2
顏延之字延年，琅邪臨沂人也。 曾祖含，右光祿大夫。 祖約，零陵太守。 父顯，護軍司馬。
Yan Yanzhi, whose style was Yannian, came from Langya commandery, Linyi county. His great-grandfather Yan Han served as Right Director of the Imperial Household. His grandfather Yan Yue was Administrator of Lingling. His father Yan Xian held the post of Marshal under the Protector-General.
3
延之少孤貧，居負郭，室巷甚陋。 好讀書，無所不覽，文章之美，冠絕當時。 飲酒不護細行，年三十，猶未婚。 妹適東莞劉憲之，穆之子也。 穆之既與延之通家，又聞其美，將仕之，先欲相見，延之不往也。 後將軍、吳國內史劉柳以為行參軍，因轉主簿，豫章公世子中軍行參軍。
Yanzhi lost his father early and grew up poor, dwelling just beyond the city wall in a mean lane and hovel. He loved books and read widely; the excellence of his prose stood above everyone of his day. He drank heavily and paid little heed to propriety; at thirty he was still unmarried. His younger sister had married Liu Xianzhi of Dongguan, a son of Liu Muzhi. Muzhi was already related to Yanzhi by marriage and, hearing of his talent, meant to take him into service and wished to meet him first; Yanzhi refused to call on him. Liu Liu, General of the Rear and Domestic Administrator of Wu, appointed him Acting Retainer; he was later made Chief Clerk, then Acting Retainer in the Central Army of the Duke of Yuzhang's heir.
4
義熙十二年，高祖北伐，有宋公之授，府遣一使慶殊命，參起居，延之與同府王參軍俱奉使至洛陽，道中作詩二首，文辭藻麗，為謝晦、傅亮所賞。 宋國建，奉常鄭鮮之舉為博士，仍遷世子舍人。 高祖受命，補太子舍人。 雁門人周續之隱居廬山，儒學著稱，永初中，徵詣京師，開館以居之。 高祖親幸，朝彥畢至，延之官列猶卑，引升上席。 上使問續之三義，續之雅仗辭辯，延之每折以簡要。 既連挫續之，上又使還自敷釋，言約理暢，莫不稱善。 徙尚書儀曹郎，太子中舍人。
In the twelfth year of Yixi (416), when the Founder Liu Yu campaigned north and received the title Duke of Song, the staff sent an envoy to mark the exceptional honor and attend court. Yanzhi and a fellow retainer named Wang went together to Luoyang; en route they wrote two poems whose diction was rich and polished, winning the praise of Xie Hui and Fu Liang. After the Song state was founded, Zheng Xianzhi, Director of Ceremonies, recommended him as Erudite, and he was soon transferred to Attendant of the Heir Apparent. When the Founder took the throne, Yanzhi was appointed Attendant of the Crown Prince. Zhou Xuanshi of Yanmen, a celebrated Confucian recluse on Mount Lu, was summoned to the capital in early Yongchu (424–424) and given a lecture hall to live in. The Founder came in person; the leading men of court were all present. Though Yanzhi still held a humble rank, he was brought to the seat of honor. The emperor set him to examine Xuanshi on the Three Meanings. Xuanshi leaned on his eloquence, but Yanzhi repeatedly cut him down with terse, pointed replies. After he had repeatedly bested Xuanshi, the emperor had him explain his own views as well; his speech was spare yet lucid, and everyone praised him. He was transferred to Gentleman of the Ministry of Rites and Attendant-in-Ordinary of the Crown Prince.
5
時尚書令傅亮自以文義之美，一時莫及，延之負其才辭，不為之下，亮甚疾焉。 廬陵王義真頗好辭義，待接甚厚，徐羨之等疑延之為同異，意甚不悅。 少帝即位，以為正員郎，兼中書，尋徙員外常侍，出為始安太守。 領軍將軍謝晦謂延之曰：「昔荀勗忌阮咸，斥為始平郡，今卿又為始安，可謂二始。」 黃門郎殷景仁亦謂之曰：「所謂俗惡俊異，世疵文雅。」
Fu Liang, then Minister of Works, believed no one of the time could rival him in literary brilliance; Yanzhi, confident in his own gifts, refused to yield, and Liang came to detest him. Prince Yizhen of Luling was fond of letters and treated Yanzhi generously; Xu Xianzhi and his circle suspected Yanzhi of siding against them and were deeply displeased. When Emperor Shao came to the throne, Yanzhi was made Regular Gentleman with concurrent duties in the Secretariat; he was soon transferred to Supernumerary Regular Attendant and sent out as Administrator of Shi'an. Xie Hui, General-in-Chief, told him: "Long ago Xun Xu envied Ruan Xian and sent him off to Shiping; now you are posted to Shi'an—you might call it a pair of 'Shi' banishments." Yin Jingren, Gentleman at the Yellow Gate, added: "As the saying goes, the coarse hate the exceptional, and the age finds fault with elegance."
6
延之之郡，道經汨潭，為湘州刺史張邵祭屈原文以致其意，曰：
On his way to take up the post, Yanzhi passed the Mi Pool and, at the request of Zhang Shao, Inspector of Xiangzhou, composed a sacrificial text to Qu Yuan to express his feelings. It reads:
7
:恭承帝命，建旟舊楚。 訪懷沙之淵，得捐佩之浦。 弭節羅潭，艤舟汨渚，敬祭楚三閭大夫屈君之靈：
Reverently bearing the imperial charge, I raise my standard in ancient Chu. I come to the depths where he embraced the sand, and to the bank where he cast off his jade pendant. I rein in at the Luo Pool and moor at the Mi Ford, reverently offering sacrifice to the spirit of Lord Qu, Three-Minister Grandee of Chu:
8
:蘭薰而摧，玉貞則折。 物忌堅芳，人諱明潔。 曰若先生，逢辰之缺。 溫風迨時，飛霜急節。 嬴、芊遘紛，昭、懷不端。 謀折儀、尚，貞蔑椒、蘭。 身絕郢闕，迹遍湘干。 比物荃蓀，連類龍鸞。 聲溢金石，志華日月。 如彼樹芬，實穎實發。 望汨心欷，瞻羅思越。 藉用可塵，昭忠難闕。
Orchids may perfume the air yet still be uprooted; jade may be hard yet still be shattered. The world begrudges what is firm and fragrant; men fear what is bright and clean. Alas, good master—you were born into a broken time. Warm breezes arrive in season, yet flying frost hurries the turning year. Under Kings Ying and Qian strife arose; Kings Zhao and Huai lost their way. Intrigue broke down Shang Yi; loyalty was mocked, and Jiao and Lan despised. His body was severed from the towers of Ying; his footsteps ranged the shores of the Xiang. He matched things to iris and wild ginger, pairing kinds with dragon and phoenix. His voice rang beyond bronze and stone; his purpose outshone sun and moon. Like a fragrant tree in full ear and bloom. Gazing on the Mi, the heart sighs; looking toward the Luo, thought flies beyond. With this humble offering we may brush away dust; to proclaim loyalty nothing may be left undone.
9
元嘉三年，羨之等誅，徵為中書侍郎，尋轉太子中庶子，頃之，領步兵校尉，賞遇甚厚。 延之好酒疎誕，不能斟酌當世，見劉湛、殷景仁專當要任，意有不平，常云：「天下之務，當與天下共之，豈一人之智所能獨了！」 辭甚激揚，每犯權要。 謂湛曰：「吾名器不升，當由作卿家吏。」 湛深恨焉，言於彭城王義康，出為永嘉太守。 延之甚怨憤，乃作五君詠以述竹林七賢，山濤、王戎以貴顯被黜，詠嵇康曰：「鸞翮有時鎩，龍性誰能馴。」 詠阮籍曰：「物故可不論，塗窮能無慟。」 詠阮咸曰：「屢薦不入官，一麾乃出守。」 詠劉伶曰：「韜精日沉飲，誰知非荒宴。」 此四句，蓋自序也。 湛及義康以其辭旨不遜，大怒。 時延之已拜，欲黜為遠郡，太祖與義康詔曰：「降延之為小邦不政，有謂其在都邑，豈動物情，罪過彰著，亦士庶共悉，直欲選代，令思愆里閭。 猶復不悛，當驅往東土。 乃志難恕，自可隨事錄治。 殷、劉意咸無異也。」 乃以光祿勳車仲遠代之。 延之與仲遠世素不協，屏居里巷，不豫人間者七載。 中書令王球名公子，遺務事外，延之慕焉，球亦愛其材，情好甚款。 延之居常罄匱，球輒贍之。 晉恭思皇后葬，應須百官，湛之取義熙元年除身，以延之兼侍中。 邑吏送札，延之醉，投札於地曰：「顏延之未能事生，焉能事死！」
In the third year of Yuanjia (426), after Xu Xianzhi and his faction were put to death, Yanzhi was recalled as Vice Director of the Secretariat, then made Vice Grandee of the Crown Prince's Household; soon he also served as Colonel of Footsoldiers and enjoyed lavish favor. Yanzhi drank heavily and was blunt and eccentric, ill suited to court the times. Seeing Liu Zhan and Yin Jingren monopolize power, he grew resentful and would say, "The empire's business should be the empire's business—can one man's wit settle it all?" His language was fierce, and he repeatedly gave offense to men in power. He told Liu Zhan, "My rank never rises—no doubt because I once served as a clerk in your household." Zhan hated this deeply and spoke to Prince Yikang of Pengcheng; Yanzhi was sent out as Administrator of Yongjia. Burning with resentment, Yanzhi wrote his Odes to the Five Lords about the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, leaving out Shan Tao and Wang Rong as men who had risen to wealth and rank. Of Ji Kang he wrote: "A phoenix wing may be clipped in its season—who can tame a dragon's nature?" Of Ruan Ji: "When things are done with, why argue? When the road runs out, who does not mourn?" Of Ruan Xian: "Recommended again and again, yet never given office—a single gesture, and he is sent to rule a province." Of Liu Ling: "Hoarding his spirit, he sinks daily into wine—who knows it is not a feast of despair?" These four lines were plainly his own self-portrait. Zhan and Yikang, taking his verses as insolent, were furious. Yanzhi had already accepted the post, but they meant to banish him to a remote commandery. The Founder wrote to Yikang: "Sending Yanzhi to a minor post is not because he governs badly. Some say that in the capital he stirs people's hearts; his faults are plain and known to all. We only want to replace him and let him repent at home. If he still will not mend his ways, drive him to the eastern marches. If his intent is unforgivable, punish him as the case warrants. Yin and Liu were of the same mind." Che Zhongyuan, Director of the Imperial Household, was appointed in his stead. Yanzhi and the Che family had long been at odds; he shut himself in his lane and kept out of public life for seven years. Wang Qiu, Director of the Secretariat, was a celebrated nobleman's son who shunned office and lived apart; Yanzhi admired him, and Qiu in turn prized his talent—they became close friends. Yanzhi was often penniless at home; Qiu regularly supported him. For the burial of Empress Gongsi of Jin, all officials were required to attend. Zhan dug up Yanzhi's appointment record from the first year of Yixi (405) and made him concurrent Attendant-in-Ordinary. When the district clerk brought the summons, Yanzhi, drunk, flung it to the ground and said, "Yan Yanzhi could not serve the living—how should he serve the dead?"
10
閑居無事，為庭誥之文。 今刪其繁辭，存其正，著于篇。 曰：
In his leisure at home he wrote his Household Admonitions. Here the redundant passages are cut away and the essential passages retained for this chapter. It reads:
11
:庭誥者，施於閨庭之內，謂不遠也。 吾年居秋方，慮先草木，故遽以未聞，誥爾在庭。 若立履之方，規鑒之明，已列通人之規，不復續論。 今所載咸其素蓄，本乎性靈，而致之心用。 夫選言務一，不尚煩密，而至於備議者，蓋以網諸情非。 古語曰得鳥者羅之一目，而一目之羅，無時得鳥矣。 此其積意之方。
Household Admonitions are meant for the inner court—for what lies close at hand. My years stand in autumn's quarter; I fear I may wither before the grasses and trees, and so I hasten, while you are still unawares, to admonish you who are in the household. The ways of upright conduct and the standards of judgment are already laid down by wise men of old and need not be repeated here. What follows is drawn from his lifelong convictions, rooted in his nature and meant for practical use of the mind. In choosing words one seeks unity, not prolix detail; yet when the discussion is full, it is to cast a net over every way feeling can go wrong. As the old saying goes, the hunter who catches birds uses a net of many meshes; a net with but one mesh never catches a bird. That is the method of gathering one's purpose.
12
:道者識之公，情者德之私。 公通，可以使神明加嚮； 私塞，不能令妻子移心。 是以昔之善為士者，必捐情反道，合公屏私。
The Way is what understanding holds in common; feeling is what virtue keeps private. What is open and shared can draw the spirits to incline toward you; what is private and closed cannot even move wife and children to change their hearts. Hence the gentlemen of old always set feeling aside and returned to the Way, embracing what is public and shutting out what is private.
13
:尋尺之身，而以天地為心； 數紀之壽，常以金石為量。 觀夫古先垂戒，長老餘論，雖用細制，每以不朽見銘； 繕築末迹，咸以可久承志。 況樹德立義，收族長家，而不思經遠乎。
Though one's body spans only a few feet, let heaven and earth be one's heart; though one's life lasts only a few dozen years, let metal and stone be one's measure. Consider how the ancients left warnings and elders left counsel: though they spoke of small rules, they inscribed them to endure; even in repairing trivial things, they aimed to pass their purpose down for long. How much more when planting virtue, establishing righteousness, gathering the clan, and building the household—will you not think of what endures?
14
:曰身行不足遺之後人。 欲求子孝必先慈，將責弟悌務為友。 雖孝不待慈，而慈固植孝； 悌非期友，而友亦立悌。
As the saying goes, conduct alone is not enough to leave to posterity. If you want filial sons, be kind first; if you expect fraternal duty from younger brothers, be a friend to them yourself. Filial piety does not depend on kindness, yet kindness surely plants filial piety; fraternal duty is not won by demanding friendship, yet friendship also establishes it.
15
:夫和之不備，或應以不和； 猶信不足焉，必有不信。 儻知恩意相生，情理相出，可使家有參、柴，人皆由、損。
When harmony is incomplete, one may answer with discord; just as where trust falls short, distrust must follow. If you grasp that kindness and intent breed one another and that principle and feeling arise together, your household may hold men like Zeng Shen and Gao Chai, and every man be a Yan Hui or Min Sun.
16
:夫內居德本，外夷民譽，言高一世，處之逾默，器重一時，體之滋沖，不以所能干眾，不以所長議物，淵泰入道，與天為人者，士之上也。 若不能遺聲，欲人出己，知柄在虛求，不可校得，敬慕謙通，畏避矜踞，思廣監擇，從其遠猷，文理精出，而言稱未達，論問宣茂，而不以居身，此其亞也。 若乃聞實之為貴，以辯畫所克，見聲之取榮，謂爭奪可獲，言不出於戶牖，自以為道義久立，才未信於僕妾，而曰我有以過人，於是感苟銳之志，馳傾觖之望，豈悟已挂有識之裁，入修家之誡乎。 記所云「千人所指，無病自死」者也。 行近於此者，吾不願聞之矣。
The highest gentleman keeps virtue at his core and sets popular praise aside; his words may tower over an age, yet he grows quieter in manner; his talent may weigh on a generation, yet his substance grows more yielding. He does not thrust his abilities upon the crowd or judge things by his strengths alone. Deep, serene, and entered into the Way, he stands as heaven's counterpart among men. The next grade cannot shed reputation yet wants others to yield to him, knowing that standing is won by empty striving, not by contest. He reveres humility, shuns arrogance, seeks wide counsel, and follows far-reaching plans. His writing is refined, yet he claims he has not arrived; his discourse is rich, yet he does not make it his whole self. Lower still is the man who prizes substance only in rumor, who wins by argument and intrigue, who thinks glory comes from quarreling and seizing, whose speech never leaves his door yet who believes his righteousness long established, whose talent is not trusted even by maidservants yet who claims to surpass others—then, stirred by reckless ambition, he chases twisted resentments. Does he see that the wise already judge him and that he has fallen under the household's admonitions? This is what the Record means: "When a thousand men point at you, you die though no illness touches you." Conduct that approaches this—I do not wish to hear of it in my house.
17
:凡有知能，預有文論，若不練之庶士，校之羣言，通才所歸，前流所與，焉得以成名乎。 若呻吟於牆室之內，喧囂於黨輩之間，竊議以迷寡聞，妲語以敵要說，是短算所出，而非長見所上。 適值尊朋臨座，稠覽博論，而言不入於高聽，人見棄於眾視，則慌若迷塗失偶，黶如深夜撤燭，銜聲茹氣，腆默而歸，豈識向之夸慢，祇足以成今之沮喪邪。 此固少壯之廢，爾其戒之。
Whoever has talent and presumes to discourse on letters, if he does not hone himself among ordinary scholars and test his words against the wider world—the paths great talent takes and the gifts the masters left—how will he make a name? If you moan within your walls and shout among your clique, using stolen gossip to bewilder the narrow-minded and shallow chatter to match serious discourse, that is the fruit of short thinking, not of far sight. When honored friends are seated and debate runs wide, if your words fail to reach discerning ears and the company turns away, you will be flustered as one lost on the road without a companion, benighted as when candles are snuffed at midnight—clamping your voice, swallowing your breath, slinking home in shame. Do you see that yesterday's boasting only breeds today's defeat? This is the ruin of the young and strong—take it as your warning.
18
:夫以怨誹為心者，未有達無心救得喪，多見誚耳。 此蓋臧獲之為，豈識量之為事哉。 是以德聲令氣，愈上每高，忿言懟議，每下愈發，有尚於君子者，寧可不務勉邪。 雖曰恒人，情不能素盡，故當以遠理勝之，么算除之，豈可不務自異，而取陷庸品乎。
Those who make resentment and slander their heart never attain anything. Without detachment you cannot master fortune and loss—you will mostly meet ridicule. That is the way of servants—how is it the business of men who know their measure? Thus good repute and noble spirit rise higher with every step, while angry words and quarrels sink lower and flare wider. If you aspire to be a gentleman, should you not strive with all your might? Though ordinary men cannot always master their feelings, you should overcome them with far-reaching principle and cast off petty calculations. Will you not strive to set yourself apart, rather than fall into the common rut?
19
:富厚貧薄，事之懸也。 以富厚之身，親貧薄之人，非可一時同處。 然昔有守之無怨，安之不悶者，蓋有理存焉。 夫既有富厚，必有貧薄，豈其證然，時乃天道。 若人皆厚富，是理無貧薄。 然乎﹖必不然也。 若謂富厚在我，則宜貧薄在人。 可乎﹖又不可矣。 道在不然，義在不可，而橫意去就，謬生希幸，以為未達至分。
Wealth and poverty are the two extremes of fortune. The wealthy and the poor cannot long dwell together as equals. Yet in old times some kept their station without resentment and lived at ease without distress—there was reason in it. Where wealth exists, poverty must exist as well—is this not plain? It is Heaven's way in its season. If all men were rich, then by principle there would be no poor. Is that so? Certainly not. If you say wealth belongs to you, then poverty ought to belong to others. Can that be? Again, it cannot. The Way lies in what is not so; right conduct lies in what cannot be—yet men willfully come and go, clutching false hopes, thinking they have not grasped their proper lot.
20
:蠶溫農飽，民生之本，躬稼難就，止以僕役為資，當施其情願，庀其衣食，定其當治，遞其優劇，出之休饗，後之捶責，雖有勸恤之勤，而無霑曝之苦。
Silkworms and plowing are the root of livelihood. Since you cannot farm with your own hands, you rely on servants: grant their wishes, supply food and clothing, assign proper duties, rotate light and heavy work, give them rest and refreshment, and defer beatings. Urge and comfort them, but do not expose them to sun and rain without need.
21
:務前公稅，以遠吏讓，無急傍費，以息流議，量時發斂，視歲穰儉，省贍以奉己，損散以及人，此用天之善，御生之得也。
Pay public taxes first to keep officials at bay; avoid rash side expenses to silence gossip; levy and gather according to the season, watching whether the year is rich or lean; spare enough for yourself and share what you can—this is using Heaven's bounty and mastering how to live.
22
:率下多方，見情為上； 立長多術，晦明為懿。 雖及僕妾，情見則事通； 雖在畎畝，明晦則功博。 若奪其常然，役其煩務，使威烈雷霆，猶不禁其欲； 雖棄其大用，窮其細瑕，或明灼日月，將不勝其邪。 故曰：「孱焉則差，的焉則闇。」 是以禮道尚優，法意從刻。 優則人自為厚，刻則物相為薄。 耕收誠鄙，此用不忒，所謂野陋而不以居心也。
In leading those below, use many methods; let them see your true feeling— in appointing overseers use many arts; to show and to conceal is excellence. Even with servants and concubines, when feeling is seen affairs run clear; even in the fields, when you show and conceal your purpose, work spreads wide. If you seize their normal ways and drive them with endless tasks, though your authority be thunder, you still cannot curb their desires; though you discard their great usefulness and hunt their petty faults, though your clarity blaze like sun and moon, you will not master their waywardness. Hence the saying: "Too weak, and you err; too sharp, and you blind." Therefore ritual esteems leniency, while law inclines to severity. With leniency men grow generous; with severity things grow mean. Farming is humble work, yet rightly used it does not fail—what is called rustic should not fill the heart.
23
:含生之氓，同祖一氣，等級相傾，遂成差品，遂使業習移其天識，世服沒其性靈。 至夫願欲情嗜，宜無間殊，或役人而養給，然是非大意，不可侮也。 隅奧有竈，齊侯蔑寒，犬馬有秩，管、燕輕饑。 若能服溫厚而知穿弊之苦，明周之德； 厭滋旨而識寡嗛之急，仁恕之功。 豈與夫比肌膚於草石方手足於飛走者同其意用哉。 罰慎其濫，惠戒其偏。 罰濫則無以為罰，惠偏則不如無惠。 雖爾眇末，猶扁庸保之上，事思反己，動類念物，則其情得，而人心塞矣。
All who live share one breath of life; ranks press upon one another and form degrees, until habit shifts native understanding and worldly custom drowns the inborn spirit. Wishes and cravings ought not to differ in kind between men. Some employ others to feed themselves—yet this is no small matter and must not be treated lightly. Even in a corner there is a stove; Duke Huan of Qi scorned the cold; dogs and horses have their stations; Guan Zhong and Yan Ying thought little of hunger. If you can embrace warmth and plenty and know the pain of threadbare clothes, you understand the virtue of Zhou; if you tire of rich fare and know the urgency of plain food, you have achieved kindness and forbearance. How can that share the intent of those who compare flesh to grass and stone, or treat hands and feet like beasts' limbs? In punishment guard against excess; in kindness guard against partiality. When punishment runs wild it ceases to be punishment; when kindness is partial it is better to show none. Though you are slight, you still stand above the hired guard; in affairs turn back upon yourself, in action remember others' lot—then feeling is met and hearts are won.
24
:抃博蒲塞，會眾之事，諧調哂謔，適坐之方，然失敬致侮，皆此之由。 方其剋瞻，彌喪端儼，況遭非鄙，慮將醜折。 豈若拒其容而簡其事，靜其氣而遠其意，使言必諍厭，賓友清耳，笑不傾撫，左右悅目。 非鄙無因而生，侵侮何從而入，此亦持德之管籥，爾其謹哉。
Hand-clapping games and dice are crowd affairs; banter and jest suit a seated gathering—yet loss of respect breeds insult, and all of this springs from such sport. At the moment of triumph you lose your dignity all the more; if you meet with vulgar company, you fear a shameful fall. Better to refuse their ways and simplify their affairs, calm your temper and keep their intent at bay—so speech stays earnest, guests hear clearly, laughter does not run wild, and those about you are pleased. Vulgarity will find no opening; insult will find no entry—this too is the key to holding virtue. Take heed.
25
:嫌惑疑心，誠亦難分，豈唯厚貌蔽智之明，深情怯剛之斷而已哉。 必使猜怨愚賢，則嚬笑入戾，期變犬馬，則步顧成妖。 況動容竊斧，束裝濫金，又何足論。 是以前王作典，明慎議獄，而僭濫易意； 朱公論璧，光澤相如，而倍薄異價。 此言雖大，可以戒小。
Suspicion and doubting hearts are hard to tell apart—is it only the wise mask of a thick face, or the timid judgment of deep feeling? Force suspicion to confuse fool and sage, and a smile becomes perverse; expect dogs and horses to change nature, and every step becomes an omen. How much less when a changed expression seems like the axe-stealer's tale, or packed luggage like Ying's gold—what is worth discussing then? Hence former kings made law and judged cases with care, yet presumption and excess still twist judgment; Duke Zhu of Yue appraised a jade disk whose luster seemed the same, yet it was twice as thin and fetched a different price. Though this lesson is drawn from great affairs, it can warn you in small ones.
26
:遊道雖廣，交義為長。 得在可久，失在輕絕。 久由相敬，絕由相狎。 愛之勿勞，當扶其正性，忠而勿誨，必藏其枉情。 輔以藝業，會以文辭，使親不可褻，疏不可間，每存大德，無挾小怨。 率此往也，足以相終。
Though the ways of society are many, the bond of friendship is what endures. Success lies in what can endure; failure lies in breaking off lightly. Endurance comes from mutual respect; rupture comes from undue familiarity. In love, do not wear them down—uphold their upright nature. In loyalty, do not preach at them—hide their crooked impulses. Support them with craft and learning, meet them in letters, so intimacy is not profaned and distance is not wedged apart; keep to great virtue and do not nurse small grudges. Live by this, and friendship can last to the end.
27
:酒酌之設，可樂而不可嗜，嗜而非病者希，病而遂眚者幾。 既眚既病，將蔑其正。 若存其正性，紓其妄發，其唯善戒乎。 聲樂之會，可簡而不可違，違而不背者鮮矣，背而非弊者反矣。 既弊既背，將受其毀。 必能通其礙而節其流，意可為和中矣。
Wine may delight but must not be craved; few who crave it escape harm, and few who are harmed escape disgrace. Once shamed and sick, you will slight your proper self. If you keep your upright nature and restrain reckless excess, can it be done except by good self-warning? Music and song may be kept simple but not cast aside; few who cast them aside avoid excess, and few who go to excess avoid harm. Once harmed and turned aside, you will suffer ruin. You must clear its blockages and regulate its flow—then your mind can find true balance.
28
:善施者豈唯發自人心，乃出天則。 與不待積，取無謀實，並散千金，誠不可能。 贍人之急，雖乏必先，使施如王丹，受如杜林，亦可與言交矣。
True generosity does not spring from the heart alone—it follows Heaven's rule. Giving does not wait on hoarding; taking needs no grand scheme; to scatter a thousand gold at once is truly impossible. Relieve others' urgent need, though you yourself are poor—give as Wang Dan gave, receive as Du Lin received, and you may speak of true friendship.
29
:浮華怪飾，滅質之具； 奇服麗食，棄素之方。 動人勸慕，傾人顧盻，可以遠識奪，難用近欲從。 若覩其淫怪，知生之無心，為見奇麗，能致諸非務，則不抑自貴，不禁自止。
Gaudy ornament and strange dress are tools that destroy substance; curious clothes and rich food are ways of abandoning simplicity. They stir men to envy and turn every gaze—far sight may master them, but near desire cannot. If you see their excess and know that life has no fixed heart, or chase strange beauty into every idle affair, you will prize yourself without restraint and never stop of your own accord.
30
:夫數相者，必有之徵，既聞之術人，又驗之吾身，理可得而論也。 人者兆氣二德，禀體五常。 二德有奇偶，五常有勝殺，及其為人，寧無叶沴。 亦猶生有好醜，死有夭壽，人皆知其懸天； 至於丁年乖遇，中身迂合者，豈可易地哉。 是以君子道命愈難，識道愈堅。
Those who read fate by numbers find sure signs—I have heard it from masters of the art and tested it in my own life; the principle can be reasoned out. Man is shaped by portent and breath, by two virtues, and receives in his body the five constants. The two virtues have their odd and even; the five constants overcome and restrain one another—when a man is formed, how can there be no harmony or clash? As life has beauty and ugliness, death has early end and long span—all know these hang from Heaven; but as for ill fortune in one's prime or crooked chances in mid-life—can these be swapped for another's lot? Therefore the more difficult a gentleman's fate, the firmer his grasp of the Way.
31
:古人恥以身為溪壑者，屏欲之謂也。 欲者，性之煩濁，氣之蒿蒸，故其為害，則燻心智，耗真情，傷人和，犯天性。 雖生必有之，而生之德，猶火含煙而煙妨火，桂懷蠹而蠹殘桂，然則火勝則煙滅，蠹壯則桂折。 故性明者欲簡，嗜繁者氣惛，去明即惛，難以生矣。 是以中外羣聖，建言所黜，儒道眾智，發論是除。 然有之者不患誤深，故藥之者恒苦術淺，所以毀道多而於義寡。 頓盡誠難，每指可易，能易每指，亦明之末。
The ancients were ashamed to turn themselves into ravines of greed—this is what screening off desire means. Desire is nature's turbid vexation and breath's steaming heat; its harm is to cloud the mind, drain true feeling, wound human harmony, and violate heaven's nature. Life must have desire, yet life's virtue is like fire that holds smoke yet is choked by it, like cassia that harbors borers yet is ruined by them—if fire prevails, smoke dies; if borers thrive, cassia breaks. Those of bright nature simplify desire; those who crave complexity darken their breath—lose brightness and you darken; it is hard to live. Hence sages within and without, in their teachings, cast it aside; Confucians and Daoists, in their doctrines, seek to remove it. Yet those who harbor desire do not fear falling deep; those who would cure it always find their art too shallow—hence many ruin the Way while few reach righteousness. To end it all at once is hard; each impulse can be turned—if you can turn each impulse, you have reached the limit of clarity.
32
:廉嗜之性不同，故畏慕之情或異，從事於人者，無一人我之心，不以己之所善謀人，為有明矣。 不以人之所務失我，能有守矣。 己所謂然，而彼定不然，弈棊之蔽； 悅彼之可，而忘我不可，學嚬之蔽。 將求去蔽者，念通怍介而已。
Men differ in frugality and craving, so fear and admiration differ too. Those who serve others should have no heart of self versus other, and should not impose their own tastes on others—that is clarity. Do not let others' pursuits unsettle you—that is keeping your ground. What I call right, they surely call wrong—the blindness of the chess player; delighting in what others can do and forgetting what I cannot—the blindness of mimicking a frown. To remove such blindness, think through to shame and proper bounds.
33
:流言謗議，有道所不免，況在闕薄，難用算防。 接應之方，言必出己。 或信不素積，嫌間所襲，或性不和物，尤怨所聚，有一于此，何處逃毀。 苟能反悔在我，而無責於人，必有達鑒，昭其情遠，識迹其事。 日省吾躬，月料吾志，寬默以居，潔靜以期，神道必在，何恤人言。
Rumor and slander are what no man of the Way can wholly escape; how much more for the deficient and slight, where calculation cannot guard against them. In receiving and responding, let your words come from yourself. Perhaps trust was never built and suspicion strikes; perhaps your nature clashes with things and resentment gathers—with any of these, where can ruin be escaped? If you can turn reflection upon yourself and blame no other, penetrating insight will clarify your feeling from afar and read the traces of events. Examine yourself daily, measure your will monthly; dwell in broad silence and pure stillness—the spirit's Way will be with you; why fear what men say?
34
:喭曰，富則盛，貧則病矣。 貧之病也，不唯形色粗黶，或亦神心沮廢； 豈但交友疎棄，必有家人誚讓。 非廉深識遠者，何能不移其植。 故欲蠲憂患，莫若懷古。 懷古之志，當自同古人，見通則憂淺，意遠則怨浮，昔有琴歌於編蓬之中者，用此道也。
A proverb says: wealth brings flourishing; poverty brings affliction. Poverty afflicts not only the coarse body and darkened face; sometimes spirit and heart are broken; friends grow distant, and family reproach is sure to follow. Unless you are frugal, deep-sighted, and far-seeing, how can you keep your footing unchanged? To remove worry and harm, nothing surpasses cherishing antiquity. The will to cherish antiquity makes you one with the ancients; broad sight makes worry shallow, far intent makes resentment light. Once a man played zither and sang in a hut of woven rushes—he used this Way.
35
:夫信不逆彰，義必幽隱，交賴相盡，明有相照。 一面見旨，則情固丘岳，一言中志，則意入淵泉。 以此事上，水火可蹈，以此託友，金石可弊，豈待充其榮實，乃將議報，厚之篚筐，然後圖終。 如或與立，茂思無忽。
Trust does not contradict what is plain; righteousness dwells in what is hidden. Friendship depends on giving all; clarity shines upon one another. See the intent once face to face, and feeling stands firm as mountains; one word strikes the mark, and thought sinks to the deep spring. Serve your lord thus and you may tread fire and water; entrust friendship thus and metal and stone may wear away. Must you wait to heap glory and fruit before speaking of repayment, fill baskets and only then plan the end? If you stand with another, in generous thought do not neglect him.
36
:祿利者受之易，易則人之所榮； 蠶穡者就之艱，艱則物之所鄙。 艱易既有勤倦之情，榮鄙又間向背之意，此二塗所為反也。 以勞定國，以功施人，則役徒屬而擅豐麗； 自埋於民，自事其生，則督妻子而趨耕織。 必使陵侮不作，懸企不萌，所謂賢鄙處宜，華野同泰。
Salary and profit are easily received; what is easy men honor; silkworms and the plow are hard to pursue; what is hard things despise. Hard and easy bring diligence or weariness; honor and baseness turn men toward or away—these two paths run counter. Settle the state by toil and bestow merit on men, and you drive subordinates while hoarding splendor; bury yourself among the people and tend your own life, and you urge wife and children to plow and weave. See that arrogance does not arise and envy does not sprout—let worthy and base each keep their place, court and field alike at peace.
37
:人以有惜為質，非假嚴刑； 有恒為德，不慕厚貴。 有惜者，以理葬； 有恒者，與物終。 世有位去則情盡，斯無惜矣。 又有務謝則心移，斯不恒矣。 又非徒若此而已，或見人休事，則懃蘄結納，及聞否論，則處彰離貳，附會以從風，隱竊以成釁，朝吐面譽，暮行背毀，昔同稽款，今猶叛戾，斯為甚矣。 又非唯若此而已，或憑人惠訓，藉人成立，與人餘論，依人揚聲，曲存禀仰，甘赴塵軌。 衰沒畏遠，忌聞影迹，又蒙蔽其善，毀之無度，心短彼能，私樹己拙，自崇恒輩，罔顧高識，有人至此，實蠹大倫。 每思防避，無通閭伍。
Men's substance lies in cherishing what they have; it does not depend on harsh punishment; constancy is virtue; do not crave thick wealth and rank. Those who cherish what they have bury with reason; those with constancy see things through to the end. In the world, when office departs, feeling fades—then there is no true cherishing. When affairs decline the heart shifts—then there is no constancy. Nor is this the whole of it: some see another prosper and eagerly court him; when they hear he has fallen, they stand aloof in open disloyalty. They trim their sails to every wind, hide malice to breed strife, praise to his face at dawn and slander him at dusk. Men who once bowed together now turn traitor—nothing is worse. And there is more: some lean on another's kindness and teaching, borrow another's standing to make their own, ride on others' gossip, borrow others' voice for fame, bow low in feigned respect, and gladly run the dusty road of servility. When fortune fades they shun the fallen and hate the slightest rumor of them; they hide others' virtues and slander without measure, resent another's talent, exalt their own mediocrity, honor only their own sort, and scorn the truly wise. Whoever comes to this truly devours the great bonds of human society. Whenever I think of such men I seek to keep my distance—let none of them pass through my lane.
38
:覩驚異之事，或涉流傳； 遭卒迫之變，反思安順。 若異從己發，將尸謗人，迫而又迕，愈使失度。 能夷異如裴楷，處逼如裴遐，可稱深士乎。
When one sees startling or strange things, one may get caught up in spreading them; when sudden crisis strikes, one then turns back to calm and obedience. If the wonder springs from oneself, one will lay blame on others; pressed hard and at odds again, conduct loses all proper measure. To treat the strange as calmly as Pei Kai, to meet coercion as steadily as Pei Xia—can one be called a man of depth?
39
:喜怒者有性所不能無，常起於褊量，而止於弘識。 然喜過則不重，怒過則不威，能以恬漠為體，寬愉為器，則為美矣。 大喜蕩心，微抑則定，甚怒煩性，小忍即歇。 故動無愆容，舉無失度，則物將自懸，人將自止。
Joy and anger are what nature cannot abolish; they usually rise from narrowness and end in magnanimity. Yet excess of joy makes one light; excess of anger robs one of dignity. To take calm detachment as one's substance and easy generosity as one's vessel—that is the ideal. Great joy shakes the heart—a slight check steadies it; great anger harrows the temper—a little patience ends it. Therefore if your bearing never offends and your conduct never exceeds measure, affairs will right themselves and others will restrain themselves.
40
:習之所變亦大矣，豈唯蒸性染身，乃將移智易慮。 故曰：「與善人居，如入芷蘭之室，久而不知其芬。」 與之化矣。 「與不善人居，如入鮑魚之肆，久而不知其臭」。 與之變矣。 是以古人慎所與處。 唯夫金真玉粹者，乃能盡而不汙爾。 故曰：「丹可滅而不能使無赤，石可毀而不可使無堅。」 苟無丹石之性，必慎浸染之由。 能以懷道為念，必存從理之心。 道可懷而理可從，則不議貧，議所樂爾。 或云：「貧何由樂﹖」此未求道意。 道者，瞻富貴同貧賤，理固得而齊。 自我喪之，未為通議，苟議不喪，夫何不樂。
What habit can change is vast: it does not only steep the nature and stain the body, but can shift the mind and alter one's plans. Hence it is said: "Live among good men as if entering a room of iris and orchid; stay long and you no longer notice the fragrance." You are transformed by them. "Live among bad men as if entering a fishmonger's stall; stay long and you no longer notice the stench." You are altered by them. Therefore the ancients were careful whom they kept company with. Only those of gold fidelity and jade purity can go to the end and not be stained. Hence it is said: "Cinnabar may be consumed yet cannot be stripped of redness; stone may be broken yet cannot be stripped of hardness." If you lack the nature of cinnabar and stone, you must guard against what steeps and stains you. If you can make cherishing the Way your constant thought, you will keep a heart that follows principle. When the Way can be held and principle followed, one does not argue about poverty but about what brings joy. Some say, "How can the poor be happy?"—that is not yet to have sought the meaning of the Way. The Way views wealth and honor no differently from poverty and low estate; principle by nature can level them. To lose the Way through one's own fault is not yet sound reasoning; if reasoning does not lose it, why should one not rejoice?
41
:或曰，溫飽之貴，所以榮生，饑寒在躬，空曰從道，取諸其身，將非篤論，此又通理所用。 凡養生之具，豈間定實，或以膏腴夭性，有以菽藿登年。 中散云，所足在內，不由於外。 是以稱體而食，貧歲愈嗛； 量腹而炊，豐家餘飡。 非粒實息耗，意有盈虛爾。 況心得優劣，身獲仁富，明白入素，氣志如神，雖十旬九飯，不能令饑，業席三屬，不能為寒。 豈不信然。
Some object that warmth and a full belly are what dignify life; with hunger and cold upon you, to speak emptily of following the Way and judge it by your own body—is that not earnest argument? This too is a point thorough principle must answer. All means of sustaining life—how could they fix one truth? Rich food sometimes shortens life; beans and coarse greens sometimes carry one to old age. Ji Kang said that what truly suffices lies within, not in outward things. Therefore eat according to your body's need—in lean years all the more frugal; cook according to your belly's measure—in wealthy homes, meals left over. It is not that grain itself ends want; the mind has its fullness and its lack. How much more when the mind knows rank yet the body receives benevolence and plenty, clarity dwells in simplicity, and spirit and will are like the divine: though you eat only nine meals in a hundred days, hunger cannot touch you; though your mat is patched thrice over, cold cannot reach you. Is this not wholly credible?
42
:且以己為度者，無以自通彼量。 渾四游而斡五緯，天道弘也。 振河海而載山川，地道厚也。 一情紀而合流貫，人靈茂也。 昔之通乎此數者，不為剖判之行，必廣其風度，無挾私殊，博其交道，靡懷曲異。 故望塵請友，則義士輕身，一遇拜親，則仁人投分。 此倫序通允，禮俗平一，上獲其用，下得其和。
Moreover, those who judge by their own measure cannot by themselves grasp another's. To embrace the four quarters and turn the five luminaries—that is how vast Heaven's Way is. To shake rivers and seas and bear mountains and streams—that is how deep Earth's Way is. To bind feeling in one thread and join all flowing currents—that is how rich the human spirit is. Those of old who mastered these several truths did not act by splitting and judging; they broadened their bearing, held no private bias, widened their friendships, and harbored no crooked exception. Hence the righteous man would lightly risk his life at a glimpse of dust raised by a friend approaching; the benevolent man would pledge his heart at a single meeting sworn as kin. Such was human order made open and fair, ritual and custom leveled as one; above gained what it needed, below found harmony.
43
:世務雖移，前休未遠，人之適主，吾將反本。 夫人之生，暫有心識，幼壯驟過，衰耗騖及。 其間夭鬱，既難勝言，假獲存遂，又云無幾。 柔麗之身，亟委土木，剛清之才，遽為丘壤，回遑顧慕，雖數紀之中爾。 以此持榮，曾不可留，以此服道，亦何能平。 進退我生，遊觀所達，得貴為人，將在含理。 含理之貴，惟神與交，幸有心靈，義無自惡，偶信天德，逝不上慚。 欲使人沈來化，志符往哲，勿謂是賒，日鑿斯密。 著通此意，吾將忘老，如曰不然，其誰與歸。 偶懷所撰，略布眾條； 若備舉情見，顧未書一。 贍身之經，別在田家節政； 奉終之紀，自著燕居畢義。
Though worldly affairs change, the excellence of old is not far off; as men suit themselves to their times, I will return to the root. Human life briefly possesses mind and awareness; youth and vigor flash past, decay and decline rush upon us. The early deaths and stifled lives between are beyond full telling; even if one attains survival and fulfillment, the span is still said to be brief. Soft, lovely bodies are soon given to earth and timber; firm, clear talents suddenly become mounds of soil. To turn and look back in longing—even that lasts only a few decades. With this span to cling to glory, glory could never endure; with this span to serve the Way, how could one be at peace? As I advance and retreat through life and roam where I may, the nobility of being human lies in embracing principle. The worth of embracing principle is communion with spirit alone. Fortunate to have mind and soul, in righteousness I will not demean myself; trusting Heaven's virtue by chance, in death I will not be ashamed before it. I wish to sink others into the transforming force of what is to come and align their wills with the sages of old. Do not call this remote—each day's carving draws it nearer. If I can make this meaning penetrate, I shall forget my years; if you say it is not so, with whom shall I go home? As my thoughts chance upon what I have drafted, I briefly set out these many topics; if I were to set forth every feeling and circumstance in full, I could not write one clause in a single glance. The canon for sustaining the body is set out separately in Farmstead Regulations on Governance; the regulations for observing the end I have written myself in Dwelling at Rest and Rites Completed.
44
劉湛誅，起延之為始興王濬後軍諮議參軍，御史中丞。 在任縱容，無所舉奏。 遷國子祭酒、司徒左長史，坐啟買人田，不肯還直，尚書左丞荀赤松奏之曰：「求田問舍，前賢所鄙。 延之唯利是視，輕冒陳聞，依傍詔恩，拒捍餘直，垂及周年，猶不畢了，昧利苟得，無所顧忌。 延之昔坐事屏斥，復蒙抽進，而曾不悛革，怨誹無已。 交遊闒茸，沈迷麴糵，橫興譏謗，詆毀朝士。 仰竊過榮，增憤薄之性； 私恃顧盻，成強梁之心。 外示寡求，內懷奔競，干祿祈遷，不知極已，預讌班觴，肆罵上席。 山海含容，每存遵養，愛兼彫蟲，未忍遐棄，而驕放不節，日月彌著。 臣聞聲問過情，孟軻所恥，況聲非外來，問由己出，雖心智薄劣，而高自比擬，客氣虛張，曾無愧畏，豈可復弼亮五教，增曜台階。 請以延之訟田不實，妄干天聽，以強凌弱，免所居官。」 詔可。
After Liu Zhan was executed, Yanzhi was appointed Consultant of the Rear Army to Prince Shixing Liu Jun and Censor-in-Chief. In office he was lax and brought no impeachments. He was transferred to Director of the National University and Left Chief Clerk of the Minister of Education. For memorializing to buy another man's field and refusing to pay the price, Left Assistant Xun Chisong of the Department of State Affairs memorialized: "To seek fields and houses was despised by the worthies of old. Yanzhi looks only to profit, rashly petitioned the throne, leaned on imperial grace, and resisted paying the balance. Nearly a year has passed and the matter is still unsettled. Blinded by gain, he grasps without scruple. Yanzhi was once dismissed for an offense, then favored again with promotion, yet he never reformed and his resentment and slander never ceased. His companions were vulgar rabble; he wallowed in wine and brew, recklessly spread ridicule, and slandered court officials. Looking up he stole more honor than was his due, feeding his irascible and shallow temper; privately relying on imperial favor, he formed the heart of a bully. Outwardly he showed few desires; inwardly he raced for advancement, sought salary and prayed for promotion, and knew no limit. At banquets by rank he wantonly reviled his superiors. Like mountains and seas the throne contains and tolerates, always nurturing those it keeps; it loves even the smallest talent and is loath to cast them off—yet his pride and license grow more flagrant day by day. Your servant has heard that reputation exceeding the truth was what Mencius despised—how much more when the reputation is not given from outside but sought by oneself! Though his mind and talent are slight, he compares himself to the great; his manner is inflated with false pride and he knows no shame. How can he again assist and illumine the five teachings and add luster to the terrace steps? I ask that Yanzhi be removed from his office for his false suit over the field, his rash disturbance of Heaven's hearing, and his use of power to bully the weak." The edict approved.
45
復為祕書監，光祿勳，太常。 時沙門釋慧琳，以才學為太祖所賞愛，每召見，常升獨榻，延之甚疾焉。 因醉白上曰：「昔同子參乘，袁絲正色。 此三台之坐，豈可使刑餘居之。」 上變色。 延之性既褊激，兼有酒過，肆意直言，曾無遏隱，故論者多不知云。 居身清約，不營財利，布衣蔬食，獨酌郊野，當其為適，傍若無人。
He was again made Director of the Secretariat, Superintendent of Guanglu, and Grand Minister of Ceremonies. At that time the monk Huilin, prized by Emperor Wen for his talent and learning, was often summoned and regularly given a separate couch. Yanzhi detested this deeply. Once, drunk, he told the emperor: "In old times when the crown prince shared the carriage with others, Yuan Ang kept a stern countenance. This is the seat of the Three Excellencies—how can a castrated man be allowed to occupy it!" The emperor's face changed. Yanzhi's nature was narrow and impulsive, and with the fault of wine he spoke bluntly without restraint or concealment; therefore many commentators scarcely knew what to say of him. In his person he was frugal and pure, sought no wealth, wore plain cloth and ate simple food, and drank alone in the countryside; when he was at ease, those beside him might as well not exist.
46
二十九年，上表自陳曰：「臣聞行百里者半於九十，言其末路之難也。 愚心常謂為虛，方今乃知其信。 臣延之人薄寵厚，宿塵國言，而雪効無從，榮牒增廣，曆盡身彫，日叨官次，雖容載有塗，而妨穢滋積。 早欲啟請餘算，屏蔽醜老。 但時制行及，歸慕無賒，是以腆冒愆非，簡息干黷。 耗歇難支，質用有限，自去夏侵暑，入此秋變，頭齒眩疼，根痼漸劇，手足冷痺，左胛尤甚。 素不能食，頃向減半。 本猶賴服食，比倦悸遠晚，年疾所催，顧景引日。 臣班叨首卿，位尸封典，肅祗朝校，尚恧匪任，而陵廟眾事，有以疾怠，宮府覲慰，轉闕躬親。 息㚟庸微，過宰近邑，回澤爰降，實加將監，乞解所職，隨就藥養。 伏願聖慈，特垂矜許。 禀恩明世，負報冥暮，仰企端闈，上戀罔極。」 不許。 明年致事。
In the twenty-ninth year he submitted a memorial stating his case: "Your servant has heard that he who walks a hundred li is only halfway at ninety—that saying speaks of how hard the final stretch is. This fool's heart always took it for empty talk; only now do I know it is true. Your servant Yanzhi is slight in person yet thick in favor, long stained by court rumor, yet with no chance to clear his name; his honors ever broaden, his years exhaust his body, and daily he clings to office. Though the carriage still has a road, hindrances and filth only pile higher. Long ago I wished to petition for what years remain and hide my ugly old age. But the times' regulations pressed upon me and longing to return left no delay; therefore I shamelessly transgressed and briefly ceased troubling the throne. My strength is spent and hard to sustain; my substance and capacity are limited. Since last summer's oppressive heat and into this autumn's change, my head and teeth swim with pain, my chronic ailment grows worse, my hands and feet are cold and numb, and my left shoulder especially. By nature I eat poorly; recently my intake has halved. I had still relied on medicines; now weariness and palpitation come early, age and illness press upon me, and when I turn my head the days seem to lengthen. Your servant's rank usurps the chief minister's place and holds the seals of state in name alone; though reverent toward court rites and schools, I am still ashamed of unfitness for duty. Yet in the many affairs of mausoleum and temple I slacken through illness, and in palace condolences I increasingly fail to attend in person. My son Jun is slight in talent and serves as magistrate of a nearby district; imperial favor has descended upon him, which only adds to my being watched—I beg to resign my offices and retire to medical care. Prostrate, I beg Your Sage compassion especially to grant pity and approval. Having received grace in this bright age, I shall repay it in the dark of evening; looking up to the palace gate, my longing for Your Majesty knows no bound." His request was not granted. The following year he resigned his office.
47
元凶弒立，以為光祿大夫。 先是，子竣為世祖南中郎諮議參軍。 及義師入討，竣參定密謀，兼造書檄。 劭召延之，示以檄文，問曰：「此筆誰所造﹖」延之曰：「竣之筆也。」 又問：「何以知之﹖」延之曰：「竣筆體，臣不容不識。」 劭又曰：「言辭何至乃爾。」 延之曰：「竣尚不顧老父，何能為陛下。」 劭意乃釋，由是得免。
When the usurper Liu Shao murdered his father and took the throne, Yanzhi was made Grand Master of Splendor. Earlier, his son Yan Jun had been Consulting Colonel on the Southern Staff of Emperor Xiaowu. When the righteous army marched to punish the usurper, Jun took part in the secret plans and also drafted the proclamations. Shao summoned Yanzhi, showed him the proclamation, and asked, "Whose hand wrote this?" Yanzhi said, "My son Jun's hand." He asked again, "How do you know?" Yanzhi said, "Jun's style of writing—your servant could not fail to know it." Shao also said, "How could the language go so far!" Yanzhi said, "Jun does not even care for his aged father—how could he serve Your Majesty?" Shao's suspicion was then lifted, and because of this Yanzhi was spared.
48
世祖登阼，以為金紫光祿大夫，領湘東王師。 子竣既貴重，權傾一朝，凡所資供，延之一無所受，器服不改，宅宇如舊。 常乘羸牛笨車，逢竣鹵簿，即屏往道側。 又好騎馬，遨游里巷，遇知舊輒據鞍索酒，得酒必頹然自得。 常語竣曰：「平生不喜見要人，今不幸見汝。」 竣起宅，謂曰：「善為之，無令後人笑汝拙也。」 表解師職，加給親信三十人。
When Emperor Xiaowu came to the throne, Yanzhi was made Grand Master of Splendid Happiness with Golden Seal and Purple Ribbon and concurrently Tutor to the Prince of Xiangdong. When his son Jun rose to power and swayed the court, Yanzhi accepted none of the provisions sent him; his furnishings and dress stayed as they were, his house unchanged. He often rode a scrawny ox in a plain cart; whenever he met Jun's guard of honor, he would pull aside to the edge of the road. He also loved to ride through the lanes; when he met old friends he would halt in the saddle and demand wine, and once he had it he would sink into contented ease. He often told Jun, "All my life I have hated meeting the powerful—now, unhappily, I meet you." When Jun built a mansion, he told him, "Build it well—do not let posterity laugh at your lack of taste." He memorialized to resign the tutorship and was granted thirty personal attendants in addition.
49
孝建三年，卒，時年七十三。 追贈散騎常侍、特進，金紫光祿大夫如故。 諡曰憲子。 延之與陳郡謝靈運俱以詞彩齊名，自潘岳、陸機之後，文士莫及也，江左稱顏、謝焉。 所著並傳於世。
In the third year of Xiaojian (456) he died at the age of seventy-three. He was posthumously granted Regular Attendant-in-Ordinary and Special Advancement, while retaining his rank as Grand Master of Splendid Happiness with Golden Seal and Purple Ribbon. His posthumous title was Xianzi, "The Principled." Yanzhi and Xie Lingyun of Chen were equally famed for literary brilliance; since Pan Yue and Lu Ji, no writer had matched them—the south spoke of Yan and Xie. His writings have all been handed down to posterity.
50
竣別有傳。 竣弟測，亦以文章見知，官至江夏王義恭大司徒錄事參軍，蚤卒。 太宗即位，詔曰：「延之昔師訓朕躬，情契兼款。 前記室參軍、濟陽太守㚟伏勤蕃朝，綢繆恩舊。 可擢為中書侍郎。」 㚟，延之第三子也。
Jun has a separate biography. Jun's younger brother Ce was also known for his writing; he rose to Recorder under Prince Yigong of Jiangxia's Grand Minister of Works and died young. When Emperor Ming came to the throne, an edict read: "Yanzhi once instructed and admonished Us; Our bond with him was warm and trusting. Former Recorder of the Staff and Administrator of Jiyang, Fu, served diligently at the princely court and kept close the bonds of old favor. Let him be promoted to Vice Director of the Secretariat." Fu was Yanzhi's third son.
51
史臣曰：出身事主，雖義在忘私，至於君親兩事，既無同濟，為子為臣，各隨其時可也。 若夫馳文道路，軍政恒儀，成敗所因，非繫乎此。 而據筆數罪，陵讎犯逆，餘彼慈親，垂之虎吻，以此為忠，無聞前誥。 夫自忍其親，必將忍人之親，自忘其孝，期以申人之孝，食子放鹿，斷可識矣。 記云：「八十者一子不從政，九十者家不從政。」 豈不以年薄桑榆，憂患將及，雖有職王朝，許以辭事，況顛沛之道，慮在未測者乎。 自非延年之辭允而義愜，夫豈或免。
The historian writes: To leave home and serve a lord asks one to set private feeling aside; yet lord and parent are not duties one can fulfill together—as son and as minister, each must follow what the time permits. As for dispatching proclamations on campaign and the fixed forms of civil and military rule, success and failure do not depend on that. Yet to take up the brush and list crimes, to revile the enemy and denounce rebellion, abandoning one's loving father and delivering him to the tiger's maw—to call that loyalty finds no warrant in the admonitions of old. He who can harden himself against his own parent will harden himself against others' parents; he who forgets his own filial duty expects to fulfill others'—as with Yi Yin who ate his son, or Duke Huan who freed the deer, the pattern is plain. The Record says: "At eighty, one son is excused from office; at ninety, the whole household is excused." Is it not because when years draw near sunset, trouble is at hand, one may hold office at court yet be allowed to withdraw—and how much more on a path of turmoil, when what lies ahead cannot be foreseen? Had Yannian's words not been apt and his conduct not justified, how could he have escaped?