六○、花鋪好色 人行好事

60. As flowers would bloom a riot of color, so should one do good turns so long as one lives.

春至時和，花尚鋪一段好色，鳥且囀幾句好音。士君子①幸列頭角②，複遇溫飽，不思立好言，行好事，雖是在世百年，恰似未生一日。

【注 釋】

① 士君子：士君子的含義在古代可有三種解釋，一是指上層統治人物，如周製中的卿、大夫或士；二是指有學問且品德高尚的人或學者；三是泛指讀書人。

② 列頭角：頭頂左右的突出處，比喻才華出眾。此處指科考榜上有名。

【今文解譯】

春天來臨，萬物複蘇，花草都紛紛爭奇鬥豔，鳥兒都一個個婉轉啼鳴。讀書人一旦有幸金榜題名，溫飽不再發愁，若不想著寫出幾篇像樣的好文章，做幾件像樣的好事，即使苟活百年，也如未到人世一日。

【English Translation】

When spring comes together with fine weather, flowers will bloom a riot of color and birds sing beautiful songs. If a scholar, who is lucky enough to have cut a splendid figure and now has adequate days, makes no attempt to lay store on good words and deeds, it would be as if he had never lived a single day in this world even though he were to live a century.