放言[1]
朝真暮伪何人辨，
古往今来底事无？
但爱臧生[2]能诈圣，
可知宁子解佯愚[3]？
草萤有耀终非火，
荷露虽团岂是珠？
不取燔柴[4]兼照乘，
可怜光彩亦何殊！
《放言》五首是白居易贬江州途中所作，这里选的是第一首。诗中说到真假难辨，早上看来还是真的，到了晚上却又原形毕露。古往今来，什么怪事没有出过？春秋时代认为臧武仲是个圣人，孔子却揭穿他是个要挟君主的奸诈之徒；宁武子在乱世显得糊涂，其实却是大智若愚。草丛中的萤火虫虽能发光，但终究不是火；荷叶上的露珠虽然滚圆，却并不能当作珍珠。萤火既不能燃烧木柴，也不能照亮车辆，发光又有什么用？诗人就这样用形象和典故畅所欲言，说明了自己直言取祸的道理。
注释：
[1]放言：畅所欲言。
[2]臧（zānɡ）生：指臧武仲。
[3]佯愚：伪装愚笨。
[4]燔（fán）柴：出自《礼记·祭法》：“燔柴于泰坛”，此处用作名词，意为大火。
Written at Random
It turns out false at dusk though at dawn it seemed true.
Is there from olden days to now anything new?
All call the powerful hypocrite a saint cool.
Who knows the wise man may pretend to be a fool?
The light sent out by fireflies is not fire amid grass;
Round dewdrops on lotus leaves are not pearls, alas!
If fire cannot burn and illuminate the car,
Fireflies are bright and dewdrops are round as pearls are.
《放言》为唐代诗人白居易所作的一首诗。这是一首富有理趣的好诗。它以通俗的语言说出了一个道理：对人、对事要得到全面的认识，都要经过时间的考验，从整个历史去衡量、去判断，而不能只根据一时一事的现象下结论。这首诗哲理丰富，语言平实易懂，是白居易一首较好的七言诗。
A poem written by Bai Juyi, a poet of the Tang Dynasty. It is a good poem rich in reasoning. It speaks a truth in common language: to get a comprehensive understanding of people and things, one must pass the test of time, measure and judge from the whole history, and not just draw conclusions based on the phenomenon of one moment. This poem is rich in philosophy and easy to understand in plain language, and is one of Bai Juyi’s better seven-word poems.
