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二曰── |
| | Secondly--
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利不可兩，忠不可兼。不去小利則大利不得，不去小忠則大忠不至。故小利，大利之殘也；小忠，大忠之賊也。聖人去小取大。 |
| | Benefits cannot be shared by both sides, and loyalty cannot serve two masters at the same time. If one does not give up small benefits, then great benefits cannot be obtained; if one does not abandon minor loyalties, then true and great loyalty will not come. Therefore, small benefits are the remnants of great benefits; minor loyalty is the enemy of true and great loyalty. The sage abandons the small to obtain the great.
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昔荊龔王與晉厲公戰於鄢陵，荊師敗，龔王傷。臨戰，司馬子反渴而求飲，豎陽穀操黍酒而進之。子反叱曰：「訾！退！酒也。」豎陽穀對曰：「非酒也。」子反曰：「亟退，卻也。」豎陽穀又曰：「非酒也。」子反受而飲之。子反之為人也嗜酒，甘而不能絕於口，以醉。戰既罷，龔王欲復戰而謀，使召司馬子反。子反辭以心疾。龔王駕而往視之，入幄中，聞酒臭而還，曰：「今日之戰，不穀親傷，所恃者司馬也。而司馬又若此，是忘荊國之社稷、而不恤吾眾也。不穀無與復戰矣。」於是罷師去之，斬司馬子反以為戮。故豎陽穀之進酒也，非以醉子反也，其心以忠也，而適足以殺之，故曰小忠，大忠之賊也。 |
| | In the past, King Gong of Jing fought against Duke Li of Jin at Yanling; the army of Jing was defeated and King Gong was wounded. Before the battle, Sima Zifan was thirsty and asked for a drink; Shu Yanggu took shu wine and presented it to him. Zifan scolded, saying, "Zi!" Retreat! It is wine. Shu Yanggu replied, "This is not wine." Zifan said, "Retreat quickly; it is Qu. " Shu Yanggu again said, "This is not wine." Zifan took it and drank. Sima Zifan was a man who loved wine; once he tasted something sweet, he could not stop drinking until he became drunk. After the battle ended, King Gong wanted to fight again and planned to summon Sima Zifan for counsel. Zifan excused himself by claiming a heart ailment. King Gong personally went to visit him, entered the tent, smelled wine and returned, saying: "In today's battle, I was personally wounded; my reliance was on General Sima. Yet now he is like this—this means that he has forgotten the state of Jing and does not care for my people. I have no one else to fight with anymore." Therefore, he disbanded the army and left, beheading Sima Zifan as a warning. Therefore, Shu Yanggu's offering of wine was not intended to get Zifan drunk; his intention was one of loyalty. Yet it ended up causing Zifan's death. Hence it is said that minor loyalty is the enemy of true great loyalty.
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昔者晉獻公使荀息假道於虞以伐虢，荀息曰：「請以垂棘之璧與屈產之乘，以賂虞公，而求假道焉，必可得也。」獻公曰：「夫垂棘之璧，吾先君之寶也；屈產之乘，寡人之駿也。若受吾幣而不吾假道，將奈何？」荀息曰：「不然。彼若不吾假道，必不吾受也。若受我而假我道，是猶取之內府而藏之外府也，猶取之內皁而著之外皁也。君奚患焉？」獻公許之。乃使荀息以屈產之乘為庭實，而加以垂棘之璧，以假道於虞而伐虢。虞公濫於寶與馬而欲許之。宮之奇諫曰：「不可許也。虞之與虢也，若車之有輔也，車依輔，輔亦依車，虞、虢之勢是也。先人有言曰：『脣竭而齒寒。』夫虢之不亡也恃虞，虞之不亡也亦恃虢也。若假之道，則虢朝亡而虞夕從之矣。奈何其假之道也？」虞公弗聽，而假之道。荀息伐虢，克之。還反伐虞，又克之。荀息操璧牽馬而報。獻公喜曰：「璧則猶是也，馬齒亦薄長矣。」故曰小利，大利之殘也。 |
| | In the past, Duke Xian of Jin sent Xun Xi to request a passage through Yu in order to attack Guo. Xun Xi said: "Please offer the Chuiji jade 璧 and the Quchan horses as bribes to King Yu, and ask for permission to pass through his territory; it will surely be granted." Duke Xian said: "The Chuiji jade is a treasure of my ancestors; the Quchan horses are my prized steeds. If he accepts our gifts but still refuses to grant us passage, what shall we do?" Xun Xi said: "Not so. He will not accept our gifts if he does not grant us passage. If he accepts my gifts and grants me passage, it is like taking something from the inner treasury to store in the outer treasury, or moving something from the inner stables to display in the outer stables. What then should Your Majesty be concerned about?" Duke Xian agreed. Then he sent Xun Xi, offering the Quchan horses as a court gift and adding the Chuiji jade, to request passage through Yu in order to launch an attack on Guo. King Yu was dazzled by the treasures and horses and wanted to agree. Gong Zhiqi advised, "We must not grant this request." Yu and Guo are to each other like a cart and its axle. The cart relies on the axle, and the axle also depends on the cart—this is precisely the relationship between Yu and Guo. Our ancestors once said: "When lips are lost, teeth feel cold." Guo's survival depends on Yu for protection, and Yu's own security also relies on Guo. If we grant passage through our land, then Guo will fall in the morning and Yu will follow it to destruction that very evening. How can we allow such a passage?" King Yu did not listen and granted the passage. Xun Xi attacked Guo and conquered it. He then turned back to attack Yu, and also conquered it. Xun Xi returned with the jade in hand and the horses in tow as a report. Duke Xian rejoiced and said, "The jade is still just as it was, and the horses' teeth have also grown slightly older." Therefore, it is said that small benefits are the remnants of greater ones.
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中山之國有厹繇者。智伯欲攻之而無道也，為鑄大鐘，方車二軌以遺之。厹繇之君將斬岸堙谿以迎鐘。赤章蔓枝諫曰：「《》云：『唯則定國。』我胡則以得是於智伯？夫智伯之為人也貪而無信，必欲攻我而無道也，故為大鐘，方車二軌以遺君。君因斬岸堙谿以迎鐘，師必隨之。」弗聽。有頃，諫之，君曰：「大國為懽，而子逆之，不祥。子釋之。」赤章蔓枝曰：「為人臣不忠貞，罪也；忠貞不用，遠身可也。」斷轂而行，至衛七日而厹繇亡。欲鐘之心勝也，欲鐘之心勝則安厹繇之說塞矣。凡聽說，所勝不可不審也，故太上先勝。 |
| | In the state of Zhongshan there was a man named Youyou. Zhibo wanted to attack him but had no way to do so, so he cast a large bell and sent it in two wide carts. The ruler of Youyou planned to cut the bank and fill the stream to welcome the bell. Chizhang Manzhi advised, "The Book of Songs says: 'Only by following proper principles can a state be stabilized.' Why should we accept this from Zhibo according to any principle? Zhibo is a man who is greedy and untrustworthy; he must want to attack us but lacks an excuse, so he fabricated the idea of this large bell and sent it on two wide carts as a gift to Your Majesty. If you now cut the bank and fill in the stream to welcome the bell, his army will surely follow. He did not listen. After a while, he advised again, and the ruler said: "A great state has come to show goodwill, yet you oppose it; this is an ill omen. You must stop." Chizhang Manzhi said: "As a subject, to be disloyal and not steadfast is a crime; if the loyal and steadfast are not heeded, then it is best to distance oneself." He cut off his cart's axle and left. After seven days in Wei, the state of Youyou fell. The desire for the bell prevailed; when such desires dominate, any arguments for preserving Youyou are blocked. In listening to advice or argument, one must carefully examine what prevails, so the highest priority is to first determine what will prevail.
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昌國君將五國之兵以攻齊。齊使觸子將，以迎天下之兵於濟上。齊王欲戰，使人赴觸子，恥而訾之曰：「不戰，必剗若類，掘若壟。」觸子苦之，欲齊軍之敗。於是以天下兵戰，戰合，擊金而卻之，卒北，天下兵乘之，觸子因以一乘去，莫知其所，不聞其聲。達子又帥其餘卒，以軍於秦周，無以賞，使人請金於齊王。齊王怒曰：「若殘豎子之類，惡能給若金？」與燕人戰，大敗，達子死，齊王走莒。燕人逐北入國，相與爭金於美唐甚多。此貪於小利以失大利者也。 |
| | Duke Changguo led the armies of five states in an attack on Qi. Qi sent Chu Zi to command its forces and meet the combined armies of the world at the banks of the Ji River. King Qi wanted to fight and sent someone to Chu Zi, shaming and scolding him, saying: "If you do not fight, I will surely exterminate your kind and dig up your ancestral graves." Chu Zi was distressed and wished for the defeat of Qi's army. Therefore, when he faced the combined forces of the world in battle, as soon as the armies clashed, he struck the war drum and then retreated. The Qi army was routed, and the allied forces pursued them. Chu Zi took one chariot and fled; no one knew where he went, nor did anyone hear from him again. Dazi then led the remaining soldiers and stationed them at Qin Zhou, but had nothing to offer as reward. He sent someone to King Qi to request money. King Qi was furious and said: "You are a wretched scoundrel; how can I possibly give you gold?" In battle against the Yan forces, they suffered a crushing defeat. Dazi died and King Qi fled to Ju. The Yan forces pursued the defeated enemy into Qi's territory, and many people quarreled over gold at Meitang. This is an example of being greedy for small benefits and thereby losing great ones.
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