2.17 [42] 景公朝居严下不言晏子谏

齐景公在朝堂上太严厉臣下们不敢说话，晏子进谏

【原文】

晏子朝，复于景公曰：“朝居严乎？”公曰：“（严居朝）〔朝居严〕，则（害曷）〔曷害〕于治国家哉？”晏子对曰：“朝居严则下无言，下无言则上无闻矣。下无言，则（无）〔吾〕谓之喑，上无闻，则吾谓之聋。聋喑，非害国家而如何也！且合升（豉）〔㪷〕之微以满仓廪，合疏缕之纬以成帏幕，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，恶有拒而不受者哉？”

【今译】

晏子入朝，向齐景公禀报说：“您在朝堂上是不是太严厉了？”景公说：“在朝堂上严厉，对国家的治理有什么害处吗？”晏子回答说：“在朝堂上太严厉，臣下们就不敢说话，臣下们不说话，国君就得不到汇报了。臣下们不说话，我们称之为哑，国君得不到汇报，我们称之为聋。又聋又哑，不是有害于治理国家又是什么呢！况且只有积累一升一斗的微小粮食才能装满粮仓，只有集合一丝一缕的绨线才能织成帏幕，泰山的高大，并不是只有一块石头，而是无数石头从低处累积然后才高大。治理天下，不是只听一个人的话就行的，当然有时候可以接受汇报而不采用，但哪有拒不接受汇报的呢？”

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?”

注释

[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.