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Texte chinois
圣人无心，以百姓心为心。
善者吾善之，不善者吾亦善之，得善。
信者吾信之，不信者吾亦信之，得信。
圣人在天下，怵怵；为天下，浑其心。
百姓皆注其耳目，圣人皆孩之。
Translation
The Sage has no fixed feelings. He takes on the feelings of the people.
The virtuous one, he treats as virtuous; the unvirtuous one, he also treats as virtuous. This is the height of virtue.
The sincere one, he treats as sincere; the insincere one, he also treats as sincere. This is the height of sincerity.
The Sage, living in the world, is calm and at ease, and has the same feelings for all.
The hundred families fix their ears and eyes upon him.
The Sage regards the people as children.
Notes
He governs in accordance with the customs of the people; he does not hurt their feelings and adjusts his sentiments to theirs.
苏轼 : He has no fixed feelings; he bases his feelings on those of the people. Whether men are virtuous or devoid of virtue, he treats them all as virtuous people; whether they are sincere or hypocritical, he treats them all as sincere people. He knows that virtue or vice, sincerity or hypocrisy reside in them; that is why his feelings do not change. If it were otherwise, if he treated virtuous men as such and rejected men devoid of virtue; if he treated sincere men as such and repelled hypocrites, could one say that he constantly saves men? That is why he rejects no one. In the world, the good and the wicked, the sincere and the hypocritical approve of themselves, while they slander and tear each other apart. The Sage treats them all in the same way. He does not rejoice at the sight of the good; he does not show displeasure at the sight of the wicked. In this way, the former do not become proud, the latter do not become irritated. Then all convert, and the world begins to taste peace.
Literally, 'I treat him, etc.' Laozi employs the pronoun 吾 , 'I' before the verbs 善 and 信 . This passage has received another interpretation: If someone is virtuous, I imitate his virtue; if someone is not virtuous, I welcome him with a feeling of virtue, so that he returns to virtue. If someone is sincere, I imitate his sincerity. If someone is not sincere, I treat him with sincerity, so that he returns to sincerity.
Such is his 德 , that one can call him extremely virtuous (至善 ), extremely sincere (至信 ).
Version B offers the reading 得 , 'to possess,' instead of 德 , 'merit': 'He possesses virtue, he possesses sincerity.'
This expression means that he treats perverse and hypocritical men as if they were virtuous and sincere, and makes no distinction among them.
The people, seeing that the Sage seems not to distinguish the good from the wicked, cannot fathom his motives and look at him in amazement; that is why they fix their ears and eyes on him. For his part, the Sage regards the people as children. He knows that they are devoid of knowledge like children. Indeed, a child has too limited a vision to understand the conduct of a great man. Similarly, the people cannot fathom and understand the ways of the Sage.
The people admire the Sage's examples, they avidly listen to his words, they contemplate him with respect, they trust him, they love him as a father and mother. For his part, the Sage fears to harm the people, he takes care of them with solicitude, and cherishes them like a newborn child.
