見

未

真

，

勿

輕

言

jian

wei

zhen

wu

qing

yan

所看到的

還沒

清楚

不要

輕易、隨便

說

saw

not yet

clearly

do not

casually, lightly

to talk about

如果並未看到真實情況，不要隨便亂說。
If you have not seen something quite clearly, do not speak of it as if you know.

知

未

的

，

勿

輕

傳

zhi

wei

di

wu

qing

chuan

所知道的

還沒

真確

不要

輕易、隨便

宣傳

to know

not yet

actually

do not

casually, lightly

to pass it around

如果還不知道明確真相，不要隨便亂傳。
If you are not sure about what exactly happened, do not spread rumors around.

事

非

宜

，

勿

輕

諾

shi

fei

yi

wu

qing

nuo

事情

如果不是

合理的

不要

輕易、隨便

答應

affairs

if not

as it should be

do not

casually, lightly

to agree, to promise

事情如果不合義理，不要輕易對人許諾。
When you know something is wrong, then do not agree to take part.

茍

輕

諾

，

進

退

錯

gou

qing

nuo

jin

tui

cuo

如果

輕易、隨便

答應

前進

後退

犯錯

if

casually, lightly

to agree, to promise

going forward

going backward

to make mistakes

舉止動作 (all actions)

倘若輕易對人許諾，舉止進退就會失措。
If you make promises lightly, you’ll find yourself in a dilemma.

古人有「一言以興邦，一言以喪邦」的講法，可見得言語謹慎的要緊。領導美國獨立戰爭，而終於成為美國第一任總統的喬治•華盛頓先生，就有很多以信實聞名的故事流傳下來。最廣為人知的，就是「喬治•華盛頓和櫻桃樹」，相信很多國家的人，在童年時期就聽說過了。華盛頓去世後，一本他一七四五年使用的記事簿，在他舊居的維琴尼亞州農莊被發現出來。

The ancients had a saying, "One word can cause the nation to prosper; one word can cause it to perish." This shows the importance of being careful in our speech. There are many stories about the honesty of George Washington, who led the Americans in the War of Independence and became the first U.S. President. The most well－known one is about George Washington and the cherry tree. People from different nations probably heard this story in their childhood. After his death, a notebook that he kept in 1745 was discovered in his former home in a farming village in Virginia.

在這本記事簿中，華盛頓親筆抄錄了大約一百一十條的「國民應對守則」。這些言語應對的守則，呈現出十八世紀對青少年充實的人格教育；時至今日，大部分的守則仍然十分適用於現代人的行為。十四歲的華盛頓為什麼抄寫這些守則？可能他是以此為自己的座右銘和言行準繩；毋怪乎能淬鍊出足以成為領導者的良好品德和人際關係了！可惜現代人情澆薄，道德敗壞，家庭和學校的教育不再重視人格教育了，就連領導人的品德，也不再講求，真是可哀啊！

 In that notebook, Washington had copied by hand some 110 of the Rules of Civility in Conversation Amongst Men. These rules of etiquette reveal that the young people of the 18th century received a strong moral education. Even today, the majority of the rules are still applicable in modern etiquette. Why did 14-year-old Washington copy those rules? They probably served as a standard for his own conduct and speech. No wonder he became a leader of such fine character and social skill! It is unfortunate that our sense of kindness has worn thin and moral values have declined, and the development of character is no longer emphasized in the family or at school. Even the moral caliber of our leaders is no longer important. How sad!

在這些守則中，有一條是關於謹言慎語的﹕「不要愛沾惹明知不實的任何消息；在轉述聽來的話時，毋須講出是誰說的；切勿企圖發現祕密。」這意思和本章所說的十分類似，都是教我們要謹言實語，不要隨便傳播任何不真確事情。可惜人總是等閒視之，總要等到惹出禍事，否則還不知檢討或反悔；甚至有的還懵懵懂懂地，不知禍事正是起源於自己的多嘴饒舌呢！

One of the rules of civility concerns cautious speech: "Do not get involved in passing any news that is not true. When you pass on something that you heard, you should not report who said it. Don't try to discover secrets." The meaning here is exactly the same as that of this section. They both tell us to be cautious and truthful in what we say, and not casually spread news that may not be true. What a shame that most people treat this casually and do not examine themselves until a calamity happens. Even then, they may still be muddled and not realize that the calamity came from their own tongue-wagging!

華盛頓抄錄的「國民應對守則」中，還有一條﹕「不要接受任何不能做的事情；但卻要小心地信守諾言。」這是教我們要重然諾。所謂「重」，當然是「重視」，但很多人卻不真正明了「重視」的真諦。怎麼說呢？譬如珠寶，人因為重視它的價值，不肯輕易示人，除非在合適的地方，或是面對可靠的人；可是對於比珠寶更值得寶貴的諾言，卻表現得太輕忽，很少考量面對的人是否可靠，去的地方是否合適，做的事情是否正當。

Among the rules of civility that Washington copied, another one says, "Do not accept any task that you are unable to perform, but carefully keep your promises." This is telling us to take our promises seriously. However, many people do not know what being "serious" really means. For example, if they had a valuable gem, they would not casually display it except in a suitable place or in the presence of trustworthy people. Promises are much more valuable than gems, yet people are often too casual. They seldom consider whether the person is reliable, whether the place is suitable, or whether what they are doing is proper.

在答應事情之前，既沒經過謹慎的考量，答應事情之後，往往馬上就後悔了。於是乎，有的就率而毀諾，這等人當然是不重視諾言；即便為了守信，而勉強去做，還是不能謂之重視諾言。為什麼呢？因為他答應得太輕率了！因為他忽略了事情可能造成的後果了！那個後果，也許足以令你毀身害命喪家邦，而你在答應之初，卻不曾細想其結果，反而顓顓執守之，造成難以彌補的憾恨。這樣子的重視諾言，不是真正了了明白重視的真諦，反而不如不守信的好。

 They hastily make promises without carefully considering these things, and afterwards, they usually regret it. When that happens, they may abruptly break their promise; such people of course are not serious about their promises. Even if one forces oneself to carry out the promise in order to keep one's word, one still cannot be considered "serious" about one's promises. Why? Because one was too casual in making the promise! One did not consider the possible consequences, which might be severe enough to ruin oneself, one's family, or the country. Before making the promise, you failed to consider the consequences; then you insist on holding to it, thereby causing irreparable resentment. One who makes promises in this way does not understand how to make them seriously; it would be better not to keep one's promises.

所以孔子才說﹕「信近於義，言可復也。」義者宜也，也就是正當而合宜；復者赴也，也就是實行，就是赴湯蹈火也無悔。漢朝的季布，因為言出必行，時人用「一諾千金」來稱譽他；至聖先師孔子的時代，邾國歸魯，也是經他的弟子子路一諾而定，連盟約都不須簽。典型在宿昔，值得我們效法！總之，對於承諾，必須慎乎始，還得信乎終，這樣才可稱之為「重視」。

That is why Confucius said, "One who is trustworthy is close to right conduct, and can carry out his words." Right conduct refers to what is suitable and proper. Such a person will jump into hot water or step into fire without regret, if that is what is required. Since Ji Bu of the Han Dynasty never failed to keep his word, people praised him, saying, “one promise from him is worth a thousand pieces of gold." In the time of Confucius, that Great Sage and teacher, the state of Zhu was returned to the State of Lu merely on the promise of his disciple Zi Lu, without even a contract needing to be signed. These examples from the past are truly worth following. To sum up, we should be careful in making promises and faithful in carrying them out. Then, our promises can be considered serious.

孔子周遊列國時，曾經三度訪衛。第三次還未到衛都，路經蒲地，意外地發現衛將公叔氏正在操兵，打造武器，企圖叛衛。公叔氏以兵馬重重包圍孔子一行人，意圖爭取孔子的支持，但這是違背孔子忠君的信仰的，孔子怎會答應呢？爭取未遂，對方一來尊敬孔子，二來不願擔「害賢」的惡名，只要求孔子發誓不到衛國，便可通行。當時學生很緊張，答應嘛，則有違孔子的原則；不答應呢，則會當場喪命，又誰來通風報信，挽救衛國的危機？

When Confucius was traveling around the feudal states, he visited the State of Wei three times. The third time, before he had arrived at the capital, he accidentally came upon the Gonshu--a general of Wei, leading his troops through its drills in preparation for a revolt against Wei. Gongshu told his mounted troops to surround Confucius and his followers, hoping to convince him to support him. But this would have gone against Confucius' loyalty to his ruler; how could Confucius agree? Having failed in his attempt, Gongshu, out of respect for Confucius and unwilling to earn the reputation of banning a worthy, asked only that Confucius swear that he would not go to the State of Wei; then he would let them pass. The disciples were very nervous. If Confucius agreed, he would be going against his principles. If he did not, they would lose their lives and no one would be able to inform the State of Wei and save them from the impending threat.

結果孔子鎮定地答應了，但等對方一撤兵，孔子馬上吩咐弟子調轉車頭，直奔衛國。當時學生很疑惑，說﹕「約定好的事，可以不信守嗎？」可是一向強調信實的孔子卻說﹕「被要脅而簽下的盟約，當然可以不遵守。」孔子的知時宜，在中國古代聖賢中，可說是少有的。

As it turned out, Confucius calmly agreed. But as soon as the troops were gone, he immediately instructed his disciples to turn around and drive quickly to the State of Wei. The disciples were in doubt: "How can he break his promise?" But Confucius, the one who always emphasized honesty, said, "Of course you don't have to follow a promise that you were forced into making." Confucius' ability to recognize the situation was a rare quality, even among the ancient Chinese sages.

亞聖孟子就尊之為「聖之時者」。孔子自己也說過﹕「顏回比我誠信。」但為什麼顏回是學生，而孔子是老師呢？孔子說﹕「顏回很誠信，卻不知道有時對一些不當的承諾，不去實踐，才是真正的誠信。所以，我們人固然要奉行道德，卻不可不知時宜分寸，反成愚忠愚孝，小信小義之徒，失去中庸之道！

Mencius, the Second Sage, honored him as "The Sage of knowing the Time." Confucius himself said, "Yan Hui is more faithful than I " Then why was Yan Hui the student and Confucius the teacher? Confucius said, "Yan Hui is very faithful, but does not realize that sometimes, true faithfulness consists in not carrying out inappropriate promises." And so, while we should practice morality, we should not fail to judge the situation and engage in foolish loyalty, foolish filial devotion, petty trustworthiness, or petty righteousness. To make those mistakes is not the true Middle Way.