谓秦王曰
Someone Had a Talk with Qin's King
【原文】
谓秦王曰广臣窃惑王之轻齐易楚，而卑畜韩也。臣闻：‘王兵胜而 不骄，伯主约而不忿。’胜而不骄，故能服世；约而不忿，故能从邻。今王 广德魏、赵而轻失齐，骄也；战胜宜阳，不恤楚交，忿也。骄忿，非伯主之 业也。K窃为大王虑之而不取也！
【今译】
有人对秦王说大王轻视齐国、怠慢楚国而且鄙视韩国，我私下对 此感到疑惑！我听说广能够称王的人即使在战争中取得胜利也不会轿 傲，能够称霹的人会收敛自己而不结怨/取得胜利却不骄傲，所以能够 让世人佩服；收敛自己而不结怨，所以能让邻国服从自己。如今大王给 魏国和赵国施加大量的恩惠，而轻慢齐国，这就是骄傲；在宜阳一战中 取得胜利，而不顾惜跟楚国的交情，这就是结怨，骄傲和结怨都不能成 就霸主大我私下为大王着想，认为这么做是不可取的！
Someone had a talk with the king of the state of Qin and said，“I am confused by the fact that Your Majesty looks down upon the state of Qi，pays no attention to the state of Chu and attaches no importance to the state of Han. I heard that a sovereign capable of unifying the world and becoming King wouldn’t be arrogant although he might have won a great victory. A sovereign able to establish a most powerful state and become Lord-protector would behave himself and avoid being at enmity with other states. He should not be arrogant after a great victory, so people all over the world would admire him. He behaving himself and avoiding incurring enmity, neighbouring states would submit to him. Now Your Majesty has given many generous favours to the slates of Han and Wei‘ However，you don，t pay any attention to damaging relations with the state of Qi. That5 s your arrogance. You have won a victory in Yiyang，but you don ’ t attach importance to establishing good diplomatic relations with the state of Chu. Thus you may rovok ChuJ s enmity towards you. If you are both arrogant and stimulate enmity, you cannot establish a most powerful state- I personally think that Your Majesty shouldn’t act that way!
【原文】
“《诗》云：‘靡不有初，鲜克有终。’故先王之所重者，唯始与终。何以知其然？昔智伯瑶残范、中行，围逼晋阳，卒为三家笑；吴王夫差柄越 于会稽，胜齐于艾陵，为黄池之遇，无礼于宋，遂与句践禽，死于干隧；梁 君伐楚胜齐，制赵、韩之兵，驱十二诸侯以朝天子于盂津，后子死，身布 冠而拘于（秦）[齐]D三者非无功也，能始而不能终也。今王破宜阳，残 三JN，而使天下之士不敢言；雍天下之国，徙两周之疆，而世主不敢交阳侯之塞；取黄棘，而韩、楚之兵不敢进。王若能为此尾，则三王不足四， 五伯不足六；王若不能为此尾，而有后患，则臣恐诸侯之君，河、济之士， 以王为吴、智之事也！
【今译】
“《诗经》中说：‘任何事情都有一个良好的开端，但很少能有美好的结局。’因此以前的君主所看重的就是事情的开端与结局。怎么知道是 这样的呢？从前智伯瑶残害范氏、中行氏，围困晋阳，最终却成为韩国、 赵国和魏国的笑柄；吴王夫差曾经把越王囚禁在会稽，在艾崚战胜了齐 军，在黄池会盟诸侯的时候，对宋国君主无礼，于是宋国伙同越王句践 将夫差擒获，夫差死在了千隧；魏国君主挫敗楚国，战胜齐国，控制了赵 国和韩国的兵力，驱遣十二个国家的君主到孟津朝拜天子，后来他的大 子被杀死，自己穿戴着粗布衣冠被扣押在齐国以上这三个君主并非 没有功劳，他们能有好的开端，但是不能善终。如今大王攻破了宜阳， 摧毁了三川，并使得天下的士人都不敢多作议论；占有天下的国家，使东、西周迁移边界，但其他国家的君主却不敢在阳侯要塞会盟；占领了黄棘，但是韩国和楚国却不敢派兵迎击。大王如果能够善终，就足以跟 三王、五霸相提并论了；大王如果不能善终，就会有后患，我担心其他国 家的君主，黄河、济水沿岸的士人就会对大王做出吴王夫差以及智伯遇 到的那样的事情啊！
“It is said in Shijing，‘ All undertakings have good beginnings, but few end up in success* So, sovereigns in ancient times would pay a lot of attention to both the beginning and the end of every undertaking. How do I know this? Well, previously^ Marquis Zhi，whose name was Yao, uprooted the Fans and Zhongxings and besieged the city of Jinyang. However, he finally was defeated by the three states of Han，Zhao and Wei and derided by the people of the world. Fu Chai，the former king of the state of Wu，confined Gou Jian,the king of the state of Yue? in Kuaiji，defeated the troops of the state of Qi in Ailing，and summoned other states? sovereigns to participate in a meeting held by him in Huangchi. But he offended the state of Song at this meeting. Due to his discourtesy, the king of Song united with Gou Jian and captured him. Then he was killed in Gansui. The king of the state of Wei destroyed the state of Chu and conquered the state of Qi. He defeated the troops of both the state of Zhao and the state of Han, He also led the sovereigns of twelve states to worship the Son of Heaven in Mengjin. However， his crown prince lost his life. He himself was forced to wear ordinary cotton clothes and was detained in the state of Qin. Regarding these aforementioned three sovereigns, it is not that they were not meritorious. They simply couldn，t maintain their efforts till the end. Now Your Majesty have occupied Yiyang and ruined Sanchuan. Scholars in the world dare not argue about this. You have taken over many states in the world and forced the two Zhous to rearrange their borders. Other states ? sovereigns dare not meet at the Yanghou Fortress to exchange their views on the current situation. You have occupied Huangji，but the states of Han and Chu dare not send their troops to confront yours. If Your Majesty can maintain these achievements and keep on making great efforts till the end，you can be as powerful and successful as the Three King Ancestors and the Five Lord-protectors. On the contrary, if you cannot do this, you will bein trouble. If this is the case，I am afraid that other statesf sovereigns and scholars living along the banks of the Yellow River and the Jishui River will conspire against Your Majesty and put you in the same position as Fu Chai and Marquis Zhi previously experienced.
【原文】
“《诗》云：‘行百里者，半于九十Z此言末路之难[也]。今大王皆有 骄色，以臣之心观之，天下之事，依世主之心，非楚受兵，必秦也。何以 知其然也？秦人提魏以拒楚，楚人援韩以拒秦，四国之兵敌，而未能复 战也。齐、宋在绳墨之外以为权，故曰广先得齐、宋者（伐秦）[成]。’秦先得齐、宋，则韩氏铄;韩氏铄，则楚孤而受兵也。楚先得齐，则魏氏铄； 魏氏铄，则秦孤而受兵矣。若随此计而行之，则两国者必为天下笑矣！”
【今译】
“《诗经》中说：‘行百里者，半于九十。，这是说最后的那段路很难坚 持下去啊。现在大王满是骄傲的神色，从我自己的角度来看目前天下 的形势，按照其他国家君主的心思，他们不是联合起兵进攻楚国，就是 进攻秦国，怎么知道是这样的呢？秦国援助魏国来抗击楚国，楚国援 助韩国来抗去秦国。这四个国家的兵力势均力敌，因而不能继续交战。 齐国和宋国置身局外，却是举足轻重的。所以说：‘首先争取到齐国和宋国的就能成事/如果秦国先争取到齐国和宋国，韩国就会削弱。韩 国削弱了，楚国就会因孤立无援而受到进攻。如果楚国首先争取到齐 国和宋国，魏国就会削弱&魏国削弱了，秦国就会因孤立无援而受到进 攻。如果依照这一计策行事，秦国和楚国就必定要有一方失敗而被天 下人耻笑。”
“It is said in Shijing，‘ If a person heading for one destination located one hundred li away gives up after he has marched ninety li，there is no difference between he and those who give up halfway- ’ This saying shows that it is very difficult to attain a goal especially when one reaches the last phases of his undertaking. Recently ^ Your Majesty appeared very arrogant. According to my opinion of the current world situation, other states } sovereigns will launch concerted attacks either on the state of Qin or on the state of Chu. How do I know this? Look, the people of Qin are ready to support the state of Wei in confronting the state of Chu. The people of Chu are prepared to assist the state of Han in fighting your state. These four states cannot engage because the military forces of both sides counterbalance each other. On the other hand ? the states of Qi and Song simply keep out of this contest. Therefore, due to their potential influence, they should not be overlooked. Hence, it is said, ‘ Whoever can win over Qi and Song first will win the war.，If Qin wins over Qi and Song first，the state of Han will weaken. If Han is weak，the state of Wei will become isolated and therefore suffer aggression* If Chu wins over Qi and Song first, the state of Wei will weaken. If Wei is weak，the state of Qin will become isolated and therefore suffer aggression. If this is the case, either the state of Qin or the state of Chu will be defeated and derided by people all over the world. ”