出类拔萃._风闻

有一天，公孙丑希望老师孟子给自己讲一下孔子、伯夷、伊尹这三位古代圣人的异同。孟子说：“他们的共同点在于都能够以仁义治理天下，使诸侯来朝见；都不会做不合道理的事，都不会滥杀没有犯罪的人。”至于他们的相异之处，孟子并没有直接进行比较，孟子这样说：“孔门弟子中名气很大的宰我、子贡、有若三人，他们的聪明和智慧足以了解圣人，即使他们了解得不够，也不至于偏袒哪位，因此我们可以看看他们是如何称赞孔子的。

One day, Gongsun Chou hoped that his teacher Mencius would tell him about the similarities and differences of Confucius, Boyi, and Yiyin, the three ancient sages. Mencius said, “Their commonality lies in their ability to govern the world with benevolence and righteousness, so that princes can come to court; they will not do unreasonable things, nor indiscriminately kill those who have not committed crimes.” As for their differences, Mencius did not directly compare them, Mencius said this: “Among the disciples of Confucius, there are three famous figures: Zai Me, Zi Gong, and You Ruo. Their intelligence and wisdom are enough to understand the sages. Even if they don’t understand enough, they won’t favor anyone. Therefore, we can see how they praise Confucius.

宰我说：“我看老师比尧舜都强多了。”子贡说：“看见一国的礼制，就了解它的政治；听到一国的音乐，就知道他的德教。即使在百代以后去评价百代以来的国君，也没有谁能违离孔子之道。从有人类以来，没有谁能赶上我的老师。”有若说：“不仅人类有高下的不同，麒麟对于走兽、凤凰对于飞禽、泰山对于土堆、河海对于小溪，都属同类中的高下之别。圣人对于百姓。也是同类，但他远远地超出了同类，大大高出了同类。从有人类以来，没有谁比孔子更加伟大。孔子是出于其类，拔乎其萃。”

Zai said, “I think teachers are much stronger than Yao and Shun.” Zigong said, “When you see a country’s etiquette system, you understand its politics; when you hear a country’s music, you know its moral education. Even if you evaluate rulers since the beginning of the century, no one can deviate from the teachings of Confucius. Since the beginning of humanity, no one has been able to catch up with my teachers.” Youruo said: “Not only are humans different from each other, but Kirin is superior to animals, Phoenix to birds, Mount Taishan to mounds, rivers and seas to streams. Sage is superior to common people. He is also similar, but he is far more than the same kind, much higher than the same kind. Since there have been human beings, no one is greater than Confucius. Confucius is outstanding because of his kind.”