Befriending Worthy Officers親士
入國而不存其士，則亡國矣；見賢而不急，則緩其君矣。非賢無急，非士無與慮國。緩賢忘士而能以其國存者，未曾有也。
If a man enters a state and does not keep its officers there, the state will be lost. If he sees a worthy man and is not urgent about him, he is slow toward his own ruler. Where there is no worthy man there is nothing to be urgent about; where there are no officers there is no one to plan the state with. A man who is slow toward the worthy and forgets officers and is still able to keep his state has never yet existed.
昔者文公出走而正天下，桓公去國而霸諸侯，越王句踐遇吳王之醜，而尚攝中國之賢君。三子之能達名成功於天下也，皆於其國抑而大醜也。太上無敗，其次敗而有以成，此之謂用民。吾聞之曰：「非無安居也，我無安心也；非無足財也，我無足心也。」是故君子自難而易彼，衆人自易而難彼。君子進不敗其志，內究其情，雖襍庸民，終無怨心，彼有自信者也。
In old times Duke Wen fled from his state and afterward set the world right. Duke Huan left his state and afterward became first among the lords. King Goujian of Yue met with shame at the hands of the king of Wu, and yet afterward he overawed the worthy rulers of the Central States. That these three men were able to make their names known and their work complete in the world came in every case from being pressed down and greatly shamed in their own states.
The highest thing is not to be defeated. Next is to be defeated and still have the means to succeed. This is what is called using the people.
I have heard it said, "It is not that there is no peaceful dwelling; it is that I have no peaceful mind. It is not that there is not wealth enough; it is that I have no mind that is content." Therefore the gentleman is hard on himself and easy on others, while the multitude are easy on themselves and hard on others.
The gentleman goes forward without defeating his own purpose, and within he searches out his own feelings. Though he is mixed in among common people, in the end he has no resentment in his heart, for he is a man who trusts himself.
是故爲其所難者，必得其所欲焉；未聞爲其所欲，而免其所惡者也。是故偪臣傷君，諂下傷上。君必有弗弗之臣，上必有詻詻之下。分議者延延，而支苟者詻詻，焉可以長生保國。臣下重其爵位而不言，近臣則喑，遠臣則唫，怨結於民心，諂諛在側，善議障塞，則國危矣。桀紂不以其無天下之士邪？殺其身而喪天下。故曰：「歸國寶，不若獻賢而進士。」
Therefore he who does what is hard for him is sure to get what he wants. I have never heard of one who did only what he wanted and escaped what he hated.
Therefore a minister who presses down harms his ruler, and a subordinate who flatters harms the man above him. A ruler must have ministers who cross him, and the man above must have subordinates who speak back. Only when those who argue apart go on and on, and those who hold their ground press their case, can he live long and keep his state.
When the ministers below prize their own rank and do not speak, so that the near ministers are dumb and the distant ministers shut their mouths, when resentment knots in the hearts of the people, when flatterers are at his side and good counsel is blocked, then the state is in danger.
Was it that Jie and Zhou had no officers in the world? They got themselves killed and lost the world. Therefore it is said, "To send up the treasures of a state is not so good as to offer up the worthy and bring officers forward."
今有五錐，此其銛，銛者必先挫。有五刀，此其錯，錯者必先靡。是以甘井近竭，招木近伐，靈龜近灼，神蛇近暴。是故比干之殪，其抗也；孟賁之殺，其勇也；西施之沈，其美也；吳起之裂，其事也。故彼人者，寡不死其所長，故曰「太盛難守」也。
Suppose there are five awls. The sharp one among them is sure to be blunted first. Suppose there are five knives. The keen one among them is sure to be worn away first. So the sweet well runs dry first, the tall tree is cut down first, the holy tortoise is scorched first, and the divine snake is dried in the sun first.
Therefore Bi Gan died because he stood against his ruler. Meng Ben was killed because of his daring. Xi Shi was drowned because of her beauty. Wu Qi was torn apart because of what he had done. So of such people, few do not die of the very thing they are best at. Hence the saying, "What is too full is hard to keep."
故雖有賢君，不愛無功之臣；雖有慈父，不愛無益之子。是故不勝其任而處其位，非此位之人也；不勝其爵而處其祿，非此祿之主也。良弓難張，然可以及高入深；良馬難乘，然可以任重致遠；良才難令，然可以致君見尊。是故江河不惡小谷之滿己也，故能大。聖人者，事無辭也，物無違也，故能爲天下器。是故江河之水，非一原之流也。千鎰之裘，非一狐之白也。夫惡有同方取不取同而已者乎？蓋非兼王之道也。
Therefore even a worthy ruler does not love a minister without merit, and even a loving father does not love a son who brings no good. So a man who cannot bear his charge and yet holds the place is not the man for that place, and a man who cannot bear his rank and yet takes the salary is not the master of that salary.
A good bow is hard to draw, but it can reach high and enter deep. A good horse is hard to ride, but it can carry a heavy load and go far. A man of good stuff is hard to order about, but he can lead his ruler to be honored.
Therefore the rivers Jiang and He do not hate the small valleys that fill them, and so they can be great. The sage refuses no task and goes against no thing, and so he can be a vessel for the world. So the water of the Jiang and the He is not the flow of one source, and a fur coat worth a thousand yi (鎰) is not the white of one fox.
How could there be taking only from what is of one's own kind and not taking from what is not? This is not the way of one who would be king over all.
是故天地不昭昭，大水不潦潦，大火不燎燎，王德不堯堯。者乃千人之長也。其直如矢，其平如砥，不足以覆萬物。是故谿陜者速涸，逝淺者速竭，墝埆者其地不育。王者淳澤，不出宮中，則不能流國矣。
Therefore heaven and earth do not glitter, great waters do not surge, great fires do not blaze, and the virtue of a king does not tower. Only such a one becomes the elder of a thousand men.
What is straight as an arrow and level as a whetstone is not enough to cover the ten thousand things. So a narrow valley dries up quickly, a shallow stream runs out quickly, and stony ground raises nothing. If the deep bounty of a king does not leave the palace, it cannot flow through the state.