修德束躬,以自申飭,所以檢其邪心,守其正意也。
Cultivation of virtue and self-restraint are used to achieve a seemly manner; they are means by which one limits improper desires and preserves correct intentions.
君子始冠必祝。
When a man of quality prepares to don the cap of adulthood, he must first address the spirits and only when this ceremony is complete assume the cap, so as to severely subordinate his desires.
成禮加冠,以厲其心。
Thus, when a man of quality becomes an adult, he must wear his cap and sash when conducting his affairs, set aside all childish games and indolence, and cheerfully devote himself to the tasks of advancing in virtue and cultivating his career.
故君子成人必冠帶以行事,棄幼少嬉戲惰慢之心,而衎衎於進德修業之志。
For this reason, when clothes do not assume their proper form, one’s nature remains untransformed.
是故服不成象,而內心不變。
The cultivation of virtue within and the adoption of ritual forms and civil patterns in outward behavior are the means by which one gains a resplendent reputation. For this reason, the white deer-pelt cap18 and the hempen folded robes19 have not changed throughout the reigns of a hundred kings.
內心修德,外被禮文,所以成顯令之名也。
They not only serve to cultivate virtue but cause one’s expression to become correct as well.
是故皮弁素積,百王不易。
Kongzi said, “Putting one’s clothes and cap to rights and endowing one’s gaze with gravity will produce a solemnity of manner that will cause all observers to feel awe.
既以修德,又以正容。
孔子曰:「正其衣冠,尊其瞻視,儼然人望而畏之,不亦威而不猛乎?」
Is this not to be authoritative without fierceness?” The Capping Ceremony of King Cheng of Zhou