature. Benevolence is internal and not external; righteousness is external and not internal.' Mencius asked him, 'What is the ground of your saying that benevolence is internal and righteousness external?' He replied, 'There is a man older than I, and I give honour to his age. It is not that there is first in me a principle of such reverence to age. It is just as when there is a white man, and I consider him white; according as he is so externally to me. On this account, I pronounce of righteousness that it is external.' Mencius said, 'There is no difference between our pronouncing a white horse to be white and our pronouncing a white man to be white. But is there no difference between the regard with which we acknowledge the age of an old horse and that with which we acknowledge the age of an old man? And what is it which is called righteousness? The fact of a man's being old? Or the fact of our giving honour to his age?' Gao said, 'There is my younger brother; I love him. But the younger brother of a man of Qin I do not love: that is, the feeling is determined by myself, and therefore I say that benevolence is internal. On the other hand, I give honour to an old man of Chu, and I also give honour to an old man of my own people: that is, the feeling is determined by the age, and therefore I say that righteousness is external.' Mencius answered him, 'Our enjoyment of meat roasted by a man of Qin does not differ from our enjoyment of meat roasted by ourselves. Thus, what you insist on takes place also in the case of such things, and will you say likewise that our enjoyment of a roast is external?'