The Six Contraries六反
畏死遠難，降北之民也，而世尊之曰「貴生之士」。學道立方，離法之民也，而世尊之曰「文學之士」。遊居厚養，牟食之民也，而世尊之曰「有能之士」。語曲牟知，僞詐之民也，而世尊之曰「辯智之士」。行劒攻殺，暴憿之民也，而世尊之曰「磏勇之士」。活賊匿姦，當死之民也，而世尊之曰「任譽之士」。此六民者，世之所譽也。赴險殉誠，死節之民，而世少之曰「失計之民」也。寡聞從令，全法之民也，而世少之曰「樸陋之民」也。力作而食，生利之民也，而世少之曰「寡能之民」也。嘉厚純粹，整穀之民也，而世少之曰「愚戇之民」也。重命畏事，尊上之民也，而世少之曰「怯懾之民」也。挫賊遏姦，明上之民也，而世少之曰「讇讒之民」也。此六民者，世之所毁也。姦僞無益之民六，而世譽之如彼；耕戰有益之民六，而世毁之如此，此之謂「六反」。布衣循私利而譽之，世主聽虚聲而禮之，禮之所在，利必加焉。百姓循私害而訾之，世主壅於俗而賤之，賤之所在，害必加焉。故名賞在乎私惡當罪之民，而毁害在乎公善宜賞之士，索國之富強，不可得也。
To fear death and keep far from hardship is the way of a people who surrender and run, and yet the world honors such a man and calls him "a knight who holds life dear." To study the Way and set up formulas is the way of a people who depart from the law, and yet the world honors such a man and calls him "a knight of letters and learning." To wander and lodge about and be richly fed is the way of a people who take their food from others, and yet the world honors such a man and calls him "a knight of ability." To bend words and snatch at cleverness is the way of a people who are false and deceiving, and yet the world honors such a man and calls him "a knight of eloquence and wit." To wield the sword and strike men dead is the way of a people who are violent and rash, and yet the world honors such a man and calls him "a knight of hard courage." To keep robbers alive and hide the treacherous is the way of a people who deserve to die, and yet the world honors such a man and calls him "a knight of honor and repute." These six kinds of people are what the world praises. To go into danger and give up life for sincerity is the way of a people who die for their duty, and yet the world belittles him and calls him "a man who has lost his reckoning." To hear little and follow orders is the way of a people who keep the law whole, and yet the world belittles him and calls him "a plain and lowly man." To work with his strength and eat by it is the way of a people who make profit grow, and yet the world belittles him and calls him "a man of little ability." To be fine and generous and pure is the way of a people who are upright and good, and yet the world belittles him and calls him "a stupid and dull man." To hold orders heavy and fear his duty is the way of a people who honor the one above, and yet the world belittles him and calls him "a timid and cowering man." To break robbers and block the treacherous is the way of a people who make the one above clear-sighted, and yet the world belittles him and calls him "a fawning slanderer." These six kinds of people are what the world reviles. There are six kinds of people who are treacherous and false and of no use, and the world praises them in that way; there are six kinds of people who plow and fight and are of use, and the world reviles them in this way. This is what is called "the six reversals." The man in hempen clothes follows his private profit and praises them, and the lord of the age listens to empty repute and treats them with courtesy; where courtesy goes, profit is sure to follow. The hundred families follow their private harm and decry them, and the lord of the age, walled in by custom, holds them cheap; where cheapness goes, harm is sure to follow. So name and reward rest with a people who do evil in private and deserve punishment, while reviling and harm fall on knights who are good for all and ought to be rewarded. Seek wealth and strength for the state in this way, and it cannot be had.
古者有諺曰：「爲政猶沐也，雖有弃髮，必爲之。」愛弃髮之費而忘長髮之利，不知權者也。夫彈痤者痛，飲藥者苦，爲苦憊之故不彈痤飲藥，則身不活，病不已矣。今上下之接，無子父之澤，而欲以行義禁下，則交必有郄矣。且父母之於子也，産男則相賀，産女則殺之。此俱出父母之懷袵，然男子受賀，女子殺之者，慮其後便，計之長利也。故父母之於子也，猶用計算之心以相待也，而況無父子之澤乎？今學者之說人主也，皆去求利之心，出相愛之道，是求人主之過父母之親也，此不熟於論恩，詐而誣也，故明主不受也。聖人之治也，審於法禁，法禁明著則官治；必於賞罰，賞罰不阿則民用。民用官治則國富，國富則兵强，而霸王之業成矣。霸王者，人主之大利也。人主挾大利以聽治，故其任官者當能，其賞罰無私。使士民明焉，盡力致死，則功伐可立而爵祿可致，爵祿致而富貴之業成矣。富貴者，人臣之大利也。人臣挾大利以從事，故其行危至死，其力盡而不望。此謂君不仁，臣不忠，則可以霸王矣。
In old days there was a proverb: "Governing is like washing the hair. Though some hair is lost, it must still be done." To grudge the waste of the hair that falls out and forget the gain of the hair that grows is not to know how to weigh a thing. Now the man who lances a boil feels pain, and the man who drinks medicine finds it bitter; but if for the sake of pain and weariness he does not lance the boil and does not drink the medicine, his body will not live and his sickness will not end. Now in the dealings of those above and those below there is no bounty of father and son, and yet men wish to forbid those below by practicing righteousness; then the dealing between them is sure to have a rift. Moreover, in the way parents deal with children, when a boy is born they congratulate one another, and when a girl is born they kill her. Both alike came out of the parents' bosom, yet the boy receives congratulation and the girl is killed, because the parents think of their later ease and reckon the longer profit. So even parents deal with their children with a calculating mind; how much more where there is no bounty of father and son? Now the learned men, when they speak to the lord of men, all say: put away the mind that seeks profit and come out by the way of loving one another. This is to ask of the lord of men more than the closeness of parents. It is to be unpracticed in reckoning kindness, it is deceit and falsehood, and so the enlightened ruler does not accept it. The sage in his ruling looks closely into laws and prohibitions; when laws and prohibitions are clear and plain, the offices are in order. He makes reward and punishment certain; when reward and punishment do not flatter, the people are of use. When the people are of use and the offices are in order, the state is rich; when the state is rich, the army is strong, and the work of the hegemon king is accomplished. To be hegemon king is the great profit of the lord of men. The lord of men holds this great profit and so listens to the business of rule; his appointing of officers matches their ability, and his rewards and punishments have nothing private in them. He makes the knights and the people see this clearly, so that they spend their strength and go to their death; then feats of war can be established and rank and salary can be won, and when rank and salary are won the work of wealth and honor is accomplished. Wealth and honor are the great profit of the minister. The minister holds this great profit and so goes about his business; his conduct runs into danger and reaches death, and his strength is spent without his looking for more. This is what is meant by saying that when the lord is not benevolent and the minister is not loyal, one may become hegemon king.
夫姦必知則備，必誅則止；不知則肆，不誅則行。夫陳輕貨於幽隱，雖曾、史可疑也；懸百金於市，雖大盜不取也。不知，則曾、史可疑於幽隱；必知，則大盜不取懸金於市。故明主之治國也，衆其守而重其罪，使民以法禁而不以廉止。母之愛子也倍父，父令之行於子者十母；吏之於民無愛，令之行於民也萬父。母積愛而令窮，吏用威嚴而民聽從，嚴愛之筴亦可決矣。且父母之所以求於子也，動作則欲其安利也，行身則欲其遠罪也。君上之於民也，有難則用其死，安平則盡其力。親以厚愛關子於安利而不聽，君以無愛利求民之死力而令行。明主知之，故不養恩愛之心而增威嚴之勢。故母厚愛處，子多敗，推愛也；父薄愛教笞，子多善，用嚴也。
Now treachery, if it is surely known, is guarded against, and if it is surely cut down, it stops; if it is not known, it runs loose, and if it is not cut down, it goes on. Lay light goods in a dark and hidden place, and even Zeng Shen and Shi Qiu may be doubted; hang a hundred pieces of gold in the market, and even a great robber will not take them. When it is not known, even Zeng Shen and Shi Qiu may be doubted in a dark place; when it is surely known, even a great robber will not take gold hung up in the market. So the enlightened ruler, in governing his state, makes his watchers many and his punishments heavy, and has the people held back by law and not stopped by their own honesty. A mother loves her child twice as much as a father does, yet the father's orders are carried out with the child ten times as well as the mother's. A clerk has no love for the people, yet his orders are carried out with the people ten thousand times better than a father's. The mother piles up love and her orders run dry; the clerk uses awe and sternness and the people listen and obey. The policy of sternness against love may thus be settled. Moreover, what parents seek from a child is that in his acts he be safe and profited, and in bearing himself he keep far from crime. What the lord above seeks from the people is that in trouble he may use their death, and in peace and quiet he may use up their strength. A parent binds a child to safety and profit with thick love and is not listened to; a lord seeks the people's dying strength without love or profit, and his orders are carried out. The enlightened ruler knows this, and so he does not nourish a mind of kindness and love but adds to the force of awe and sternness. Thus where a mother dwells in thick love, the children are often spoiled, for she pushes love too far; where a father makes his love thin and teaches with the rod, the children are often good, for he uses sternness.
今家人之治産也，相忍以饑寒，相強以勞苦，雖犯軍旅之難，饑饉之患，温衣美食者，必是家也；相憐以衣食，相惠以佚樂，天饑歲荒，嫁妻賣子者，必是家也。故法之爲道，前苦而長利；仁之爲道，偷樂而後窮。聖人權其輕重，出其大利，故用法之相忍，而弃仁人之相憐也。學者之言皆曰「輕刑」，此亂亡之術也。凡賞罰之必者，勸禁也。賞厚，則所欲之得也疾；罰重，則所惡之禁也急。夫欲利者必惡害，害者，利之反也。反於所欲，焉得無惡？欲治者必惡亂，亂者，治之反也。是故欲治甚者，其賞必厚矣；其惡亂甚者，其罰必重矣。今取於輕刑者，其惡亂不甚也，其欲治又不甚也。此非特無術也，又乃無行。是故決賢、不肖、愚、知之筴，在賞罰之輕重。且夫重刑者，非爲罪人也。明主之法，揆也。治賊，非治所治也；治所治也者，是治死人也。刑盜，非治所刑也；治所刑也者，是治胥靡也。故曰：重一姦之罪而止境内之邪，此所以爲治也。重罰者，盜賊也；而悼懼者，良民也。欲治者奚疑於重刑！若夫厚賞者，非獨賞功也，又勸一國。受賞者甘利，未賞者慕業，是報一人之功而勸境内之衆也，欲治者何疑於厚賞！今不知治者皆曰：「重刑傷民，輕刑可以止姦，何必於重哉？」此不察於治者也。夫以重止者，未必以輕止也；以輕止者，必以重止矣。是以上設重刑者而姦盡止，姦盡止，則此奚傷於民也？所謂重刑者，姦之所利者細，而上之所加焉者大也。民不以小利加大罪，故姦必止者也。所謂輕刑者，姦之所利者大，上之所加焉者小也。民慕其利而傲其罪，故姦不止也。故先聖有諺曰：「不躓於山，而躓於垤。」山者大，故人順之；垤微小，故人易之也。今輕刑罰，民必易之。犯而不誅，是驅國而弃之也；犯而誅之，是爲民設陷也。是故輕罪者，民之垤也。是以輕罪之爲民道也，非亂國也，則設民陷也，此則可謂傷民矣！
Now when a household orders its living, if they bear hunger and cold together and drive one another to toil, then though they meet the hardship of war and the affliction of famine, the ones with warm clothes and good food are surely that household. If they pity one another with clothes and food and favor one another with ease and pleasure, then when heaven brings famine and the year is barren, the ones who marry off the wife and sell the children are surely that household. So law as a way is bitter at first and profits long; benevolence as a way is pleasant for a moment and comes to want after. The sage weighs the light and the heavy of them and brings out the greater profit, and so he uses the mutual bearing of the law and casts away the mutual pity of the benevolent man. The learned all say "lighten the punishments." This is the art of disorder and ruin. In general, making reward and punishment certain is urging and forbidding. When reward is thick, what one wants is got quickly; when punishment is heavy, what one hates is forbidden sharply. He who wants profit is sure to hate harm, for harm is the opposite of profit. It is the opposite of what he wants, so how can he not hate it? He who wants order is sure to hate disorder, for disorder is the opposite of order. Therefore the man whose want of order is deep will surely make his rewards thick, and the man whose hatred of disorder is deep will surely make his punishments heavy. Now the man who takes to light punishments does not hate disorder deeply, and does not want order deeply either. This is not only to be without method; it is also to be without conduct. Therefore the policy that decides between worthy and unworthy, stupid and wise, lies in the lightness or heaviness of reward and punishment. Moreover, heavy punishment is not for the sake of the criminal. The law of the enlightened ruler is a measuring rod. To punish a bandit is not to govern the man who is being governed; to govern the man who is being governed would be to govern a dead man. To punish a thief is not to govern the man who is being punished; to govern the man who is being punished would be to govern a convict. So it is said: to make one treacherous man's crime heavy and thereby stop the wickedness within the borders is the way order is made. The one heavily punished is the robber; the ones who are struck with fear are the good people. Why should the man who wants order doubt heavy punishment! As for thick rewards, they do not reward merit alone; they also urge on the whole state. The one who receives the reward finds the profit sweet, and those not yet rewarded long for that work. This is to repay one man's merit and urge on the multitude within the borders. Why should the man who wants order doubt thick rewards! Now those who do not understand government all say: "Heavy punishment harms the people, and light punishment can stop treachery. Why must it be heavy?" This is not to look closely into government. What is stopped by the heavy is not surely stopped by the light; what is stopped by the light will surely be stopped by the heavy. Therefore when the one above sets up heavy punishments, treachery stops altogether; and when treachery stops altogether, how does this harm the people? What is called heavy punishment is this: what treachery gains is small, and what the one above lays on is great. The people will not take a great crime for a small gain, and so treachery is sure to stop. What is called light punishment is this: what treachery gains is great, and what the one above lays on is small. The people long for the gain and make light of the crime, and so treachery does not stop. So the sages of old had a proverb: "A man does not stumble on a mountain; he stumbles on an anthill." The mountain is great, and so men go along with it carefully; the anthill is tiny, and so men make light of it. Now if punishments are made light, the people are sure to make light of them. To let them offend and not cut them down is to drive the state off and cast it away; to let them offend and then cut them down is to set a pitfall for the people. Therefore light crimes are the people's anthill. Light crimes as a way for the people either throw the state into disorder or set a pitfall for the people, and this indeed may be called harming the people.
今學者皆道書筴之頌語，不察當世之實事，曰：「上不愛民，賦斂常重，則用不足而下怨上，故天下大亂。」此以爲足其財用以加愛焉，雖輕刑罰，可以治也。此言不然矣。凡人之取重罰，固已足之之後也；雖財用足而後厚愛之，然而輕刑，猶之亂也。夫當家之愛子，財貨足用，貨財足用則輕用，輕用則侈泰。親愛之則不忍，不忍則驕恣。侈泰則家貧，驕恣則行暴。此雖財用足而愛厚，輕刑之患也。凡人之生也，財用足則隳於用力，上懦則肆於爲非。財用足而力作者，神農也；上治懦而行脩者，曾、史也。夫民之不及神農、曾、史，亦明矣。
Now the learned all recite the praising words of the books and do not look into the real affairs of the present age. They say: "The one above does not love the people, and the taxes he gathers are always heavy; so their means fall short and those below resent the one above, and therefore all under heaven is in great disorder." This holds that if their goods and means were made enough and love were added to that, then even with light punishments there could be order. This saying is not so. In general, a man takes heavy punishment upon himself only after he has already had enough. Though goods and means be enough and thick love follow after, if punishment is light there is disorder all the same. The beloved son of a household has goods and means enough to use; having enough to use, he uses them lightly; using them lightly, he grows extravagant and overweening. Being dearly loved, he is never crossed; never being crossed, he grows proud and wanton. Extravagant and overweening, he makes the household poor; proud and wanton, his conduct grows violent. This is the affliction of light punishment, though goods and means be enough and love be thick. In general, in the life of men, when goods and means are enough they slacken in putting out their strength, and when the one above is soft they run loose in doing wrong. The man whose goods and means were enough and who still worked with his strength was Shennong; the men whose ruler above was soft in government and who still cultivated their conduct were Zeng Shen and Shi Qiu. That the people do not come up to Shennong, Zeng Shen and Shi Qiu is plain enough.
老聃有言曰：「知足不辱，知止不殆。」夫以殆辱之故而不求於足之外者，老聃也。今以爲足民而可以治，是以民爲皆如老聃也。故桀貴在天子而不足於尊，富有四海之内而不足於寶。君人者雖足民，不能足使爲天子，而桀未必以爲天子爲足也，則雖足民，何可以爲治也？故明主之治國也，適其時事以致財物，論其稅賦以均貧富，厚其爵祿以盡賢能，重其刑罰以禁姦邪，使民以力得富，以事致貴，以過受罪，以功致賞，而不念慈惠之賜，此帝王之政也。
Lao Dan had a saying: "He who knows what is enough is not disgraced; he who knows where to stop is not in peril." The man who, for the sake of peril and disgrace, sought nothing beyond what was enough was Lao Dan himself. To hold now that making the people's means enough will bring order is to take the people for so many Lao Dans. Thus Jie was honored as Son of Heaven and had not enough of eminence; he was rich enough to hold all within the four seas and had not enough of treasure. Though a ruler of men make the people's means enough, he cannot make them all Sons of Heaven; and Jie himself did not count being Son of Heaven enough. Then though the people's means be made enough, what can that do for order? So the enlightened ruler, in governing his state, fits his measures to the season and its work so as to bring in goods; he weighs his taxes and levies so as to even out poor and rich; he makes rank and salary thick so as to draw out the worthy and able; he makes punishments heavy so as to forbid the treacherous and wicked. He has the people get wealth by their strength, reach honor by their service, take crime for their faults and win reward for their merit, and never think of gifts of kindness and grace. This is the government of emperors and kings.
人皆寐，則盲者不知；皆嘿，則喑者不知。覺而使之視，問而使之對，則喑盲者窮矣。不聽其言也，則無術者不知；不任其身也，則不肖者不知。聽其言而求其當，任其身而責其功，則無術不肖者窮矣。夫欲得力士而聽其自言，雖庸人與烏獲不可別也；授之以鼎爼，則罷健效矣。故官職者，能士之鼎爼也，任之以事而愚智分矣。故無術者得於不用，不肖者得於不任。言不用而自文以爲辯，身不任而自飾以爲高。世主眩其辯、濫其高而尊貢之，是不須視而定明也，不待對而定辯也，喑盲者不得矣。明主聽其言必責其用，觀其行必求其功，然則虚舊之學不談，矜誣之行不飾矣。
When all men are asleep, the blind man is not known; when all are silent, the mute is not known. Wake them and make them look, ask them and make them answer, and then the mute and the blind are at a loss. If a man's words are not heard, the man without method is not known; if a man's person is not given charge, the unworthy man is not known. Hear their words and require that they fit, give their persons charge and hold them to account for merit, and then the man without method and the unworthy man are at a loss. Now if you want to get a strong man and you listen to what he says of himself, you cannot tell an ordinary man from Wu Huo; but hand him the cauldron and the stand, and the weary and the sturdy show themselves. So office and charge are the cauldron and stand of able knights, and when business is given them the stupid and the wise are parted. Thus the man without method gains by not being used, and the unworthy man gains by not being given charge. His words not being used, he dresses them up himself and calls it eloquence; his person not being given charge, he adorns himself and calls it loftiness. The lord of the age is dazzled by that eloquence and carried away by that loftiness, and so honors him and raises him up. This is to settle who sees clearly without making him look, and to settle who speaks well without waiting for his answer; then the mute and the blind can never be found out. The enlightened ruler, when he hears a man's words, is sure to hold him to their use, and when he sees his conduct, is sure to require its merit. Then hollow and stale learning is not talked, and boastful, lying conduct is not dressed up.
Interlinear notes 1
The base text has 盲 and 喑; they are rendered in present-day words. — translator