祀人忧天

In the past, a man in the State of Qi went off into wild flights of fancy¹ all day long. He was afraid that the sky might collapse², the land might cave in and he would have no place to live. He was so worried that he could neither eat nor sleep.

 

One man who was worried about him came to enlighten³ him by saying: "The sky is only an air mass. All men's activities are inside this mass. Why do you worry that the sky would fall?"

 

The man of Qi asked: "If the sky were really an air mass, then wouldn't the sun, the moon and the stars fall down?"

 

That man said:"The sun, the moon and the stars are only things that can shine in this mass. Even if they fall down, they would not harm people."

 

The man of Qi asked again: "Then what can I do when the land sinks?"

 

The man said: "The land is only piled-up earth. There is earth everywhere. Every day you walk on the land. Why do you worry that it would sink?"

 

When the man of Qi heard this, his worries vanished⁴ at once and he became very glad. The man who enlightened⁵ him and cured his melancholia was very pleased too.

 

从前，祀国有个人整天胡思乱想。他害怕天会塌下来，地会陷下去，自己会没有地方生存，急得饭也吃不下，觉也睡不好。

 

有一个人，很为他担心，就跑来开导他说：“天只不过是一团气体，人的一切活动都在这团气体当中，你为什么要担心它会塌下来呢？”

 

祀人问道：“天如果真的是一团气体的话，那么日月星辰会不会掉下来呢？”

 

那个人说：“日月星辰只不过是这团气体中会发光的东西罢了。即使掉下来，对人也不会有什么伤害的。”

 

祀人又问道：“那么，如果地陷下去了怎么办呢？”

 

那个人说：“地只不过是堆积起来的土罢了，四面八方都是土。你每天都行走在大地上，为什么还要担忧它会陷下去呢?”

 

祀人听了，不但疑虑立刻消失了，而且十分高兴。那个跑来开导的人，帮助祀人治好了忧郁症，也十分高兴。