Where does "You can't have both" come from?

What do you mean, "You can't have your cake and eat it"? A: You can't have your cake and eat it.

Why can't we have both? Fish live in water, while bears live on land. These two creatures are antagonistic, because bears eat fish. Fish and bear's paw can't have both, which means not only fish and bear's paw, but also that when we are faced with difficulties, we must make a choice, not both. I want fish and bear's paw. I'd rather give up fish than bear's paw when I can't have both at the same time. I cherish life and righteousness. In the case that I can't get both at the same time, I would rather sacrifice my life for justice, that is, sacrifice my life for justice. Mencius compared life to a fish and righteousness to a bear's paw, thinking that righteousness is more precious than life, just as bear's paw is more precious than fish, and naturally the idea of "giving up life for righteousness" came into being. This proposition is the central argument of the whole article.

Source of works

"You can't have your cake and eat it" comes from Mencius' I Want Fish. "I want what I want" is selected from Mencius Gaozi. ?

The Fish I Want is a masterpiece of Mencius' in-depth discussion on human life and death based on his theory of good nature. Emphasize that "justice" is more important than "life" and advocate giving up life for justice. Mencius believed that "everyone has a heart of shame and evil", so people should maintain a kind nature, strengthen their usual cultivation and education, and don't do anything that violates etiquette. Mencius regarded this thought as the essence of China's traditional moral cultivation, which was a far-reaching thing.

original work

Fish is what I want.

Fish, what I want; Bear's paw, also (1) I want (2). You can't have your cake and eat it. You can take the bear's paw instead of fish. Life is what I want; Righteousness is also what I want. You can't have both, and you have to sacrifice your life for righteousness. Life is what I want, what I want is (6) being born in (7), so (8) I don't want (9) also; Death is what I hate most (10), which is worse than the dead, so I have something to do with it (1 1) (12). If (13) people want (14) to be better than life, then (16) whoever (17) can have life (18) doesn't need it (65438). If people are more evil than the dead, why not (20) if they can avoid patients? If you answer correctly, you will be born (2 1). If you are right, you can avoid trouble and do something wrong. Therefore, (22) wants more than the living, and hates more than the dead. Not only (23) sages (24) have (25) hearts (26), but everyone has them, and sages cannot lose their ears (27).

If you eat (28) soup with beans (29), you will get (30) raw and (32) dead. Huer (33) and (34), blessed are the people in the street (35); It is a pity (36) that beggars despise it (38). Wanling (39) accepts without distinguishing propriety and righteousness. How can ten thousand bells add (40) to me? For the beauty of the palace (4 1), the battle of wives (42), the poor (43) get me (44) and (45)? Township (46) is not subject to physical death, and now it is the beauty of the palace; Hometown is not subject to physical death, and now it is regarded as a wife and concubine; Township (47) refused to accept it in order to die, and now it is to get to know my poor talents: yes or no? This is called losing its sincerity (49).

Word annotation

(1) Yes: Yes.

(2) desire: love.

(3) Have both: Have both.

(4) give up: give up.

(5) take: choose.

(6) even better than.

(7) Yu: ratio.

(8) Therefore: Therefore, therefore.

(9) Get: If you can get it, you will get it, which means "drag out an ignoble existence".

(10) Evil: disgust.

(1 1) suffering: disaster.

(12) Bi: Pass "avoid" and avoid.

Shi Ru: If, if.

(14) 1: Used between the subject and the predicate, it cancels the independence of the sentence, has no practical significance, and does not translate.

(15) Mo: No.

(16) then: then.

(17) Everything: Everything.

(18) Shengsheng: Help.

(19) Why not use it? What means are not available? Use, adopt.

(20) for: do.

(2 1) and: but.

(22) Yes: This is because.

(23) Non-independence: not only, not only non-independence: not only non-independence.

(24) sage: a person with talent and virtue.

(25) Right: Here, like this.

(26) Heart: Thought

(27) Don't lose: Don't lose. Bereavement: loss.

(28) Qu: A round bamboo utensil for holding food in ancient times.

(29) Beans: Ancient wooden utensils for holding food.

(30) Then: Just.

(3 1) female: No.

(32) get: get.

Hull: Hu He (contemptuously and disrespectfully).

(34) Huer and with him: Hue gives him (eating and drinking). Uh, modal particles. According to the Book of Rites, there was a serious famine in Qi one year. Qian ao was giving porridge by the roadside when a hungry man came over with his face covered with sleeves. Qian ao called him to eat porridge. He said, "I am in this situation because I don't eat food that I despise!" "

Pedestrian: (hungry) passerby.

(36) Kick: Kick with your feet.

(37) and: surface modification.

(38) Despise: Refuse to accept because of contempt.

(39) Wanzhong: This refers to high positions and great wealth. Clock, an ancient measuring instrument, has six hooves and four barrels.

(40) He Jia: What are the benefits? What prepositional structure, postposition.

(4 1) Palace: residence.

(42) serve: serve.

(43) needy: the poor.

(44) Get me: Be grateful to me. Virtue: preach "virtue" and be grateful.

(45) and: pass "one", modal particles.

(46) township, calendar "to", originally, once upon a time.

(47) Township: Tongxiang, formerly.

(48) has: stopped.

(49) Original mind: refers to sex, nature and conscience.

Translation of works

I want fish and bear's paw. If I can't get both at the same time, I'd rather give up fish and choose bear's paw. Life is what I want, justice is what I want. If these two things cannot be obtained at the same time, then I would rather sacrifice my life and choose righteousness. Life is what I want, but I want more than life, so I don't do anything to drag out an ignoble existence; I hate death, but there are some things that I hate more than death, so I don't avoid some disasters. If what people want is not more important than life, what means are not available for all the ways to save lives? If people hate nothing more than death, what can be done to avoid disaster? You can survive by some means, but some people refuse to use it; Some methods can avoid disaster, but some people refuse to adopt them. Therefore, they love something more precious than life (that is "righteousness"); What they hate is something more serious than death (that is "injustice"). Not only sages have this idea, but everyone has it. It's just that sages can't be abandoned.

A bowl of rice, a bowl of soup, can live if you eat it, or starve to death if you don't eat it. But the hungry people passing by refused to accept it when they scolded others for eating it; Kicking others to eat, beggars are unwilling to accept it. (But some people) accepted a generous salary without knowing whether it was in line with etiquette. In this case, what good is a good salary for me? Gorgeous residence, the service of wives and concubines, and the familiar poor, are you grateful to me? In the past, (some people) died for (morality) instead of accepting (charity from others), but now (some people) accept it for the beauty of the house; In the past, (some people) would rather die than accept (charity from others) for (morality), but now (some people) accept it for the service of wives and concubines; In the past, (some people) would rather die than accept (charity from others) for (morality), but now (some people) accept it to make the poor people they know appreciate their kindness. Can't this behavior be stopped? It's called dehumanization.

works appreciation

I want what I want, which is selected from Mencius Gaozi, discusses an important proposition of Mencius: righteousness is more important than life. When righteousness and life cannot be balanced, we should give up our lives for righteousness.

Mencius said, "The heart of shame and evil is also right." ("Mencius Gaozi Shang") and said: "Righteousness, Tao also. ..... Only a gentleman can take the right path. " (Lower Zhang Wan) Mencius thinks that he is ashamed of doing bad things, and others are tired of doing bad things. This is righteousness; Righteousness is the right path that a moral gentleman must follow.

Mencius first made an analogy with specific things familiar in people's lives: fish is what I want, and bear's paw is what I want. I'd rather give up fish than bear's paw if I can't get both at the same time; I cherish life and righteousness. In the case that I can't get both at the same time, I'd rather give up my life and get the essence. Mencius compared life to a fish and righteousness to a bear's paw, thinking that righteousness is more precious than life, just as bear's paw is more precious than fish, and naturally the idea of "giving up life for righteousness" came into being. This proposition is the central argument of the whole article.

Mencius demonstrated the significance of sacrificing one's life for righteousness from three aspects. First, "life is what I want. I want more than the living, so I don't want it." Death is what I hate, too. It is more evil than the dead, so I have nothing to lose. "These arguments say: life is what I cherish, but there are things that I cherish more than life (meaning justice), so I can't do anything to drag out an ignoble existence; I hate death, but there is something I hate more than death (injustice), so sometimes I don't want to avoid disaster (death). This is a positive argument. Righteousness is more precious than life. When they can't have both, we should give up our lives for righteousness. Secondly, "if people want nothing from life, why not use the living if they can?" "What makes people worse than the dead, so why not avoid the patients?" These arguments say: if there is nothing that people cherish more than life, then no means can be used to save life! If there is nothing more disgusting than death, then what can be used to avoid disaster (death) cannot be done! The implication is: if this goes on, will people's behavior become omnipotent and despicable? This is a negative argument that righteousness is more important than life, and when you can't have both, you should give up your life for righteousness. Third, "born with it, born without it, born with it, born without it." A bowl of rice, a bowl of soup, you can live if you get it, but you will starve if you don't get it. Not only the sages have a heart, everyone has a heart, and the sages must not lose their ears. "These arguments say that you can save lives by such means (referring to improper means), but some people are unwilling to adopt them; In this way, disaster (death) can be avoided, but some people are unwilling to do so. Therefore, there are things that people value more than life (meaning righteousness) and things that people hate more than death (meaning injustice); This loyalty is not unique to sages, but everyone has it, but sages have not lost it. This is an objective fact that justice is more precious than life, and some people give up their lives for justice when they can't have it both ways. Through argumentation, establish the central argument put forward at the beginning of the article.

In order to make this truth more convincing and acceptable, Mencius went on to illustrate it with concrete examples. "One dish and one bean soup, if you get it, you will be born, and if you get it, you will die. Call it, and the people in the street will be blessed; It was a slap in the face, and people dismissed it. "Baskets are round bamboo baskets for rice in ancient times, and beans are vessels for meat or other food in ancient times. Hu Er is shouting loudly, and Chu Er is kicking. These words say: as long as you get a small basket of rice and a small bowl of soup, you can save your life. If you don't get it, you will starve to death. If you shout contemptuously for someone else to eat, even hungry passers-by will not accept it. If you give someone a kick, even beggars will disdain it. There is a story similar to this in the Book of Rites Tan Gong: "Qi is hungry, eating is the way, and eating is hunger. "If you are hungry, please make a collection, and the transaction will come rashly. Qian Ao ate on the left and drank on the right, saying,' Hey! Come and eat! Raise your eyes and look at it:' I don't eat my food, so so do I! "People hate it, so they would rather starve to death than accept insulting alms from others. Even unknown passers-by and poor beggars can do this, let alone ordinary people. This case vividly shows that people value righteousness more than life, and when they can't have both, they will give up their lives for righteousness.

In Mencius' view, "people are not sages, to err is human", and everyone has this kind of heavy meaning. When you can't have it both ways, you should sacrifice your life for justice. However, in real life, this is not always the case. Some people can refuse insulting alms in poverty and crisis, but forget the benefits in a peaceful and peaceful environment. The third paragraph of the article analyzes this problem. Mencius pointed out that there are indeed people in the society who don't argue about propriety and righteousness for ten thousand minutes. Some people accept the salary of 10 thousand bells, regardless of whether it is appropriate. What's in it for them? "For the beauty of the palace and the matter of wives and concubines, can the poor get me and you?" Do they know that they are grateful because of the gorgeous housing and the service of wives and concubines, which have given the benefits to poor friends? Gorgeous housing, the service of wives and concubines, and the gratitude of friends are all external things, which are insignificant compared with life. Those who "don't argue for ten thousand minutes" would rather starve to death than be insulted at the beginning, but they don't care about shame about these external things. What caused this? "This is called losing your heart." Mencius thought that this kind of person had the heart to sacrifice his life for righteousness, but later he lost it because of greed for profit. Mencius warned: "Yes or no?" This shameful thing of "accepting without arguing" should stop.

Mencius himself was a rather arrogant man, who refused to accommodate and curry favor with power. He said: "Richness and wealth can't be lewd, poverty and lowliness can't be moved, and powerful people can't be bent. This is called a gentleman. " Mencius (under Teng Wengong) was a visiting minister of Qi. Later, because of disagreement with the king of Qi, he decided to resign from Qi and go home. The King of Qi asked someone to keep Mencius on condition that he was prepared to build a house in the center of the capital and give Mencius 10,000 grain as his disciple's living expenses. As a result, Mencius sternly refused. (Under the Ugly Sun) It can be seen that Mencius said in this article that "10,000 points will not be defended, and 10,000 points will not be imposed on me", which shows Mencius' upright character and spirit.

In this article, Mencius praised the spirit of sacrificing one's life for righteousness, and criticized "10,000 minutes without arguing about propriety and righteousness", which had a good influence on later generations. In history, many people with lofty ideals took "sacrifice their lives for righteousness" as the code of conduct and "wealth and not prostitution" as the moral norm, which made contributions to the country and the nation. Wen Tianxiang, a national hero in the Southern Song Dynasty, said in the poem "Crossing the Zero and Ding Yang": "No one has died since ancient times, so we should learn from our hearts and take a look at history." Xia, a modern proletarian revolutionary martyr, said in the poem of righteousness: "It doesn't matter if you behead, as long as the doctrine is true." This is in line with the spirit of "giving up one's life for righteousness".

From the literary point of view, prose is magnificent, emotional and lively, which fully embodies Mencius' upright personality and shows Mencius' eloquence. He likes to use rhetorical devices of parallelism, such as: "hometown is not subject to physical death, but now it is a beautiful palace;" Hometown is not subject to physical death, and now it is regarded as a wife and concubine; I don't want to die in my hometown, but now I want to do it for the poor and those in need. "Originally, this sentence could be finished in one sentence, that is,' My hometown died for my body, and I am doing it now for the beauty of the palace, for the service of wives and concubines, and for those who need me to know the poor and love the rich. "But he deliberately divided into three sentences, strengthened the momentum and feelings, and showed the speaker's righteous words. Secondly, in order to make the truth simple, vivid and interesting, Mencius likes to use metaphors. This article regards concrete fish and bear's paw as abstract metaphors of life and justice, and "replacing fish with bear's paw" as a clever metaphor of "giving up life for righteousness" is a very famous example. Secondly, this article also uses a lot of contrast techniques, such as using bear's paw to compare fish, using life to compare righteousness, using people who value righteousness over righteousness, and using "hometown behavior" and "today behavior" to make the truth clearer and more impressive, which strengthens the persuasiveness of the article.

Ethics of famous artists' comments

Zhu: "This chapter says that shame and evil are born to people, or they may be born in times of danger and pressure, but they can't help planning a banquet, so a gentleman can't ignore it for an instant." (Four Books, Chapters and Sentences)

Brief introduction of the author

Mencius, such as Mencius (about 372 BC-about 289 BC), was named Ke, Zi (to be tested, Zi or Zi Ju). Han nationality, a native of Zouguo (now Zoucheng City, Shandong Province) in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, was a great thinker, educator, politician and writer in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty and the Warring States Period. One of the main representatives of Confucianism. Politically, he advocated that the law precedes the king and is benevolent; In theory, Confucius was praised, while Yang Zhu and Mo Zhai were opposed. Later, the Buddha called him a sage, and his disciples recorded Mencius' words and deeds and wrote a book, Mencius.