Chapter XXVI
THE WAY TO MAINTAIN THE STATE[1]
When a sage-king makes laws, he makes rewards sufficient
to encourage the good, his authority sufficient to subjugate
the violent, and his preparation sufficient to accomplish[2]
a task. Ministers of an orderly age, who have rendered the
country many meritorious services, hold high posts. Those
who have exerted their strength, receive big rewards. Those
who have exerted the spirit of loyalty, establish names.
If good, they live on as flowers and insects do in spring;
if bad, they die out as flowers and insects do in autumn.
Therefore, the people strive to apply all their forces and
rejoice in exerting the spirit of loyalty. This is said to
have high and low living in harmony. As high and low
are living in harmony, users of forces exert their strength
to the observance of yard and weight and strive to play the
role of Jên P`i; warriors march out at the risk of their
lives
[3]
and hope to accomplish the merits of Mêng Pên
and Hsia Yü; and upholders of the true path all cherish the
mind of gold and stone to die in the cause of fidelity as
Tzŭ-hsü did. If the users of forces are as strong as Jên
P`i and fight as bravely as Pên and Yü while cherishing
the mind of gold and stone, then the ruler of men can sleep
without worries
[4]
and his preparations for the maintenance
of the state are already complete.
In by-gone days, the good maintainers of the state forbade
what they considered light with what they considered heavy,
and stopped what they considered easy with what they
considered hard. Therefore, both gentlemen and rustics
were equally upright. Robber Chê and Tsêng Ts`an and
Shih Ch`iu were equally honest. How do I know this?
Indeed, the greedy robber does not go to the ravine to
snatch gold. For, if he goes to the ravine to snatch gold,
he will not be safe. Similarly, Pên and Yü, without estimating
their opponents' strength, would have gained no fame for
bravery; Robber Chê, without calculating the possibilities
of success, would have gained no booty.
When the intelligent sovereign enacts prohibitions, even
Pên and Yü are restrained by what they cannot vanquish
and Robber Chê is afflicted with what he cannot take.
Therefore, if the ruler can forbid with what Pên and Yü cannot
transgress and maintain what Robber Chê cannot take, the
violent will become prudent; the brave, respectful; and the
wicked, upright. Then All-under-Heaven will become just
and fair and the common people will become right-spirited.
Once the lord of men leaves the law and loses the hearts
of the people, he will fear lest Po-i should take anything
away, and will not escape such calamities as are caused by
T`ien Ch`êng and Robber Chê. Why? Because the present
world has not a single man as upright as Po-i but the age
is full of culprits. That is the reason why laws, weights,
and measures are made. If weights and measures are of
faith, Po-i loses no reason to be right and Robber Chê
cannot do wrong. If laws are distinct and clear, the worthy
cannot over-run the unworthy, the strong cannot outrage
the weak, and the many cannot violate the few. If the ruler
commits All-under-Heaven to the care of the Law of Yao,
honest men never miss their due posts and wicked men
never seek any godsend. If the arrow of Hou Yi is entrusted
with a thousand taels of gold, Po-i cannot lose and Robber
Chê dare not take. As Yao was too clever to miss the
culprits, All-under-Heaven had no wickedness. As Yi was
too skilful to miss the mark, the thousand taels of gold
would not be lost. Thus, wicked men could not live long,
and Robber Chê would stop.
Should such be the case, among the pictures there would
be inserted no worthy like Tsai Yü and enumerated no
rapacious ministers like the Six Nobles; among the books
there would be recorded no personage like Tzŭ-hsü and
described no tyrant like Fu-ch`a; the tactics of Sun Wu
and Wu Ch`i would be abandoned; and Robber Chê's
malice would give way. Then the lord of men might enjoy
sound sleep inside the jade palace with no trouble of glaring
his eyes and grinding his teeth with anger and turning his
ear with anxiety; while the ministers might drop their
clothes and fold their hands in an iron-walled city with no
calamity of seeing their arms clutched, their lips shut tight,
and hearing sighs and griefs.
To subdue the tiger not by means of the cage, to suppress
the culprit not by means of the law, or to impede the liar
not by means of the tally, would be a worry to Pên and
Yü and a difficulty to Yao and Shun. Therefore, to construct
a cage is not to provide against rats but to enable the weak
and timid to subdue the tiger; to establish laws is not to
provide against Tsêng Ts`an and Shih Ch`iu but to enable
the average sovereign to prohibit Robber Chê; and to
make tallies is not to guard against Wei Shêng but to make
the masses never deceive one another. Thus, the right way
is not to rely on Pi Kan's martyrdom in the cause of fidelity
nor to count on the rapacious minister's committing no
deception, but to rely on the ability of the timid to subdue
the tiger and appropriate the facilities of the average sovereign
to maintain the state. In the present age, who schemes loyally
for the sovereign and accumulates virtue for All-underHeaven,
finds no advantage more permanent than this![5]
If
so, the ruler of men will see no figure of a doomed state
and the loyal ministers will cherish no image of a ruined
personality. As the ruler knows how to honour ranks and
make rewards definite, he can make people apply their
strength to the observance of yard and weight, die in the
cause of their official duties, understand the real desire of
Pên and Yü not to choose the death penalty before a peaceful
life, and scrutinize[6]
the covetous acts of Robber Chê so as
not to ruin their characters for the sake of money. Then
the way to maintain the state is completely paved.
