The Two Handles二柄
明主之所導制其臣者，二柄而已矣。二柄者，刑德也。何謂刑德？曰：殺戮之謂刑，慶賞之謂德。爲人臣者畏誅罰而利慶賞，故人主自用其刑德，則羣臣畏其威而歸其利矣。故世之姦臣則不然，所惡，則能得之其主而罪之；所愛，則能得之其主而賞之。今人主非使賞罰之威利出於己也，聽其臣而行其賞罰，則一國之人皆畏其臣而易其君，歸其臣而去其君矣。此人主失刑德之患也。夫虎之所以能服狗者，爪牙也，使虎釋其爪牙而使狗用之，則虎反服於狗矣。人主者，以刑德制臣者也，今君人者釋其刑德而使臣用之，則君反制於臣矣。故田常上請爵祿而行之羣臣，下大斗斛而施於百姓，此簡公失德而田常用之也，故簡公見弑。子罕謂宋君曰：「夫慶賞賜予者，民之所喜也，君自行之；殺戮刑罰者，民之所惡也，臣請當之。」於是宋君失刑而子罕用之。故宋君見劫。田常徒用德而簡公弑，子罕徒用刑而宋君劫。故今世爲人臣者兼刑德而用之，則是世主之危甚於簡公、宋君也。故劫殺擁蔽之主，兼失刑德而使臣用之，而不危亡者，則未嘗有也。
What the enlightened ruler leads and controls his ministers with is two handles, and no more. The two handles are punishment (刑) and favor (德). What are punishment and favor? To kill and cut down is called punishment; to congratulate and reward is called favor. One who is another's minister fears execution and penalty and finds profit in congratulation and reward. So when the ruler himself uses his punishment and favor, the assembled ministers fear his awe and turn toward his profit. But the treacherous ministers of the age are not like this. Whom they hate, they can get out of their ruler and make guilty; whom they love, they can get out of their ruler and reward. Now if a ruler does not make the awe and the profit of reward and punishment come out of himself, but listens to his ministers and carries out their rewards and punishments, then everyone in the state fears the ministers and makes light of the lord, and turns to the ministers and leaves the lord. This is the trouble that comes when a ruler loses punishment and favor. What lets the tiger make the dog submit is its claws and fangs. Let the tiger put aside its claws and fangs and let the dog use them, and the tiger submits to the dog instead. The ruler is one who controls his ministers with punishment and favor. Now if he who stands over men puts aside his punishment and favor and lets his ministers use them, then the lord is controlled by his ministers instead. So Tian Chang above asked for ranks and salaries and handed them out to the assembled ministers, and below made his peck and bushel large and gave to the hundred families. Here Duke Jian lost favor and Tian Chang used it, and so Duke Jian was murdered. Zihan said to the lord of Song, "Congratulation, reward, and gifts are what the people delight in; let my lord carry these out himself. Killing and punishment are what the people hate; your servant asks to take these on." At this the lord of Song lost punishment and Zihan used it, and so the lord of Song was seized. Tian Chang used favor alone, and Duke Jian was murdered. Zihan used punishment alone, and the lord of Song was seized. So if a minister of the present age were to hold both punishment and favor and use them, the danger to the rulers of the age would be worse than that of Duke Jian and the lord of Song. So a ruler seized, killed, or walled in, who has lost both punishment and favor and let his ministers use them, and yet was not brought into danger and ruin — such a thing has never been.
人主將欲禁姦，則審合刑名；刑名者，言與事也。爲人臣者陳而言，君以其言授之事，專以其事責其功。功當其事，事當其言，則賞；功不當其事，事不當其言，則罰。故羣臣其言大而功小者則罰，非罰小功也，罰功不當名也；羣臣其言小而功大者亦罰，非不說於大功也，以爲不當名也害甚於有大功，故罰。昔者韓昭侯醉而寢，典冠者見君之寒也，故加衣於君之上，覺寢而說，問左右曰：「誰加衣者？」左右對曰：「典冠。」君因兼罪典衣與典冠。其罪典衣，以爲失其事也；其罪典冠，以爲越其職也。非不惡寒也，以爲侵官之害甚於寒。故明主之畜臣，臣不得越官而有功，不得陳言而不當。越官則死，不當則罪。守業其官，所言者貞也，則羣臣不得朋黨相爲矣。
If a ruler would forbid treachery, he examines whether form and name match. Form and name are word and deed. One who is another's minister sets out his words, and the lord gives him a task by those words and holds him to merit by that task alone. When the merit matches the task and the task matches the words, he rewards. When the merit does not match the task and the task does not match the words, he punishes. So among the assembled ministers, one whose words are great and whose merit is small is punished. It is not the small merit that is punished; it is the merit not matching the name. One whose words are small and whose merit is great is punished too. It is not that great merit gives no pleasure; it is that the harm of not matching the name is held worse than having great merit, and so he is punished. Long ago Marquis Zhao of Han was drunk and fell asleep. The keeper of the cap saw that his lord was cold, and so laid a robe over him. When the lord woke from sleep he was pleased, and asked those about him, "Who laid the robe on me?" Those about him answered, "The keeper of the cap." The lord then made both the keeper of the robes and the keeper of the cap guilty. He made the keeper of the robes guilty for having failed at his task; he made the keeper of the cap guilty for having gone beyond his office. It was not that he did not hate the cold. He held that the harm of encroaching on an office is worse than cold. So when the enlightened ruler keeps ministers, a minister may not go beyond his office and gain merit, and may not set out words that do not match. Going beyond his office, he dies; not matching, he is made guilty. When each keeps to the business of his own office and what he says is straight, the assembled ministers cannot form cliques and act for one another.
人主有二患：任賢，則臣將乘於賢以劫其君；妄舉，則事沮不勝。故人主好賢，則羣臣飾行以要君欲，則是羣臣之情不效；羣臣之情不效，則人主無以異其臣矣。故越王好勇而民多輕死；楚靈王好細腰而國中多餓人；齊桓公妬而好内，故竪刁自宮以治内；桓公好味，易牙蒸其子首而進之；燕子噲好賢，故子之明不受國。故君見惡，則羣臣匿端；君見好，則羣臣誣能。人主欲見，則羣臣之情態得其資矣。故子之託於賢以奪其君者也，竪刁、易牙因君之欲以侵其君者也。其卒，子噲以亂死，桓公蟲流出户而不葬。此其故何也？人君以情借臣之患也。人臣之情非必能愛其君也，爲重利之故也。今人主不掩其情，不匿其端，而使人臣有緣以侵其主，則羣臣爲子之、田常不難矣。故曰：「去好去惡，羣臣見素。」羣臣見素，則大君不蔽矣。
A ruler has two troubles. If he gives charge to the worthy, ministers will ride on worth to seize their lord. If he raises men rashly, affairs are blocked and cannot be carried through. So when a ruler loves worth, the assembled ministers dress up their conduct to meet what the lord wants, and then the true feeling of the ministers is not shown. When the feeling of the ministers is not shown, the ruler has no way to tell his ministers apart. So the king of Yue loved bravery, and many of the people made light of death. King Ling of Chu loved slender waists, and there were many starving people in the state. Duke Huan of Qi was jealous and loved the inner chambers, and so Shu Diao castrated himself in order to manage them. Duke Huan loved fine flavors, and Yi Ya steamed his own son's head and presented it. Zikuai of Yan loved worth, and so Zizhi made an open show of refusing the state. So when a lord shows what he hates, the assembled ministers hide their traces. When a lord shows what he loves, the assembled ministers lie about their abilities. When a ruler lets his wishes be seen, the feeling and the bearing of his ministers get their stock in trade. So Zizhi leaned on worth to take his lord's state from him, and Shu Diao and Yi Ya went by their lord's wishes to encroach on him. In the end Zikuai died in the disorder, and Duke Huan lay unburied until the maggots ran out the door. What is the reason for this? It is the trouble that comes when a lord lends his feelings to his ministers. The feeling of a minister is not such that he must be able to love his lord; it is for the sake of heavy profit. Now if a ruler does not cover his feelings and does not hide his traces, and so gives his ministers an opening to encroach on him, it is no hard thing for the assembled ministers to become a Zizhi or a Tian Chang. So it is said, "Put away what you love and put away what you hate, and the assembled ministers show their plain stuff." When the assembled ministers show their plain stuff, the great lord is not walled in.