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七曰── |
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東方之墨者謝子將西見秦惠王。惠王問秦之墨者唐姑果。唐姑果恐王之親謝子賢於己也，對曰：「謝子，東方之辯士也，其為人甚險，將奮於說以取少主也。」王因藏怒以待之。謝子至，說王，王弗聽。謝子不說，遂辭而行。凡聽言，以求善也。所言苟善，雖奮於取少主，何損？所言不善，雖不奮於取少主，何益？不以善為之愨，而徒以取少主為之悖，惠王失所以為聽矣。用志若是，見客雖勞，耳目雖弊，猶不得所謂也。此史定所以得行其邪也，此史定所以得飾鬼以人，罪殺不辜，群臣擾亂，國幾大危也。人之老也，形益衰，而智益盛。今惠王之老也，形與智皆衰邪！ |
| | The Mohist from the East, Xie Zi, was going west to visit King Hui of Qin. King Hui asked the Mohist of Qin, Tanggu Guo. Tanggu Guo, fearing that the king would favor Xie Zi more than himself, replied, "Xie Zi is a debater from the East. His character is very treacherous; he will strive to persuade in order to gain the young ruler's favor." The king therefore harbored anger and awaited him. Xie Zi arrived and addressed the king, but the king did not listen to him. Xie Zi was displeased, so he bid farewell and departed. Whenever one listens to words, it is in pursuit of goodness. If what was said is genuinely good, then even if the speaker strives to gain the young ruler's favor, what harm is there? If what was said is not good, then even if one does not strive to gain the young ruler's favor, what benefit is there? King Hui lost the proper basis for listening when he did not judge by whether what was said was good, but merely considered it perverse because of the speaker's desire to gain favor with the young ruler. If one employs such a mindset, even if receiving guests is arduous and one's ears and eyes are exhausted, still the true meaning will not be attained. This is why Shi Ding was able to carry out his wickedness, and this is how he managed to deceive people by fabricating ghosts, to commit crimes and kill the innocent, causing chaos among officials and nearly bringing great peril upon the state. As a person grows old, their body becomes increasingly frail, but their wisdom increases all the more. Now that King Hui is growing old, both his body and his wisdom have declined!
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荊威王學書於沈尹華，昭釐惡之。威王好制。有中謝佐制者，為昭釐謂威王曰：「國人皆曰：王乃沈尹華之弟子也。」王不悅，因疏沈尹華。中謝，細人也，一言而令威王不聞先王之術，文學之士不得進，令昭釐得行其私。故細人之言，不可不察也。且數怒人主，以為姦人除路；姦路已除而惡壅卻，豈不難哉？夫激矢則遠，激水則旱，激主則悖，悖則無君子矣。夫不可激者，其唯先有度。 |
| | King Wei of Jing studied the classics under Shen Yin Hua, which caused resentment in Zhao Li. King Wei was fond of music. A court official named Zhong Xie, who assisted in musical affairs, on behalf of Zhao Li, told King Wei, "The people all say: 'You are the disciple of Shen Yin Hua.'" King Wei was displeased and thus distanced himself from Shen Yin Hua. Zhong Xie was a petty person; with one word, he caused King Wei to disregard the teachings of former kings, prevented scholars of literature from advancing, and allowed Zhao Li to pursue his own private interests. Therefore, one must be careful not to overlook the words of petty individuals. And by frequently angering the ruler, they clear the way for wicked people; Once the path for evildoers has been cleared and evil obstruction remains, is it not difficult? When an arrow is forced, it flies far; when water is agitated, drought follows; when a ruler is provoked, disorder results. And where there is disorder, there are no virtuous men left. That which cannot be provoked is only that which has been measured beforehand.
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鄰父有與人鄰者，有枯梧樹。其鄰之父言梧樹之不善也，鄰人遽伐之。鄰父因請而以為薪。其人不說曰：「鄰者若此其險也，豈可為之鄰哉？」此有所宥也。夫請以為薪與弗請，此不可以疑枯梧樹之善與不善也。齊人有欲得金者，清旦，被衣冠，往鬻金者之所，見人操金，攫而奪之。吏搏而束縛之，問曰：「人皆在焉，子攫人之金，何故？」對吏曰：「殊不見人，徒見金耳。」此真大有所宥也。夫人有所宥者，固以晝為昏，以白為黑，以堯為桀，宥之為敗亦大矣。亡國之主，其皆甚有所宥邪？故凡人必別宥然後知，別宥則能全其天矣。 |
| | A man named Lin Fu had a neighbor, and there was a withered ginkgo tree in his yard. Lin Fu's neighbor said the ginkgo tree was harmful, so Lin Fu hastily cut it down. The neighbor then requested and took it as firewood. Lin Fu was displeased and said, "A neighbor like this is so treacherous—how can he be considered a proper neighbor?" This is an example of misplaced tolerance. Whether one requests it as firewood or not cannot be used to question whether the withered ginkgo tree is good or harmful. A man from Qi who desired to obtain gold, at dawn dressed in his clothes and cap, went to the place where gold was sold. Seeing a person carrying gold, he seized it and took it by force. The officials arrested and bound him, asking, "Everyone was there; why did you seize someone else's gold?" He replied to the official, "I saw no one at all—I saw only the gold." This is indeed a clear case of misplaced focus. When people have misplaced tolerance or focus, they may regard daytime as night, white as black, and Yao as Jie. The failure caused by such bias is indeed great. Rulers who lost their states—were they not all greatly afflicted by misplaced tolerance or focus? Therefore, all people must distinguish between proper and improper tolerance before they can attain true understanding. When one distinguishes clearly, he is then able to preserve his natural virtue.
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