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二曰── |
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至忠逆於耳、倒於心，非賢主其孰能聽之？故賢主之所說，不肖主之所誅也。人主無不惡暴劫者，而日致之，惡之何益？今有樹於此，而欲其美也，人時灌之，則惡之，而日伐其根，則必無活樹矣。夫惡聞忠言，乃自伐之精者也。 |
| | The most sincere words are disagreeable to the ear and unsettling to the heart; if not a wise ruler, who could possibly listen to them? Therefore, what a virtuous ruler values is precisely what an unworthy ruler punishes. No sovereign does not hate violent coercion, yet it occurs daily; how much good can hating it do? Now suppose there is a tree here, and one wishes it to flourish. If people water it regularly but resent that action, yet daily cut down its roots, then the tree will surely die. Hating to hear loyal advice is like cutting down one's own roots with precision.
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荊莊哀王獵於雲夢，射隨兕，中之。申公子培劫王而奪之。王曰：「何其暴而不敬也？」命吏誅之。左右大夫皆進諫曰：「子培，賢者也，又為王百倍之臣，此必有故，願察之也。」不出三月，子培疾而死。荊興師，戰於兩棠，大勝晉，歸而賞有功者。申公子培之弟進請賞於吏曰：「人之有功也於軍旅，臣兄之有功也於車下。」王曰：「何謂也？」對曰：「臣之兄犯暴不敬之名，觸死亡之罪於王之側，其愚心將以忠於君王之身，而持千歲之壽也。臣之兄嘗讀故記曰：『殺隨兕者，不出三月。』是以臣之兄驚懼而爭之，故伏其罪而死。」王令人發平府而視之，於故記果有，乃厚賞之。申公子培，其忠也可謂穆行矣。穆行之意，人知之不為勸，人不知不為沮，行無高乎此矣。 |
| | Prince Zhuangai of Jing was hunting in Yunmeng, shot a sui si, and hit it. Shen Gongzi Pei seized the king by force and took it from him. The king said, "How violent and disrespectful this is!" He ordered the officials to execute him. The ministers and attendants all advised, "Zi Pei is a virtuous man, and moreover, a minister of a hundredfold loyalty to the king. There must be some reason for this; we hope Your Majesty will investigate carefully." Within three months, Zi Pei fell ill and died. Jing raised an army and fought a battle at Liangtang, achieving a great victory over Jin. Upon returning, they rewarded those who had rendered meritorious service. The younger brother of Shen Gongzi Pei approached the officials and requested a reward, saying: "A person's merit may be achieved on the battlefield, but my elder brother's merit was rendered right beneath the king's chariot." The king asked, "What do you mean by that?" He replied, "My elder brother bore the name of violence and disrespect, committing an offense punishable by death right beside Your Majesty. His foolish heart was driven solely by loyalty to Your Majesty's person, seeking to preserve a thousand-year longevity for you." My elder brother once read an old record which said: 'He who kills a sui si will not live beyond three months.' Therefore, my elder brother was alarmed and protested against it, thus accepting the punishment and dying." The king then ordered someone to open the archives and examine them. Indeed, in the old records there was such an entry, so he richly rewarded him. Shen Gongzi Pei's loyalty can truly be called exemplary conduct. Exemplary conduct means that even if people know about it, they do not feel encouraged to emulate it; and even if they are unaware of it, they do not become discouraged. There is no action more noble than this.
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齊王疾痏，使人之宋迎文摯。文摯至，視王之疾，謂太子曰：「王之疾必可已也。雖然，王之疾已，則必殺摯也。」太子曰：「何故？」文摯對曰：「非怒王則疾不可治，怒王則摯必死。」太子頓首彊請曰：「苟已王之疾，臣與臣之母以死爭之於王，王必幸臣與臣之母，願先生之勿患也。」文摯曰：「諾。請以死為王。」與太子期，而將往不當者三，齊王固已怒矣。文摯至，不解屨登床，履王衣，問王之疾，王怒而不與言。文摯因出辭以重怒王，王叱而起，疾乃遂已。王大怒不說，將生烹文摯。太子與王后急爭之而不能得，果以鼎生烹文摯。爨之三日三夜，顏色不變。文摯曰：「誠欲殺我，則胡不覆之，以絕陰陽之氣。」王使覆之，文摯乃死。夫忠於治世易，忠於濁世難。文摯非不知活王之疾而身獲死也，為太子行難以成其義也。 |
| | Prince Qi was seriously ill, so he sent someone to Song to invite Wen Zhi. Wen Zhi arrived and examined the prince's illness. He told the crown prince, "The prince's illness can certainly be cured." "Nevertheless, if the prince recovers from his illness, he will surely kill me," Wen Zhi said. The crown prince asked, "Why is that?" Wen Zhi replied, "Unless I anger the prince, his illness cannot be treated; but if I anger him, I will certainly die." The crown prince kowtowed and earnestly pleaded, "If only Your Highness's illness can be cured, I and my mother will fight for your life with our very existence before the prince. He must surely show favor to me and my mother. We beg you not to fear anything, Master." Wen Zhi said, "Very well." He continued, "I shall risk my life for the prince." Wen Zhi made an appointment with the crown prince and delayed his departure three times, which caused Prince Qi to become angry. Wen Zhi arrived, did not remove his shoes before stepping onto the bed, trampled over the prince's clothes, and inquired about his illness. The prince became furious and refused to speak with him. Wen Zhi then made a provocative remark deliberately to further anger the prince, who shouted in rage and got up—his illness was thus completely cured. The prince was extremely angry and displeased, intending to boil Wen Zhi alive. The crown prince and the queen mother urgently pleaded for him but failed; as a result, Wen Zhi was indeed boiled alive in a cauldron. He was roasted for three days and nights, yet his complexion did not change. Wen Zhi said: "If you truly wish to kill me, why not cover the cauldron so that the yin and yang energies are cut off?" The prince had the cauldron covered accordingly, and Wen Zhi then died. Loyalty is easy to show in a well-governed age, but difficult in an age of corruption. Wen Zhi was not unaware that curing the prince's illness would cost him his own life; he endured this hardship for the crown prince in order to fulfill righteousness.
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