后世良知之学不明，天下之人用其私智以相比轧，是以人各有心，而偏琐僻陋之见，狡伪阴邪之术，至于不可胜说；外假仁义之名，而内以行其自私自利之实，诡辞以阿俗，矫行以干誉；揜人之善而袭以为己长，讦人之私而窃以为己直，忿以相胜而犹谓之徇义，险以相倾而犹谓之疾恶，妒贤忌能而犹自以为公是非，恣情纵欲而犹自以为同好恶，相陵相贼，自其一家骨肉之亲，已不能无尔我胜负之意、彼此藩篱之形，而况于天下之大、民物之众，又何能一体而视之？则无怪于纷纷籍籍，而祸乱相寻于无穷矣。
后世良知之学不明，天下之人各用私智以相互倾轧，所以人各有心，而偏琐僻陋之见、狡伪阴邪之术，多到说不完；外面假借仁义之名，里面行其自私自利之实，用诡辩迎合流俗，用矫饰求取声誉；掩盖别人的善而窃为己长，攻讦别人的私而窃为己直，以忿怒相胜还说是徇义，以阴险相倾还说是疾恶，妒贤忌能还自以为是公是非，恣情纵欲还自以为同好恶。相互欺凌相互残害，从一家骨肉之亲起，已不能没有你我胜负之意、彼此藩篱之形，何况天下之大、民物之众，又怎能一体视之？那就无怪纷纷籍籍，祸乱相寻于无穷了。
In later ages the learning of innate knowledge darkened; the world's people set private wits against one another. Each heart its own; narrow, crabbed opinions, arts of cunning, falseness, dark crookedness, past all telling — outwardly borrowing the names of humaneness and rightness, inwardly working self-service and profit; twisting words to court the crowd, posing conduct to fish for fame; covering another's good and stealing it as one's own strong point; exposing another's private fault and stealing it as one's own uprightness; winning by wrath and calling it devotion to duty; tipping others over by guile and calling it hatred of evil; envying the worthy and grudging the able while calling oneself impartial in right and wrong; wallowing in desire while calling oneself sharing the common likes and hates. Thus trampling and maiming one another — from one's own flesh and blood inward, never free of mine-and-yours, victory-and-defeat, fence set against fence — how then should the wide world and the multitude of people and things be seen as one body? No wonder the din and jostle, calamity chasing calamity without end.