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范献子游于河，大夫皆存。君曰：孰知栾氏之子，大夫莫答。舟人清涓舍檝而答曰：君奚问栾氏之子为。君曰：自吾亡栾氏也。其老者未死而少者壮矣。吾是以问之。清涓曰：君善修晋国之政，内得大夫而外不失百姓，虽栾氏之子，其若君何，君若不修晋国之政，内不得大夫而外失百姓，则舟中之人，皆栾氏之子也。君曰：善哉言，明日朝，令赐舟人清涓田万亩，清涓辞。君曰：以此田也。易彼言也。子尚丧，寡人犹得也。古之贵言也若此。 |
| | Fan Xianzi traveled along the Yellow River, and all the high officials were present. The ruler said: "Who knows about the son of Luan Shi?" None of the high officials answered. A boatman named Qing Juan put down his oar and replied, "Why does Your Majesty inquire about the son of Luan Shi?" The ruler said: "Since I destroyed the Luan clan." Its elders have not died, and its young are now strong. That is why I am asking about them. Qing Juan said: "If Your Majesty carefully administers the government of Jin State, if internally you gain the support of the high officials and externally do not lose the people, then even the descendants of Luan Shi would be powerless against you. But if Your Majesty does not properly govern Jin State, losing the support of the high officials internally and alienating the people externally, then all those in this boat are effectively the sons of Luan Shi." The ruler said: "What excellent words!" The next day at court, he ordered that the boatman Qing Juan be granted ten thousand mu of farmland. Qing Juan declined the grant. The ruler said: "This is because of this piece of land." It is a change in those words. Your son is still mourning, yet I have already gained something. Thus was the value of words in ancient times.
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臣天下，一天下也。一天下者，令于天下则行，禁焉则止，桀、纣令天下而不行，禁焉而不止，故不得臣也。目之所美，心以为不义，弗敢视也。口之所甘，心以为非义，弗敢食也。耳之所乐，心以为不义，不敢听也。身之所安，心以为不义，弗敢服也。然则令于天下而行，禁焉而止者，心也。故曰：心者，身之君也。天子以天下受令于心，心不当则天下祸，诸侯以国受令于心，心不当则国亡，匹夫以身受令于心，心不当则身为戮矣。祸之始也易除，其除之，不可者避之，及其成也。欲除之不可，欲避之不可，治于神者，其事少而功多。 |
| | To serve the world as one, to unify the world as one. To unify the world means that when orders are given to the world, they will be carried out; when prohibitions are issued, they will cease. Jie and Zhou gave commands to the world but were not obeyed, imposed bans but could not stop actions—thus they did not deserve to rule. Even if something is pleasing to the eyes, if the heart considers it unjust, one dares not look at it. Even if something tastes sweet to the mouth, if the heart deems it improper, one dares not eat it. Even if something is pleasant to the ears, if the heart considers it unrighteous, one dare not listen to it. Even if something brings comfort to the body, if the heart regards it as unjust, one dares not wear it. Therefore, when commands are carried out throughout the world and prohibitions respected, it is due to the heart. Hence it is said: The mind is the ruler of the body. The Son of Heaven receives commands from the mind over all under heaven; if the mind is not right, calamity will befall the world. A feudal lord receives commands from his mind regarding his state; if the mind is wrong, the state will perish. An ordinary person receives commands from their mind concerning their own body; if the mind is incorrect, they themselves will suffer punishment. The beginning of a calamity is easy to eliminate; when it cannot be eliminated, one should avoid it until it becomes fully formed. If one wishes to eliminate it but cannot, and wishes to avoid it yet cannot, then those who govern with the divine act in few matters yet achieve much success.
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干霄之木，始若蘖足，易去也。及其成达也。百人用斧斤，弗能偾也。熛火始起易息也。及其焚云梦，孟诸，虽以天下之役，抒江汉之水，弗能救也。夫祸之始也。犹熛火蘖足也。易止也。及其措于大事，虽孔子、墨翟之贤，弗能救也。屋焚而人救之，则知德之，年老者，使涂隙戒突，故终身无失火之患，而不知德也。入于囹圄，解于患难者，则三族德之，教之以仁义慈悌，则终身无患而莫之德，夫祸亦有突，贤者行天下而务塞之，则天下无兵患矣。而莫之知德也。故曰：圣人治于神，愚人争于神也。 |
| | A towering tree that reaches into the clouds began as a small sprout, easily removed. By the time it has grown and matured. Even a hundred people wielding axes cannot fell it. A fire that first ignites is easy to extinguish. But by the time it has burned through Yunmeng and Mengzhu, even with all the labor of the world and drawing water from the rivers Jiang and Han, one cannot save them. The beginning of calamity. Is like the initial spark or a small sprout. It is easy to stop. But once it has taken hold in great affairs, even the virtue of Confucius and Mo Di cannot save it. When a house catches fire and people rush to save it, they know to be grateful for the virtue. Elderly people, by sealing cracks in walls and guarding against sparks, remain free from the danger of fire throughout their lives, yet do not realize this is an act of virtue. When someone is rescued from prison or delivered from hardship, the three clans praise their virtue. But if one is taught benevolence, righteousness, and filial piety, they remain free of trouble for life without anyone recognizing this as an act of virtue. Calamities also have sparks; a wise person travels through the world to block them off, thus ensuring no wars or troubles in the world. Yet no one recognizes this as an act of virtue. Hence it is said: The sage governs through the divine, while the foolish quarrel over the divine.
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天地之道，莫见其所以长物而物长，莫见其所以亡物而物亡，圣人之道亦然，其兴福也。人莫之见而福兴矣。其除祸也。人莫之知而祸除矣。故曰：神人益天下以财为仁，劳天下以力为义，分天下以生为神，修先王之术，除祸难之本，使天下丈夫耕而食，妇人织而衣，皆得戴其首，父子相保，此其分万物以生，盈天下以财，不可胜计也。神也者，万物之始，万事之纪也。 |
| | The way of heaven and earth does not reveal how it causes things to grow, yet they do; nor does it show how it brings about the destruction of things, yet they perish. The way of the sage is also like this. When blessings arise, No one sees them, yet blessings flourish. When it removes calamity, No one is aware of it, yet the disaster is eliminated. Hence it is said: A divine person benefits the world with wealth as an act of benevolence, labors the people through effort as an expression of righteousness, and distributes life among all under heaven as a manifestation of divinity. By cultivating the methods of former kings and eliminating the roots of calamities, he ensures that men in the world till the soil for food and women weave cloth for clothing, so that all may hold their heads high and fathers and sons protect one another. This is how life is distributed to all things, wealth fills the world, and its abundance cannot be counted. The divine principle is the beginning of all things and the foundation of all affairs.
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