Mencius said, ‘Boyi would not allow his eyes to look on a bad sight, nor his ears to listen to a bad sound. He would not serve a prince whom he did not approve, nor command a people whom he did not esteem. In a time of good government he took office, and on the occurrence of confusion he retired. He could not bear to dwell either in a court from which a lawless government emanated, or among lawless people. He considered his being in the same place with a villager, as if he were to sit amid mud and coals with his court robes and court cap. In the time of Zhou he dwelt on the shores of the North sea, waiting the purification of the kingdom. Therefore when men now hear the character of Boyi, the corrupt become pure, and the weak acquire determination.
孟子曰：伯夷，目不視惡色，耳不聽惡聲。非其君不事，非其民不使。治則進，亂則退。橫政之所出，橫民之所止，不忍居也。思與鄉人處，如以朝衣朝冠坐於塗炭也。當紂之時，居北海之濱，以待天下之清也。故聞伯夷之風者，頑夫廉，懦夫有立志。
Yiyin said, ‘Whom may I not serve? My serving him makes him my sovereign. What people may I not command? My commanding them makes them my people.’ In a time of good government he took office, and when confusion prevailed, he also took office. He said, ‘Heaven’s plan in the production of mankind is this: that they who are first informed should instruct those who are later in being informed, and they who first apprehend principles should instruct those who are slower in doing so. I am the one of Heaven’s people who has first apprehended; I will take these principles and instruct the people in them.’ He thought that among all the people of the kingdom, even the common men and women, if there were any who did not share in the enjoyment of such benefits as Yao and Shun conferred, it was as if he himself pushed them into a ditch — for he took upon himself the heavy charge of the kingdom.
伊尹曰：何事非君？何使非民？治亦進，亂亦進。曰：天之生斯民也，使先知覺後知，使先覺覺後覺。予，天民之先覺者也；予將以此道覺此民也。思天下之民，匹夫匹婦有不與被堯、舜之澤者，若己推而內之溝中，其自任以天下之重也。
Hui of Liuxia was not ashamed to serve an impure prince, nor did he think it low to be an inferior officer. When advanced to employment, he did not conceal his virtue, but made it a point to carry out his principles. When dismissed and left without office, he did not murmur. When straitened by poverty, he did not grieve. When thrown into the company of village people, he was quite at ease and could not bear to leave them. He had a saying, ‘You are you, and I am I. Although you stand by my side with breast and arms bare, or with your body naked, how can you defile me?’ Therefore when men now hear the character of Hui of Liu Xia, the mean become generous, and the niggardly become liberal.
柳下惠，不羞汙君，不辭小官。進不隱賢，必以其道。遺佚而不怨，阨窮而不憫。與鄉人處，由由然不忍去也。爾為爾，我為我，雖袒裼裸裎於我側，爾焉能浼我哉。故聞柳下惠之風者，鄙夫寬，薄夫敦。
When Confucius was leaving Qi, he strained off with his hand the water in which his rice was being rinsed, took the rice, and went away. When he left Lu, he said, ‘I will set out by-and-by’ — it was right he should leave the country of his parents in this way. When it was proper to go away quickly, he did so; when it was proper to delay, he did so; when it was proper to keep in retirement, he did so; when it was proper to go into office, he did so — this was Confucius.’
孔子之去齊，接淅而行。去魯，曰：遲遲吾行也。去父母國之道也。可以速而速，可以久而久，可以處而處，可以仕而仕，孔子也。
Mencius said, ‘Boyi among the sages was the pure one; Yiyin was the one most inclined to take office; Hui of Liuxia was the accommodating one; and Confucius was the timeous one. In Confucius we have what is called a complete concert. A complete concert is when the large bell proclaims the commencement of the music, and the ringing stone proclaims its close. The metal sound commences the blended harmony of all the instruments, and the winding up with the stone terminates that blended harmony. The commencing that harmony is the work of wisdom. The terminating it is the work of sageness. As a comparison for wisdom, we may liken it to skill, and as a comparison for sageness, we may liken it to strength — as in the case of shooting at a mark a hundred paces distant. That you reach it is owing to your strength, but that you hit the mark is not owing to your strength.’
孟子曰：伯夷，聖之清者也；伊尹，聖之任者也；柳下惠，聖之和者也；孔子，聖之時者也。孔子之謂集大成。集大成也者，金聲而玉振之也。金聲也者，始條理也；玉振之也者，終條理也。始條理者，智之事也；終條理者，聖之事也。智，譬則巧也；聖，譬則力也。由射於百步之外也；其至，爾力也；其中，非爾力也。
Source
- James Legge, The Works of Mencius, ‘Wanzhang II’, 《孟子 · 萬章下》, bilingual edition, online at: http://ctext.org/mengzi/wan-zhang-ii. The names of people and places have been converted to Hanyu Pinyin