原文
子贡问曰:“乡人皆好之,何如?”子曰:“未可也①。”
“乡人皆恶之,何如?”子曰:“未可也;不如乡人之善者好之,其不善者恶之。”
译文
A disciple of Confucius enquired of him, saying, "What do you say of a man who is popular with all his fellow townsmen in a place? " "He is not necessarily a good man," answered Confucius. "What do you say then," asked the disciple, "of a man who is unpopular with all his fellow townsmen? " "He is neither," replied Confucius, " necessarily a good nor a bad man. A really good man is he who is popular with the good men of a place and unpopular with the bad men."
评论
文中,“不如乡人之善者好之,其不善者恶之”一句,辜鸿铭认为,这是孔子对真正的“好人”的看法,译为“a really good man is he who is popular with the good men of a place and unpopular with the bad men”,“一个真正的好人,是一个被当地的好人喜爱而不被坏人喜爱的人”。