| | 芮良夫解: |
厉王失道,芮伯陈诰作芮良夫。芮伯若曰:余小臣良夫稽首谨诰,天子惟民父母,致厥道,无远不服,无道,左右臣妾乃违,民归于德,德则民戴,否德民雠,兹允效于前斯不远,商纣弗改夏桀之虐,肆我有周有家。 |
| | King Li lost the Way; Rui Bo presented a warning, and Rui Liangfu composed it. The people return to virtue; where there is virtue, the people revere it. Without virtue, the people become enemies. This truth has been demonstrated by past examples and is not distant. Shang Zhou did not reform the tyranny of Xia Jie, so we, the House of Zhou, established our dynasty.
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| | 芮良夫解: |
呜呼,惟尔天子,嗣文武之业,惟尔执政小子同先王之臣,昏行内顾,道王不若,专利作威,佐乱进祸,民将弗龛,治乱信于其行,惟王曁尔执政小子攸闻,古人求多闻以鉴戒,弗闻是惟弗知,尔闻尔知,弗改厥度,亦惟艰哉。夫后除民害,不惟民害,害民乃非后,惟其雠,民至亿兆,后一而已,寡弗敌衆,后其殆哉。 |
| | Alas! You, the Son of Heaven, have inherited the legacy of Wen and Wu. You, the young officials in charge, are equal to the ministers of previous kings; yet you act recklessly and look inward, failing to measure up to the king's Way. To monopolize profit and wield authority, to assist in chaos and bring disaster—this will cause the people not to fear you. Order or chaos depends on one's conduct; this is something both the king and you, young officials in charge, have heard. Ancient people sought to hear much in order to serve as a mirror for warnings. Not hearing means not knowing. You have heard and you know; if you do not change your course of action, it will also be a great difficulty for you. The ruler removes harm from the people; not only does he remove harm to the people, but harming the people is itself a harm to the ruler. Those who harm the people are his enemies. The people number in the tens of millions, but there is only one ruler; few cannot contend with many—thus the ruler will be in peril.
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| | 芮良夫解: |
乌宓,野禽驯服于人,家畜见人而奔,非禽畜之性,实惟人民亦如之,今尔执政小子,惟以贪谀事王,不对以备难,下民胥怨,财单力竭,手足靡措,弗龛戴上,不其乱而,惟祸发于人之攸忽,咎起于人攸轻,心不存焉。变之攸伏。 |
| | Alas! Wild birds and beasts are tamed by people, while domesticated animals run away when they see humans. This is not due to the nature of birds or livestock; indeed, it is also true for the people. Now, you young officials in charge serve the king only through greed and flattery. Not diligently cultivating virtue to prepare for difficulties, the common people all harbor resentment. Their resources are exhausted and their strength is spent; they have no means of action left. They no longer fear or revere you as a ruler—will it not lead to chaos? Disaster arises from human carelessness; blame originates from human neglect—this is because the heart does not dwell upon it. Change lies hidden within this.
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| | 芮良夫解: |
尔执政小子,弗图大艰,偷生苟安,爵以贿成,贤智钳口,小人鼓舌,逃害要利,并得其求,惟曰哀哉。我闻曰:以言取人,人饰其言,以行取人,人竭其行,饰言无庸,竭行有成,惟尔小子,饰言事王,实蕃有徒,尔自谓有馀,馀谓尔不足,敬思以明德,备乃祸难,难至而悔,悔将安及。 |
| | You, young officials in charge, do not consider great difficulties; you merely seek to survive and cling to temporary safety. Titles are granted through bribery. The virtuous and wise remain silent, while the petty stir up words; they evade harm and seek profit, achieving their desires. How pitiable! I have heard it said: to judge people by their words, they will embellish their speech; to judge them by their actions, they will exhaust themselves in action. Embellished words are of no use, while exhausted effort yields results. You young officials adorn your words when serving the king—indeed, you have many followers who do likewise. You consider yourselves sufficient, but I say you are insufficient. Be respectful and reflect upon virtuous conduct to prepare for calamity. Regret after disaster has come is of no avail.
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