2.17 [42] 景公朝居嚴下不言晏子諫

齊景公在朝堂上太嚴厲臣下們不敢說話，晏子進諫

【原文】

晏子朝，復于景公曰：“朝居嚴乎？”公曰：“（嚴居朝）〔朝居嚴〕，則（害曷）〔曷害〕于治國家哉？”晏子對曰：“朝居嚴則下無言，下無言則上無聞矣。下無言，則（無）〔吾〕謂之喑，上無聞，則吾謂之聾。聾喑，非害國家而如何也！且合升（豉）〔?〕之微以滿倉廩，合疏縷之緯以成幃幕，太山之高，非一石也，累卑然后高〔也〕。夫〔治天〕下者，非用一士之言也，固有受而不用，惡有拒而不受者哉？”

【今譯】

晏子入朝，向齊景公稟報說：“您在朝堂上是不是太嚴厲了？”景公說：“在朝堂上嚴厲，對國家的治理有什么害處嗎？”晏子回答說：“在朝堂上太嚴厲，臣下們就不敢說話，臣下們不說話，國君就得不到匯報了。臣下們不說話，我們稱之為啞，國君得不到匯報，我們稱之為聾。又聾又啞，不是有害于治理國家又是什么呢！況且只有積累一升一斗的微小糧食才能裝滿糧倉，只有集合一絲一縷的綈線才能織成幃幕，泰山的高大，并不是只有一塊石頭，而是無數石頭從低處累積然后才高大。治理天下，不是只聽一個人的話就行的，當然有時候可以接受匯報而不采用，但哪有拒不接受匯報的呢？”

During a court audience,Yanzi addressed Duke Jing,saying:^[2] “Should one act sternly during an audience?”

The Duke said: “If one is stern during an audience,what harm is done to the good governance of the state?”

Yanzi answered: “If an audience is conducted sternly,then inferiors w ill say nothing and superiors w ill heed nothing. When inferiors say nothing,I call this ‘muteness’; when superiors heed nothing,I call this ‘deafness.’ If deafness and muteness do not constitute a danger to the state,what does? Furthermore,by accumulating grain in minute quantities of sheng and dou,^[3] one can fill the public granaries; by collecting loose threads,one can form a curtain. The height of M t. Tai was not made of a single rock; low layers were piled up until it became high. As for those who govern the realm,they do not rule by using the words of just one officer. Surely,there are cases of receiving w ithout employing; but how could there be cases of rejecting without receiving?”

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注釋

[1]Item 2.17 [42] ? Shuoyuan,9.26/76/13.

[2]Om it 朝 following the Shuoyuan version.

[3]A sheng 升 was 199.7 cubic centimeters. Ten sheng made one dou 斗.