3.9 [59] 景公问治国何患晏子对以社鼠猛狗

齐景公问治理国家忧患的是什么，晏子回答说土地庙里的老鼠和凶猛的狗

【原文】

景公问于晏子曰：“治国〔何〕患？”晏子对曰：“患夫社鼠。”公曰：“何谓也？”对曰：“夫社，束木而涂之，鼠因往托焉，熏之则恐烧其木，灌之则恐败其途，此鼠所以不可得杀者，以社故也。夫国亦有焉，人主左右是也。内则蔽善恶于君上，外则卖权重于百姓，不诛之则为乱，诛之则为人主所案据，腹而有之，此亦国之社鼠也。人有酤酒者，为器甚洁清，置表甚长，而酒酸不售，问之里人其故，里人云：‘公（狗之）〔之狗〕猛，人挈器而入，且酤公酒，狗迎而噬之，此酒所以酸而不售也。’夫国亦有猛狗，用事者是也。有道术之士，欲干万乘之主，而用事者迎而龁之，此亦国之猛狗也。左右为社鼠，用事者为猛狗，（主安得无壅），（国安得无患乎）？〔则道术之士不得用矣〕，〔此治国之所患也〕。”

【今译】

齐景公问晏子说：“治理国家的人忧患什么？”晏子回答说：“忧患是藏身于土地庙中的老鼠。”景公说：“为什么这样说呢？”晏子回答说：“土地庙是用捆绑好的木材涂抹上泥土修成的，老鼠藏身在其中，用火熏烤怕烧毁木材，用水浇灌又怕冲毁泥土，这些老鼠之所以不能被杀死，就是因为土地庙的缘故。国家也有这种老鼠，就是国君左右的近臣。他们对内混淆善恶，蒙蔽国君，对外玩弄威权，欺压百姓，不诛杀他们国家就会混乱，诛杀他们国君又坚持不从，或平反其狱以宥其辜，这些人就是国家的社鼠。有个卖酒的人，他用来装酒的器皿非常整洁，店铺外挂着高高的酒幌，但他的酒放酸了也卖不出去，他问乡里的人这是什么原因，乡里人说：‘你养的狗太凶猛，别人拿着酒器进了你的店，要买你的酒，你的狗迎面冲上来就咬人，这就是酒放酸了也卖不出去的原因。’国家也有凶猛的狗，就是那些当权的人。懂得治国方略的人，想要见万乘之国的国君，但这些人迎上来就咬人，他们就是国家的猛狗。国君左右的近臣是社鼠，当权的人是猛狗，懂得治国方略的人得不到任用，这就是治理国家的忧患。”

Duke Jing queried Yanzi as follows: “What should one be concerned about in governing the state?”

Yanzi replied: “One should be concerned about the rats in the A ltar of the Soil.”

The Duke said: “What do you mean?”

Yanzi replied: “The A ltar of the Soil consists of pieces of wood that are tied together and plastered. Hence,rats can go inside and find shelter in it. If you wanted to smoke them out,there would be the fear of setting the A ltar’s wood on fire. If you flooded them out,there would be the fear of damaging its plaster.^[2] That is why these rats cannot be killed for the sake of the Altar of the Soil. States also have rats,which are the entourage surrounding the ruler. Internally,they conceal good and evil from their rulers; externally,they sell their excess power to the people.^[3] If you do not punish them,they w ill w reak havoc; if you punish them,then they are given shelter by the ruler,who fosters and preserves them. These are the altar rats of the state.

There was a wine merchant who cleaned his w ine container thoroughly and set up a very long banner,but the w ine did not sell and it soured. He asked the people of his village why this was,and they said: ‘Your dog,sir,is ferocious; when people enter your shop with containers to buy your w ine, your dog comes out and bites them. This is why your w ine soured and did not sell.’ States,too,have ferocious dogs—these are the functionaries. Officers who practice the arts of the Way seek out a ruler of ten-thousand chariots,but the functionaries come out and bite them. These,too,are the ferocious dogs of the state. When the entourage is composed of rats of the A ltar of the Soil and the functionaries are ‘ferocious dogs,’ then officers practicing the arts of the way of ruling are not put to good use. These are a source of concern w ith regard to putting the state in order.”

注释

[1]Item 3.9 [59] ↔ Hanshi waizhuan 7.9/51/21. In the parallel texts of the Shuoyuan,7.35/54/22 and Hanfeizi,34/103/3-13,this dialogue takes place between Duke Huan and Guan Zhong.

[2]途→塗 (YZCQ-ICS,24,n. 5).

[3]The Hanshi waizhuan,7.9/51/23,has: 卖君以要利 “They sell you,my Lord,for profit.”