元年者何？君之始年也。春者何？岁之始也。王者孰谓？谓文王也。What does "the first year" mean? It is the first year of a monarch's reign. What does "spring" mean? It is the beginning of a year. Who is referred to as "the king"? It refers to King Wen.
“元年”两个字是什么意思？是指国君即位的头一年。“春”字是什么意思？是一年的开始。“王”指的是谁？是指周文王。
曷为先言“王”而后言“正月？”王正月也。何言乎王正月？大一统也。Why is "the king" mentioned before "the first month"? It is the first month of the king's reign. Why is it called the first month of the king's reign? It is for the sake of the grand unification.
为什么先说王而后说正月，因为是周文王时所订周历的正月。为什么说周王朝的正月？是因为天下广大而统一。
公何以不言即位？成公意也。何成乎公之意？公将平国而反之桓。Why is there no mention of the duke's accession to the throne? It is to fulfill the duke's intention. What is the fulfillment of the duke's intention? The duke was going to pacify the state and then return it to Huan.
对于隐公为什么不说“即位”？是为了成全隐公的意愿。为什么说是成全隐公的意愿？因为隐公准备把国家治理好后再归还给桓公。
曷为反之桓？桓幼而贵，隐长而卑。其为尊卑也微，国人莫知。Why was it going to be returned to Huan? Huan was young but of noble birth, while Yin was older but of humble birth. The difference in their status was slight, and no one in the state knew about it.
为什么还政于桓公？因为桓公虽然年纪小，但地位尊贵；隐公年纪大，但地位较低。他们的地位高低相差很小，国都里的人也不知道。
隐长又贤，诸大夫扳隐而立之。Yin was older and also virtuous, and the various ministers supported Yin and installed him on the throne.
隐公年长又贤明，大夫们都推举他，立他为国君。
隐于是焉而辞立，则未知桓之将必得立也；If Yin had declined the offer to ascend the throne at that time, it would not have been certain that Huan would surely be installed on the throne.
隐公要是在此时辞让而不即位，就不知道桓公将来是否一定能做鲁国的国君了。
且如桓立，则恐诸大夫之不能相幼君也。Moreover, if Huan had ascended the throne, there was a fear that the various ministers might not be able to assist the young monarch.
况且如果桓公立为国君，就怕大夫们不能辅助年幼的君主。
故凡隐之立，为桓立也。隐长又贤，何以不宜立？Therefore, in general, Yin's ascension to the throne was for the sake of Huan's ascension. Yin was older and also virtuous. Why was he not suitable to ascend the throne?
所以总的说来，隐公做国君是为了桓公将来能做国君。隐公年长而又贤明，为什么不适合登位？
立適以长不以贤，立子以贵不以长。The legitimate heir is determined by seniority rather than virtue, and the selection of a son is based on noble birth rather than seniority.
因为立正妻的儿子是立年龄最长的，而不看是否贤明；立偏房的儿子是立地位最尊贵的，而不看是否年龄最长。
桓何以贵？母贵也。母贵，则子何以贵？Why was Huan of noble birth? Because his mother was of noble birth. If the mother is of noble birth, why is the son of noble birth?
桓公为什么地位尊贵，因为他的母亲地位尊贵。母亲尊贵，为什么儿子就尊贵？
子以母贵，母以子贵。The son derives his noble status from his mother, and the mother derives her noble status from her son.
儿子因为母亲而尊贵，母亲因为儿子而尊贵。
