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仲尼之楚，楚王觴之，孫叔敖執爵而立，市南宜僚受酒而祭曰：「古之人乎！於此言已。」 曰：「丘也聞不言之言矣，未之嘗言，於此乎言之。市南宜僚弄丸而兩家之難解，孫叔敖甘寢秉羽而郢人投兵。丘願有喙三尺。」[a]
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When Zhong Ni was in Chu, the Chu king feasted him. Sunshu Ao held the wine and South Market Yiliao poured it, saying, "Man of old! Speak to us about it now!" He said, "I've heard about the unspoken speech but have never tried to speak it. I'll speak about it now. South Market Yiliao played catch and the difficulty between two families was solved. Sunshu Ao took a sweet nap with his fan and the men of Ying laid down their arms. I wish I had a beak a yard long!" [1]
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[1] Needless to say, I chose this passage for the closing line. I take it 'playing catch' is emblematic of South Market Yiliao's refusal to be involved in the coup 'taking a nap' of the leisure of Sunshu Ao's government. Both illustrate the superitoity of inaction over action. Confucius takes it a step further, asserting the superiority of meaninglessness over meaning. Evidently meaning shares similar limitations to action: the best way to articulate they way is inarticulately. [a] CTP 24.10 (beginning), HYZY 24/65-68.
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