淳于髡一日而见七人于宣王
Chunyu Kun Recommended Seven People to King Xuan in One Day
【原文】
淳于髡一日而见七人于宣王。王子来！寡人闻之，千里而一 士，是比肩而立；百世而一圣，若随踵而至也，今子一朝而见七士，则士 不亦众乎？”淳于髡曰：“不然。夫鸟同翼者而聚居，兽同足者而俱行。 今求柴葫、桔梗于沮泽，则累世不得一焉。及之睾黍、梁父之阴，则郄车 而载耳.夫物各有畴，今髡，贤者之畴也。王求士于髡，譬若挹水于河，而取火于燧也。髡将复见之，岂特七士也！”
【今译】
淳于髡一天之内就向齐宣王推荐了七个贤人。宣王说你过来！ 我听说，方圆一千里之内能有一个贤士，就可以说是贤士并肩站立了 ； 一百代出现一个圣人，圣人就如同接踵而来了。如今你一天之内就推 荐了七个贤人，那样贤人岂不是太多了吗？”淳于髡说不是这样的。 生有相同羽翼的鸟在一起柄息，生有相同足爪的动物在一起行走。如 果到潮湿的低地去寻找柴葫、桔梗，一辈子也找不到一棵。去到睾黍 山、梁父山北’面的山坡，就多得用车子也拉不了。物以类聚，我自己就 属于贤人之类。大王从我这里寻求贤士，如同从河里舀水、用燧石取火一样取之不尽、用之不竭。我还要继续推荐呢，岂止七个？”
Once Chunyu Kun recommended seven wise and capable scholars to King Xuan in one day. King Xuan said, "You, come here. I heard that if there was one wise and capable scholar per thousand li of land, we could say that the world was crowded with scholars；if there was one sage per hundred generations, we could say that sages were jostling with each other. Now you have recommended seven scholars to me within one day. Aren’t there too many scholars?” Chunyu Kun said, “That，t not right. Birds of a feather flock together. Animals with the same claws run in groups. If one looks for thorough waxes and balloonflowers in swampy areas, he will not find even one in his lifetime. If one goes to the northern side of Mount Gaoshu and Mount Liangfu，he will obtain too many to transport in a cart. Things of one kind come together. Since I am a wise and capable person myself, if you seek wise and capable scholars with my help, it’s like ladling water from a river or building a fire with a firestone. I will recommend more to you. Why should they be limited to seven?"