Observing Conduct觀行
古之人目短於自見，故以鏡觀面；智短於自知，故以道正己。故鏡無見疵之罪，道無明過之怨。目失鏡，則無以正鬚眉；身失道，則無以知迷惑。西門豹之性急，故佩韋以緩己；董安于之心緩，故佩弦以自急。故以有餘補不足。以長續短之謂明主。
The men of old fell short in seeing themselves with their eyes, and so they looked at their faces in a mirror. They fell short in knowing themselves with their wits, and so they set themselves straight by the Way. Therefore the mirror bears no guilt for showing a blemish, and the Way draws no resentment for making a fault plain. When the eye loses its mirror, there is no way to set beard and eyebrows right. When the body loses the Way, there is no way to know that it is straying. Ximen Bao was hasty by nature, so he wore a soft leather thong to slow himself down. Dong Anyu was slow of heart, so he wore a bowstring to press himself on. Therefore to fill up what falls short with what is left over, and to piece out the short with the long, is what is called an enlightened ruler.
天下有信數三：一曰智有所不能立，二曰力有所不能舉，三曰彊有所不能勝。故雖有堯之智而無衆人之助，大功不立；有烏獲之勁而不得人助，不能自舉；有賁、育之彊而無法術，不得長勝。故勢有不可得，事有不可成。故烏獲輕千鈞而重其身，非其身重於千鈞也，勢不便也。離朱易百步而難眉睫，非百步近而眉睫遠也，道不可也。故明主不窮烏獲以其不能自舉，不困離朱以其不能自見。因可勢，求易道，故用力寡而功名立。時有滿虚，事有利害，物有生死，人主爲三者發喜怒之色，則金石之士離心焉。聖賢之樸深矣。故明主觀人，不使人觀己。明於堯不能獨成，烏獲不能自舉，賁、育之不能自勝，以法術則觀行之道畢矣。
There are three certainties in the world. The first is that there is something wisdom cannot establish. The second is that there is something strength cannot lift. The third is that there is something force cannot overcome. So even with the wisdom of Yao, without the help of the many, no great work is established. Even with the sinews of Wu Huo, if he gets no help from others, he cannot lift himself. Even with the force of Meng Ben and Xia Yu, without law and method, he cannot keep on winning. Therefore there are positions that cannot be gained and tasks that cannot be finished. Wu Huo makes light of a thousand jun and yet finds his own body heavy. It is not that his body is heavier than a thousand jun. It is that the position is not convenient. Li Zhu finds a hundred paces easy and his own brows and lashes hard. It is not that a hundred paces are near and the brows are far. It is that the thing cannot be done. Therefore the enlightened ruler does not corner Wu Huo for being unable to lift himself, and does not press Li Zhu for being unable to see himself. He follows the position that will serve and seeks the road that is easy, and so he spends little strength and yet merit and name are established. Seasons have their fullness and their emptiness, affairs have their gain and their harm, things have their life and their death. If the ruler lets his face show joy or anger over these three, then officers with hearts of metal and stone turn away from him. Deep is the plainness of the sage and the worthy. Therefore the enlightened ruler watches others and does not let others watch him. Being clear that Yao could not succeed alone, that Wu Huo could not lift himself, that Meng Ben and Xia Yu could not overcome themselves, and going by law and method, he has run through the whole way of watching conduct.