Six Secret Teachings, Civil Teaching — King Wen's Teacher六韜 文師
1Meeting Taigong fishing on the bank of the Wei
文王將田，史編布卜，曰：「田於渭陽，將大得焉。非龍非彲，非虎非羆，兆得公侯，天遺汝師。以之佐昌，施及三王」。文王曰：「兆致是乎？」史編曰：「編之太祖史疇為禹占，得皋陶，兆比於此。」文王乃齋戒三日，乘田車，駕田馬，田於渭陽，卒見太公，坐茅以漁。文王勞而問之曰：「子樂漁邪？」太公曰：「臣聞君子樂得其志，小人樂得其事。今吾漁甚有似也，殆非樂之也。」文王曰：「何謂其有似也？」太公曰：「釣有三權：祿等以權；死等以權；官等以權。夫釣以求得也，其情深，可以觀大矣。」文王曰：「願聞其情！」太公曰：「源深而水流，水流而魚生之，情也。根深而木長，木長而實生之，情也。君子情同而親合，親合而事生之，情也。言語應對者，情之飾也；言至情者，事之極也。今臣言至情不諱，君其惡之乎？」文王曰：「惟仁人能受至諫，不惡至情，何為其然？」太公曰：「緡微餌明，小魚食之；緡調餌香，中魚食之；緡隆餌豐，大魚食之。夫魚食其餌，乃牽於緡；人食其祿，乃服於君。故以餌取魚，魚可殺；以祿取人，人可竭；以家取國，國可拔；以國取天下，天下可畢。嗚呼！曼曼緜緜，其聚必散；嘿嘿昧昧，其光必遠。微哉！聖人之德，誘乎獨見。樂哉！聖人之慮，各歸其次而樹斂焉。」文王曰：「樹斂何若而天下歸之？」太公曰：「夫天下非一人之天下，乃天下之天下也。同天下之利者則得天下，擅天下之利者則失天下。天有時，地有財，能與人共之者，仁也；仁之所在，天下歸之。免人之死，解人有難，救人之患，濟人之急者，德也；德之所在，天下歸之。與人同憂同樂、同好同惡者，義也；義之所在，天下赴之。凡人惡死而樂生，好德而歸利，能生利者，道也；道之所在，天下歸之。」文王再拜曰：「允哉！敢不受天之詔命乎！」乃載與俱歸，立為師。
King Wen was about to go hunting. The scribe Bian laid out the divination and said, "Hunt north of the Wei, and there you will gain greatly. It is no dragon and no serpent, no tiger and no bear. The omen is that you will gain a duke, for Heaven is sending you a teacher. Let him aid Chang, and the work will reach down to the three kings." King Wen said, "Does the omen reach so far?" The scribe Bian said, "My first ancestor, the scribe Chou, divined for Yu and obtained Gao Yao, and that omen was of a kind with this one." King Wen then purified himself for three days, mounted his hunting chariot, drove his hunting horses, and hunted north of the Wei. At last he saw Taigong, sitting on the thatch grass and fishing. King Wen greeted him kindly and asked, "Do you take pleasure in fishing?" Taigong said, "I have heard that the gentleman takes pleasure in gaining his purpose, and the small man takes pleasure in gaining his business. My fishing now is very much like that. It is not that I take pleasure in the fishing itself." King Wen said, "What is it that it is like?" Taigong said, "In angling there are three expedients. To angle with pay is one expedient. To angle with death is one. To angle with office is one. Angling is a seeking to gain, and its feeling runs deep, so that great things can be seen in it." King Wen said, "I should like to hear that feeling." Taigong said, "When the spring is deep the water flows, and when the water flows fish live in it. That is feeling. When the root is deep the tree grows, and when the tree grows the fruit forms on it. That is feeling. When gentlemen share the same feeling they draw close and join, and when they draw close and join, affairs arise from it. That is feeling. Words and replies are the ornament of feeling. To speak the deepest feeling is the end of the matter. Now I would speak the deepest feeling and hide nothing. Will my lord hate it?" King Wen said, "Only a benevolent man can accept the sharpest remonstrance and not hate the deepest feeling. How should it be so?" Taigong said, "When the line is fine and the bait is small, small fish eat it. When the line is even and the bait is fragrant, middling fish eat it. When the line is thick and the bait is rich, great fish eat it. When a fish eats the bait, it is drawn in by the line. When a man eats his pay, he submits to his lord. So take fish with bait, and the fish can be killed. Take men with pay, and men can be used to the last. Take a state with a house, and the state can be taken. Take all under Heaven with a state, and all under Heaven can be gathered in. Ah! Long and unbroken though a thing be, what it gathers must scatter. Silent and dark though a thing be, its light must travel far. Subtle indeed is the virtue of the sage, which draws men on from what he alone sees. Joyful indeed is the thought of the sage, which lets each thing return to its own place, and there plants and gathers." King Wen said, "How must this planting and gathering be done, that all under Heaven should turn to him?" Taigong said, "All under Heaven is not the realm of one man. It is the realm of all under Heaven. He who shares the benefit of all under Heaven gains all under Heaven. He who keeps that benefit to himself loses all under Heaven. Heaven has its seasons and earth has its wealth. To be able to share these with men is benevolence, and where benevolence is, all under Heaven turns to it. To spare men from death, to loosen men from hardship, to save men from trouble, to carry men through what is urgent — this is virtue, and where virtue is, all under Heaven turns to it. To share men's sorrow and their joy, to share what they love and what they hate — this is righteousness, and where righteousness is, all under Heaven hastens to it. Men hate death and delight in life, they love virtue and turn toward benefit. To be able to bring benefit forth is the Way, and where the Way is, all under Heaven turns to it." King Wen bowed twice and said, "It is true. How should I dare not receive the command of Heaven?" He took him up into his chariot and returned with him, and set him up as his teacher.
Interlinear notes 2
以之佐昌
Chang (昌) was King Wen's own given name. — translator
祿等以權
Some take deng (等) to mean "to grade," giving "he weighs them by grading the thickness of the pay." — translator