1.10 [10] 景公敕五子之傅而失言晏子谏

齐景公给五个儿子的师傅下敕命而言语有失，晏子进谏

【原文】

景公有男子五人，所使（传）〔傅〕之者，皆有车百乘者也，晏子为一焉。公召其傅曰：“勉之！将以而所傅为子。”及晏子，晏子辞曰：“君命其臣，据其肩以尽其力，臣敢不勉乎！今有之家，此一国之权臣也，人人以君命命之曰：‘将以而所傅为子。’此离树别党，倾国之道也，婴不敢受命，愿君图之！”

【今译】

齐景公有五个儿子，被任命教导他们的老师，都是有车百乘的大臣，晏子是其中之一。景公分别召见这些老师说：“您要努力把公子教导成才呀！那样我就把您教导的公子立为世子。”轮到晏子的时候，晏子辞谢说：“国君任命臣下，让他肩负重任拼尽全力，我怎么敢不尽力而为呢！如今辅佐公子们的大夫，都是有权有势的臣子，（倘若）人人都以国君的命令自命说：‘将来要把您教导的公子立为世子。’这是分立不同党派，导致国家灭亡的做法，我不敢接受任命，希望您考虑！”

Duke Jing had five sons. Those who were commissioned to be their tutors had one hundred chariots each. Yanzi was one of them. The Duke summoned the tutors and said to each: “Do your best,and I w ill choose the son that you tutor to become my successor.”

When Yanzi’s turn came,he declined and said: “A ruler gives orders to his ministers to do their utmost,carrying the burden on their shoulders; so how could I,a minister,not presume to do my best? But now,the families that have one hundred chariots^[1] are the families of the powerful ministers of the state. If each one of them undertakes your command,my Lord,that says,‘Do your best,^[2] and I w ill choose the son that you tutor to become my successor,’ this would result in discord among the heirs and partisan division,leading the way to the overthrow of the state. I do not presume to obey your order and hope that you,my Lord,w ill give it your careful consideration.”

注释

[1]今有之家→今有车百乘之家 (JS,38/4).

[2]These two characters—勉之 (“do your best”)—are not present in the original quotation of the command but rather serve as clarification.