告子上 · 第 04 / 20 章 · 孟子 6A.4

《孟子·告子上》6A.4:食色性也,为什么仍不能说“义外”

告子承认“食色性也”,又主张“仁内义外”;孟子则追问,若对长者之敬只是外加反应,为何关系一变,义的形态也随之而变?

告子曰:「食、色,性也。仁,内也,非外也。义,外也,非内也。」孟子曰:「何以谓仁内义外也?」曰:「彼长而我长之,非有长于我也。犹彼白而我白之,从其白于外也。故谓之外也。」曰:「异。于白马之白也,无以异于白人之白也。不识长马之长也,无以异于长人之长欤?且谓长者义乎?长之者义乎?」曰:「吾弟则爱之,秦人之弟则不爱也,是以我为悦者也,故谓之内。长楚人之长,亦长吾之长,是以长为悦者也,故谓之外也。」曰:「嗜秦人之炙,无以异于嗜吾炙。夫物则亦有然者也。然则嗜炙亦有外欤?」

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?」

英文参考译文

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?'

重点修订页

人工补强的解释层

核心问题

为什么孟子不同意告子的“仁内义外”说?

直接回答

因为孟子认为,义并不是从外部贴到人身上的命令。我们之所以敬兄、敬长、辨亲疏,本就依赖心中已能感受关系轻重的结构,所以义也是内在发出的。

第一性原理

人的自然欲求是真实的,但它并不耗尽人的本性;关系中的分寸、敬重与应然判断,同样从心里生出来。

为什么重要

这章适合承接“食色性也”“仁内义外”“is righteousness external?” 这类高价值搜索,是性善论争中的核心节点。

这章在做什么

这章是《告子上》第 4 / 20 章,最直接的进入线索是“食、色,性也”。放回全卷,它讨论的是性善、欲望与告子论辩,并可与性善、浩然之气互相印证。

更宽的搜索入口

如果你带着更宽的问题进入这一章,先从正确的 hub 页进入

性善:把人看作可以成德的起点

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孟子是谁?

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孟子名言与出处

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《孟子》全文与作品结构入口

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全卷语境

《告子上》是性善论与告子论辩的核心战场。

关联主题

引用提示

不要把这章读成否认身体欲望。孟子承认食色之自然,只是否认由此推出‘义只是外加规范’的结论。

章句资料

卷次
告子上
定位
孟子 6A.4
顺序
第 04 / 20 章
对齐置信度
99%