摘 要：“德”的古文乃是“悳”，其含义必须在一个较大的语簇群里才能得到适当了解，如“道”、“性”、“得”、“直”、“枢”、“中”，等等。不同语境里，“德”也蕴含着丰富的、相互关联而又不同的喻象，这点尚未得到学界的充分重视。如老庄常将“道”、“德”对举，运用“静水”喻象来说明“德”。早期儒家重视“德”、“性”的联系，“德之端”的隐喻隐含着“木上生芽”的图象，“中通而直”、“直升而上”则成为“悳”的理想状态。同时，“良知”、“明德”的相互打通，亦使“人”成为天地之“光”的窍隙。故宋明理学家常有话头之一，即“惟人受中以生”而“天地至灵”。
关键词： 德； 道； 性； 水； 木； 光
“De” （Virtue） and Its Metaphors
BAO Yong-ling
Abstract: “悳 （De）” that comes from “直（straight）” and “心 （heart）” is the ancient character for “德 (virtue, inner power or potency)”. It must be compared with a lot of words, such as 道 （Dao, Way）, 性 （nature）, 得 （get）, 直 （straight）, 枢（pivot）, 中（middle） and so on, to properly understand its specific meaning. In different contexts, the interpretations on De by the ancient Chinese thinkers always contain interrelated but different metaphors, but this point has not been sufficiently paid attention to by scholars. De is frequently paired with Dao. Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu used a metaphor “still water” to describe that the heart/mind, which is the receptacle of De, was like a pond of water. Early Confucian emphasis on the internal relation between De and Xing, that “sprouts of virtue” implies an image of sprouts growing in the mind/heart. Besides the Neo-Confucian interpreted the “conscience” and “illustrious virtue” as interconnected, so the minds/hearts of human beings were described as orifices for light （Dao）. Therefore the ancient Chinese thinkers often said, that merely human beings are the most intelligent （of all beings）, because merely they are given birth in the middle （of Heaven and Earth）.
Key words: De （Virtue）； Dao （Way）； Xing （nature）； water； tree； light
