The Wood of Ox Mountain and Nurturing the Heart
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English translation
Original Chinese text
孟子曰:“牛山之木尝美矣。以其郊于大国也,斧斤伐之,可以为美乎?是其日夜之所息,雨露之所润,非无萌蘗之生焉,牛羊又从而牧之,是以若彼濯濯也。人见其濯濯也,以为未尝有材焉,此岂山之性也哉?虽存乎人者,岂无仁义之心哉?其所以放其良心者,亦犹斧斤之于木也。旦旦而伐之,可以为美乎?其日夜之所息,平旦之气,其好恶与人相近也者几希,则其旦昼之所为,有梏亡之矣。梏之反复,则其夜气不足以存。夜气不足以存,则其违禽兽不远矣。人见其禽兽也,而以为未尝有才焉者,是岂人之情也哉?故茍得其养,无物不长;茍失其养,无物不消。孔子曰:‘操则存,舍则亡。出入无时,莫知其乡。’惟心之谓与?”
English translation
Mencius said, “The trees of Ox Mountain were once beautiful. But because it lies near a great state’s outskirts, axes have cut it down; how could it remain beautiful? Its growth by day and night, nourished by rain and dew, is not without new shoots, yet cattle and sheep graze there too, leaving it bare. People see the bare mountain and think it never had timber. Is that truly the mountain’s nature? Do people not also possess hearts of benevolence and righteousness? Losing one’s good heart is like axes cutting trees. If it is cut every day, how can it flourish? What the heart restores by night and at dawn still has a little of the likes and dislikes shared with others; but one’s actions through the day fetter and destroy it. Repeated fettering leaves the vital influence of the night too weak to preserve it. If that night influence cannot be preserved, a person is not far removed from beasts. People see such beastlike behavior and think the person never had natural capacities. Is this really human nature? If anything receives nourishment, it grows; if it loses nourishment, it withers. Confucius said, ‘Hold on to it and it remains; let it go and it is lost. It comes and goes without a fixed time, and no one knows where it is.’ Surely he was speaking of the heart.”