Translation setting:
[None] [English]Post-Han ->
Sui-Tang ->
群書治要 ->
Volume 12 ->
Shiji Lower Volume
-> Biographies of Harsh Officials
| | 酷吏傳: |
孔子曰：導之以政，齊之以刑，民免而無耻，導之以德，齊之以禮，有耻且格，格，正，老氏稱，法令滋章，盗賊多有。太史公曰：信哉是言也。法令者治之具，而非制治清濁之源也。昔天下之網嘗密矣。然奸僞萌起，其極也。上下相遁，至於不振，當是之時，吏治若救火揚沸，非武健嚴酷，惡能勝其任而愉快乎。言道德者溺於職矣。故曰：聽訟吾猶人也。必也使無訟乎。下士聞道大笑之，非虛言也。漢興，破觚而為圓，觚，方，斫雕而為朴，網漏於吞舟之魚，而吏治烝烝，不至於奸，黎民艾安，由是觀之，在彼不在此。 |
| | Confucius said: "If the people are guided by government policies and regulated by punishments, they will avoid punishment but lack a sense of shame. If they are guided by virtue and regulated by rites, they will have a sense of shame and be upright. 'Upright' means correct. Laozi remarked that as laws and decrees become more elaborate, thieves and bandits multiply." Grand Historian said: "Indeed true are these words." Laws and decrees are instruments of governance, but they are not the source that determines whether a society is ruled well or corrupt. In former times, the net of laws covering the world was once very dense. Yet at that time, acts of deceit and fraud began to arise; this was its extreme consequence. Superiors and subordinates evaded responsibility, leading to a state of decline. At that time, governance was like trying to put out a fire by stirring up boiling water; without strong and harsh officials, how could one fulfill their duties with satisfaction? Those who speak of morality are submerged in their official duties. Therefore it is said: "Hearing lawsuits, I am like any other person." It must be that one brings about a state where there are no lawsuits. Lowly scholars who hear of the Dao laugh at it; this is not an empty statement. When the Han dynasty rose to power, it broke apart angular forms and made them round; "gu," meaning square, was carved away to become simple and unadorned. The net allowed great fish to escape, yet officialdom flourished without descending into corruption. The common people lived in peace and safety. Judging from this, the key lies there rather than here.
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