俗话说﹕「人不可以貌相，海水不可用斗量。」孔子的学生里头，宰予的口才是一流的，但是他太过恣才任性，每每有超越礼数的言行，终至功败垂成。淡台灭明(字子羽)则是相貌丑恶，初见孔子时，孔子也不觉他有什么才干，后来才慢慢发现子羽是个谨守法度，行不由径的侠义君子。因此孔子才感叹说﹕「俚语云﹕『相马以舆，相士以居。』弗可废欤！以容取人，则失之子羽；以辞取人，则失之宰予。」

There is a proverb: “people cannot be judged by appearance; sea water cannot be measured by pecks,” Among the disciples of Confucius, Zai yu’s eloquence was first rate. However, he was overly rash and foolhardy. every time he stepped beyond the bounds of propriety in his speech or actions, he inevitably failed. On the other hand, Zhantai Mieming (whose other name was Zi Yu) was rather homely, and at their first meeting Confucius did not think he had much talent. Later, he gradually discovered that Zi Yu was a righteous gentleman who cautiously abided by the law and did not take shortcuts. And so Confucius exclaimed with a sigh, “A folk proverb says, Judge a horse by how it pulls a chariot; judge a scholar by how he lives.” How could we ignore this? If we judged people by appearance alone, we would be wrong about Zi Yu. If we judged people by their speech, we would be wrong about Zai Yu."

这意思是说，不要废了俚俗的教训。看马好不好，要真正让马驾一驾车才知；看一个读书人，也是要考察他平日起居生活。因为如果光看外表，对子羽就会看走了眼；若只相信言论，就会把宰予给高估了。其结果都可能会因为无法因才适任，而牺牲了对方，也折损了自己。所以看人不能从他外在的言行，武断地下第一印象。事实上，像宰予这样聪明有才华，却又志大行疏的，或者像子羽这样其貌不扬，却沉潜有才的人，在我们的周围并不是没有，只不过我们很容易犯以貌取人，以言断人的毛病，而错失了人才或高估了人才。

His meaning was that we should not overlook the advice of that proverb. Before we can determine the caliber of a horse, we have to see how it pulls a chariot. In appraising a scholar, we have to look at his daily living habits. If we only consider a person’s appearance, we will be prejudiced against Zi Yu. If we only believed a person’s words, we will overestimate Zai Yu. It is then very likely that, because we are unable to employ a person according to his talents, we will lose the person and take a loss ourselves! Therefore, we cannot evaluate a person based on the first impression that we get from his external words and behavior . Actually, people like Zai Yu, who was intelligent and talented, yet overambitious and careless in behavior, and like Zi Yu, who had great ability hidden beneath a plain exterior, are around us, too. It is just that we easily make the mistake of judging people by their appearance or by their words, thereby failing to appreciate people’s talents or else overestimating them.

再从另一个角度来说，如果我们貌不惊人，就应该自内在修养锻炼起，治世时能大行于邦国，乱世时也能自保于乡隐。如果我们幸而长得一表人才，更要充实自己，不要做个绣花枕头，中看不中用，或者一昧逞口舌，而招忌惹祸。这才是中庸之道！

Looking at it from another angle, if our own looks are plain, we should start by working on our inner cultivation, so that in times of peace we can come out to serve the country well, and in times of chaos we can retreat into seclusion in the countryside. If we are blessed with the appearance of being very capable, we should also increase our inner virtue, and not be like an embroidered pillow that is pretty to look at but not much use. We should also avoid letting our tongues wag carelessly and bring disasters upon ourselves. This is the Middle Way.

古今中外的英雄豪杰，在他们的日常小事里头，都可以看出他们仁慈、谦虚的一面。仁慈、谦虚，便是得人心的基础；满腹经世济用之学，其实都只是教我们如何得人心、善用人心罢了！英雄豪杰之成功，因为得人心；其失败，也是因为失去了人心。人心所看重和敬畏的，是真实的德行，而非璀灿的言辞，堂皇的外表，或厚重的权势。

If you look at great men and women of the past and present, around the world, you will see the benevolence and humility with which they go about their daily activities. Benevolence and humility are the foundation of the human spirit. All the theories of government and politics boil down to teaching us how to win people’s hearts and skillfully guide them. Great leaders and heroes succeed because they are able to win people’s hearts. Those who fail, fail because they lose people’s hearts. What people value and respect is the practice of genuine virtue, not flowery words, handsome appearance, or great power .

亚历山大是希腊一位英明的皇帝。有一次他到南部一个城市，城里的大小官员和地方上有名望的人都去朝见他，只有大哲学家德奥基尼斯没去，亚历山大便亲自去拜望他。亚历山大来到德奥基尼斯住所前，看到他正坐在那儿晒太阳，便上前一鞠躬，礼貌地表达久仰，并问﹕「您有什么需要我帮忙的事情吗？」德奥基尼斯说﹕「是的！我只要求您站开些，别把太阳挡住就行了！」亚历山大觉得很有趣，一点也没生气就走了。

Alexander the Great was a wise king of Greece. One time he visited a city in the south. All the great and minor government officials and all the local men of repute gathered to greet him. Only the great philosopher Diogenes did not go. Thereupon Alexander the Great personally went to pay respects to him. When he arrived at Diogenes’ dwelling, he saw him sitting there, basking in the sun. He went up and made a half bow, said that he had long admired the philosopher, and asked, "Is there any matter in which I can offer my help?" Diogenes said, "Yes. All I ask is that you move to the side a bit so that you don’t block the sun!" Alexander was amused and left without feeling the least bit upset.

美国开国领袖华盛顿当上大总统之后，有一回他穿着便服骑马出去玩，经过河边时看见一个军官，指挥两个士兵把一段大木头抬上河堤。可是河堤很高，木头又重，两个兵用尽了力气还是抬不上来。那军官一径吼叫﹕「用力！用力！」却不去帮忙；华盛顿就说﹕「他们力气已用完了，你去帮帮忙吧！」那军官瞪眼大声道﹕「我是尉官，你知道吗？」华盛顿就说﹕「对不起！我不知道；我若早知道你是尉官，就不冒犯你了！」说完，就脱下外衣跳下去帮那两个兵把大木头抬上岸。

One time, after George Washington had assumed office as the first President of the United States, he went out on horseback for a pleasure ride, dressed in civilian clothes. Passing by a river, he noticed a military official directing two soldiers, who were trying to lift a large wooden plank onto the river bank. The bank was very high and the plank was heavy, and the two soldiers could not manage to lift it, though they were exerting their utmost strength. The official kept yelling, "Use more strength! Use more strength!" but did not attempt to help them. Washington said, "They have already exhausted their strength! Why don’t you give them a hand?" The official glared and said loudly, "I’m a lieutenant, do you know that?" Washington said, "Sorry, I wasn’t aware. If I had known you were a lieutenant, I wouldn’t have insulted you!" So saying, he took off his coat and jumped down to help the two soldiers lift the plank onto the river bank.

美国另外一个总统艾森豪，当他还是军官时，一回巡视军营，发现国旗倒挂着；这在军队是很严重的错误，两个专管升降旗的旗手都吓白了脸。但是艾森豪只和蔼地对他们俩说﹕「孩子们！你们犯了多么严重的军法啊！现在我命令你们，立刻把国旗降下来改正，再重新升上去！」艾森豪的仁慈，赢得美国军民的拥护，都昵称他的小名「艾克」；他后来能当选总统，也不是偶然的。

Eisenhower was another American President. Once, when he was still a military official and was inspecting an army barracks, he discovered the national flag hanging upside down. That was a serious mistake in the army, and the two officers who were in charge of raising and lowering the flag turned pale in fear. But Eisenhower kindly told the two, "Children! You have broken a serious military law. Now I command you to immediately lower the flag, set it upright, and raise it again!" Eisenhower’s kindness won him the support of the entire U.S. military, who fondly referred to him by his nickname, Ike. It was not by mere chance that he later won the Presidential election.

法国著名军事家拿破仑是个矮子，貌不惊人但却有过人的意志力和胆识。战争期间有一夜他巡营，发现站岗的卫兵居然拄着枪睡着了；拿破仑便站岗到卫兵醒来，卫兵吓得跪地求饶，拿破仑只说﹕「你跟我作战太辛苦了，没空睡觉。现在你睡醒了，要好好看守，别让敌人有机会偷袭！」你说，以后那卫兵会不尽忠效命吗？又有一次，在他做了法国皇帝之后，和美丽的皇后约瑟芬穿着便衣在路上散步；迎面来了个背着重物的人，拿破仑忙把皇后拉过一旁，让那人先过去。皇后就问﹕「你是皇帝，为什么让路给一个普通的老百姓呢？

The famous French military leader, Napoleon, was rather plain- looking and short in stature. However, he had remarkable resolve and vision. One night during the war, as he was inspecting camp, he came upon a sentry who had fallen asleep while on duty, leaning on his rifle. Napoleon himself stood guard until the sentry woke up. That sentry was so frightened that he got on his knees and begged forgiveness. Napoleon said, "You have toiled so hard in fighting this war with me that you have not had time to sleep. Now that you have awakened, you must do your job well. Don’t let the enemy sneak in!" Now, wouldn’t you think that sentry would do his best to follow Napoleon’s orders from then on? Another time, after he had become the Emperor of France, he and the beautiful Empress Josephine were strolling in the streets dressed in civilian clothes. A man carrying a heavy load was coming towards them. Napoleon pulled the empress to one side and allowed the man to pass first. The empress asked, "You are the Emperor. Why do you move out of the way for a common civilian?

拿破仑说：「皇帝和老百姓一样是人，他背着那么重的东西，我们两手空空。让他路，他可以得到方便，我们也没丢掉皇帝的尊严啊！」聪明的约瑟芬从此更加尊敬他，辅佐他成就不少大业。从以上的小故事来看，这些人物之所以受尊敬，岂只是因为他们的丰功伟业和头衔呢？

"Napoleon said, "The emperor and the civilian are both people. He is carrying a heavy burden, while the two of us are empty- handed. If we let him pass first, it makes his job a lot easier; meanwhile, we have not lost the dignity of our royal position." From then on, the wise Josephine held him in even higher esteem and aided him in achieving great deeds. These anecdotes illustrate that people are respected for their virtue other than their meritorious achievements and titles.