2.10 [35] 景公獵逢蛇虎以為不祥晏子諫

齊景公打獵遇到蛇和老虎認為是不祥之兆，晏子進諫

【原文】

景公出獵，上山見虎，下澤見蛇。歸，召晏子而問之曰：“今日寡人出獵，上山則見虎，下澤則見蛇，殆所謂不祥也？”晏子對曰：“國有三不祥，是不與焉。夫有賢而不知，一不祥〔也〕；知而不用，二不祥〔也〕；用而不任，三不祥也。所謂不祥，乃若此者〔也〕。今上山見虎，虎之室也；下澤見蛇，蛇之穴也。如虎之室，如蛇之穴，而見之，曷為不祥也！”

【今譯】

齊景公外出打獵，上山的時候看見了老虎，走到湖邊又見到了蛇。回來后，景公召見晏子問道：“今天我出去打獵，上山見到老虎，走到湖邊又見到蛇，這大概就是所謂的不祥之兆吧？”晏子回答道：“國家有三種不吉利的事，而這些是不包含在內的。有賢良的人而不知道，這是第一種不祥；知道賢良的人而不重用，這是第二種不祥；重用了又不信任，這是第三種不祥。所謂不祥之兆，說的就是像這類事情。現在您上山見到老虎，山是老虎的住處；走到湖邊見到了蛇，湖邊是蛇的洞穴。您去虎窩見到老虎，去蛇穴見到蛇，這哪是不祥之兆呢！”

Duke Jing went out on a hunt. He climbed a mountain and saw a tiger; he went down to a swamp and saw a snake. Upon his return,he summoned Yanzi and asked him: “Today I was out hunting. When I climbed a mountain I saw a tiger and when I went down to a swamp I saw a snake. May I assume this is what is called ‘inauspicious’?”

Yanzi answered: “There are three inauspicious matters for a state and these are not among them. The first instance is if worthy people are not recognized as such; the second instance is if they are recognized as such but are not taken into service; and the third instance is if they are taken into service but they are not empowered to act. The so-called ‘inauspicious matter’ refers only to these three cases. But now,when you climbed a mountain and saw a tiger,you were at the tiger’s lair. When you went down to the swamp and saw a snake,you were at the snake’s hole. If one goes to the lair of the tiger and to the hole of the snake and sees them,why should these sightings be regarded as inauspicious?”

注釋

[1]Item 2.10 [35] ? Shuoyuan,1.23/6/19.