Gauging the Mind心度
聖人之治民，度於本，不從其欲，期於利民而已。故其與之刑，非所以惡民，愛之本也。刑勝而民静，賞繁而姦生。故治民者，刑勝，治之首也；賞繁，亂之本也。夫民之性，喜其亂而不親其法。故明主之治國也，明賞則民勸功，嚴刑則民親法；勸功則公事不犯，親法則姦無所萌。故治民者禁姦於未萌，而用兵者服戰於民心。禁先其本者治，兵戰其心者勝。聖人之治民也，先治者强，先戰者勝。夫國事務先而一民心，專舉公而私不從，賞告而姦不生，明法而治不煩。能用四者强，不能用四者弱。夫國之所以强者，政也；主之所以尊者，權也。故明君有權有政，亂君亦有權有政，積而不同，其所以立異也。故明君操權而上重，一政而國治。故法者，王之本也；刑者，愛之自也。
When the sage governs the people he measures from the root, does not follow their wants, and aims only at benefiting the people. So when he gives them punishment, it is not that he hates the people; it is the root of love. When punishment prevails the people are quiet; when rewards are many wickedness is born. So for one who governs the people, the prevailing of punishment is the head of order, and the multiplying of rewards is the root of disorder. Now the nature of the people is to delight in disorder and not to hold their law close. So when an enlightened ruler governs his state, if he makes rewards clear the people strive for merit, and if he makes punishment stern the people hold the law close. When they strive for merit, public business is not violated; when they hold the law close, wickedness has nowhere to sprout. So one who governs the people forbids wickedness before it sprouts, and one who uses troops subdues the fighting in the hearts of the people. When forbidding comes before the root, there is order; when troops fight in men's hearts, there is victory. When the sage governs the people, the one who governs first is strong and the one who fights first wins. Now in the affairs of the state he works at what comes first and makes the hearts of the people one; he raises up only what is public, so that the private cannot follow; he rewards those who report, so that wickedness is not born; and he makes the law clear, so that governing is not troublesome. One who can use these four is strong; one who cannot use them is weak. Now what makes a state strong is its government, and what makes a ruler honored is his power. So an enlightened ruler has power and government, and a disordered ruler also has power and government, but what they have gathered is not the same, and so what they stand on differs. So the enlightened ruler grasps power and the one above is weighty; he makes his government one and the state is in order. So the law is the root of a king, and punishment is where love comes from.
夫民之性，惡勞而樂佚。佚則荒，荒則不治，不治則亂，而賞刑不行於天下者必塞。故欲舉大功而難致其力者，大功不可幾而舉也；欲治其法而難變其故者，民亂不可幾而治也。故治民無常，唯治爲治。法與時轉則治，治與世宜則有功。故民樸而禁之以名則治，世知維之以刑則從。時移而治不易者亂，能衆而禁不變者削。故聖人之治民也，法與時移而禁與能變。
Now the nature of the people is to hate toil and to enjoy ease. In ease they grow wild; grown wild they are not governed; ungoverned they fall into disorder; and where reward and punishment are not carried out through the world, there is sure to be blockage. So one who wishes to raise a great merit but finds it hard to bring their strength to it cannot hope for that great merit and raise it; one who wishes to put his law in order but finds it hard to change its old ways cannot hope to govern the disorder of the people. So in governing the people there is nothing fixed; only what governs becomes governing. When the law turns together with the times there is order; when governing suits the age there is merit. So when the people are plain, forbidding them by names governs them; when the age is knowing, binding them with punishment makes them follow. When the times have moved and governing does not change, there is disorder; when abilities are many and forbidding does not alter, the state is pared away. So when the sage governs the people, his law moves together with the times and his forbidding changes together with their abilities.
能越力於地者富，能起力於敵者強，強不塞者王。故王道在所開，在所塞，塞其姦者必王。故王術不恃外之不亂也，恃其不可亂也。恃外不亂而治立者削，恃其不可亂而行法者興。故賢君之治國也，適於不亂之術。貴爵則上重，故賞功爵任而邪無所關。好力者其爵貴，爵貴則上尊，上尊則必王。國不事力而恃私學者其爵賤，爵賤則上卑，上卑者必削。故立國用民之道也，能閉外塞私而上自恃者，王可致也。
One who can add strength to the land is rich; one who can raise strength against the enemy is strong; and one who is strong and not blocked becomes king. So the way of a king lies in what he opens and in what he blocks, and one who blocks their wickedness is sure to become king. So the art of a king does not trust that the outside will not fall into disorder; it trusts that he himself cannot be thrown into disorder. One who trusts that the outside will not fall into disorder and on that sets up his governing is pared away; one who trusts that he cannot be thrown into disorder and on that carries out the law rises. So when a worthy ruler governs his state, he fits himself to the art of not being thrown into disorder. When rank is held precious the one above is weighty, and so when he rewards merit and entrusts rank, evil has nowhere to slip in. One who loves strength has his rank held precious; when rank is precious the one above is honored; when the one above is honored, he is sure to become king. One whose state does not make strength its business and trusts to private learning has his rank held cheap; when rank is cheap the one above is lowly; and one whose place above is lowly is sure to be pared away. So this is the way of founding a state and using the people: if he can shut out the outside and block the private, and the one above can trust to himself, kingship can be attained.