| | 驕恣: |
七曰── |
| | Seven said──
|
| | 驕恣: |
亡國之主，必自驕，必自智，必輕物。自驕則簡士，自智則專獨，輕物則無備。無備召禍，專獨位危，簡士壅塞。欲無壅塞必禮士，欲位無危必得眾，欲無召禍必完備。三者人君之大經也。 |
| | A ruler who loses his state must be arrogant, must consider himself wise, and must look down on others. Arrogance leads to neglecting scholars, self-proclaimed wisdom leads to isolation, and looking down on others results in being unprepared. Being unprepared invites disaster, isolation endangers one's position, and neglecting scholars causes blockage of advice. To avoid obstruction of advice, one must honor scholars; to ensure the security of one's position, one must gain the support of the people; and to avoid inviting disaster, one must be fully prepared. These three principles are the fundamental guidelines for a ruler.
|
| | 驕恣: |
晉厲公侈淫，好聽讒人，欲盡去其大臣而立其左右。胥童謂厲公曰：「必先殺三郤。族大多怨，去大族不偪。」公曰：「諾。」乃使長魚矯殺郤犨、郤錡、郤至于朝而陳其尸。於是厲公遊于匠麗氏，欒書、中行偃劫而幽之，諸侯莫之救，百姓莫之哀，三月而殺之。人主之患，患在知能害人，而不知害人之不當而反自及也。是何也？智短也。智短則不知化，不知化者舉自危。 |
| | Jin Liegong was extravagant and licentious, fond of listening to slanderers, and wished to remove all his senior ministers in order to elevate those close to him. Xu Tong said to Liegong, "You must first kill the three Xis." Their clan is large and has many grievances; removing a major clan will not pose an immediate threat." The ruler said, "Agreed." He then sent Zhangyu Jiao to kill Xi Chou, Xi Qi, and Xi Zhu at court and displayed their corpses. At this time, Liegong was touring at Jianglishi, when Luan Shu and Zhonghang Yan ambushed and imprisoned him. No feudal lord came to his rescue, nor did the common people mourn for him; he was killed after three months. The greatest danger for a ruler lies in knowing how to harm others, yet not realizing that harming the wrong people may instead bring disaster upon himself. Why is this so? It is due to limited wisdom. Limited wisdom leads to an inability to understand transformation; those who fail to comprehend transformation inevitably place themselves in danger.
|
| | 驕恣: |
魏武侯謀事而當，攘臂疾言於庭曰：「大夫之慮莫如寡人矣！」立有間，再三言。李悝趨進曰：「昔者楚莊王謀事而當，有大功，退朝而有憂色。左右曰：『王有大功，退朝而有憂色，敢問其說？』王曰：『仲虺有言，不穀說之。曰：「諸侯之德，能自為取師者王，能自取友者存，其所擇而莫如己者亡。」今以不穀之不肖也，群臣之謀又莫吾及也，我其亡乎？』曰，此霸王之所憂也，而君獨伐之，其可乎？」武侯曰：「善。」人主之患也，不在於自少，而在於自多。自多則辭受，辭受則原竭。李悝可謂能諫其君矣，壹稱而令武侯益知君人之道。 |
| | Wei Wugong planned a matter correctly and, with his arm raised and speaking urgently in the court, said, "No one's deliberation among the officials can surpass that of your servant!" After standing there for a short while, he repeated his statement several times. Li Kui hurried forward and said, "In the past, when King Zhuang of Chu planned a matter correctly and achieved great success, he returned from court with a worried expression. His attendants asked, "Your Majesty has achieved great merit, yet you return from court looking worried. We dare to ask for an explanation." The king said, "Zhong Hui once made a statement that I find very appealing." He said, "Among feudal lords, those who can choose their own teachers become kings; those who can select friends for themselves survive; and those whose choices are no better than themselves perish." "Given my unworthiness, and the fact that none of my ministers can match me in wisdom, am I destined to perish?" Li Kui said, "This is what a hegemon or sovereign would worry about, yet you alone take credit for it. How can that be acceptable?" Wugong replied, "Well said." The danger for a ruler does not lie in undervaluing oneself, but rather in overestimating oneself. Overestimating oneself leads to rejecting advice; rejecting advice exhausts the source of wisdom. Li Kui can be said to have been capable of advising his ruler, for with a single remark he caused Wei Wugong to gain a deeper understanding of the principles of ruling people.
|
| | 驕恣: |
齊宣王為大室，大益百畝，堂上三百戶。以齊之大，具之三年而未能成。群臣莫敢諫王。春居問於宣王曰：「荊王釋先王之禮樂而樂為輕，敢問荊國為有主乎？」王曰：「為無主。」「賢臣以千數而莫敢諫，敢問荊國為有臣乎？」王曰：「為無臣。」「今王為大室，其大益百畝，堂上三百戶。以齊國之大，具之三年而弗能成。群臣莫敢諫，敢問王為有臣乎？」王曰：「為無臣。」春居曰：「臣請辟矣。」趨而出。王曰：「春子！春子反！何諫寡人之晚也？寡人請今止之。」遽召掌書曰：「書之：寡人不肖，而好為大室，春子止寡人。」箴諫不可不熟。莫敢諫若，非弗欲也。春居之所以欲之與人同，其所以入之與人異。宣王微春居，幾為天下笑矣。由是論之，失國之主，多如宣王，然患在乎無春居。故忠臣之諫者，亦從入之，不可不慎，此得失之本也。 |
| | King Xuan of Qi built a grand palace, which was one hundred mu larger than before, with three hundred households on the hall's upper floor. Given the vastness of Qi, it took three years to prepare for its construction and still could not be completed. None of the ministers dared to advise the king. Chun Ju asked King Xuan, "King Jing abandoned the rites and music of his ancestors and instead took pleasure in frivolous matters. I dare to ask whether the state of Jing can be said to have a ruler?" The king replied, "It is as if it has no ruler." "Thousands of virtuous ministers exist yet none dare to advise. I dare to ask, can the state of Jing be said to have subjects?" The king replied, "It is as if it has no subjects." "Your Majesty is building a grand palace, one hundred mu larger than before and with three hundred households on its upper hall. Given the vastness of Qi itself, it has taken three years to prepare for construction yet remains unfinished. "Your Majesty's ministers number in the thousands yet none dare to offer advice. I dare to ask, may it be said that Your Majesty has subjects?" The king replied, "It is as if I have no subjects." Chun Ju said, "Then I shall resign." He hurriedly left. The king called out, "Master Chun!" "Return, Master Chun!" Why did you advise me so late? "I shall cease this project at once." He immediately summoned the official in charge of records and said, "Record it: I am unworthy yet fond of building grand palaces; Master Chun has stopped me." Admonitions must not be given carelessly. No one dares to advise, but this does not mean they do not wish to. Chun Ju's desire to offer advice is the same as that of others, but his method of doing so differs from theirs. King Xuan, had it not been for Chun Ju, would have nearly become a laughingstock to the world. From this we may conclude that rulers who lose their states are often like King Xuan, yet their greatest problem lies in lacking a Chun Ju. Therefore, when loyal ministers offer advice, they must also choose the right approach; this cannot be done carelessly, for it is the fundamental basis of success and failure.
|
| | 驕恣: |
趙簡子沈鸞徼於河，曰：「吾嘗好聲色矣，而鸞徼致之。吾嘗好宮室臺榭矣，而鸞徼為之。吾嘗好良馬善御矣，而鸞徼來之。今吾好士六年矣，而鸞徼未嘗進一人也，是長吾過而絀善也。」故若簡子者，能後以理督責於其臣矣。以理督責於其臣，則人主可與為善，而不可與為非；可與為直，而不可與為枉；此三代之盛教。 |
| | Zhao Jianzi cast Luan Jiao into the river and said, "I once enjoyed music and beauty, and Luan Jiao provided them for me. I once loved palaces, terraces, and pavilions, and Luan Jiao built them for me. I once favored fine horses and skilled charioteers, and Luan Jiao brought them to me. Now I have favored scholars for six years, yet Luan Jiao has never recommended a single person. This is prolonging my faults and suppressing virtue." Therefore, one like Zhao Jianzi was able to hold his ministers accountable according to reason after the fact. To hold one's ministers accountable according to principle means that a ruler can be associated with virtue, but not with wrongdoing; he can be aligned with uprightness, but not with crookedness; This is the noble teaching of the Three Dynasties.
|
