客见赵王
A Guest Visited Zhao's King
【原文】
客见赵王曰广臣闻王之使人买马也，有之乎？ ”王曰有之何故 至今不遺？”王曰；“未得相马之工也。”对曰：“王何不遺建信君乎？ ”“建 信君有国事，又不知相马。”曰：“王何不遣纪姬乎？ ”王曰广纪姬妇人也， 不知相马对曰买马而善，何补于国？ ”王曰无补乎国。”“买马而 恶，何危于国？ ”王曰：“无危于国对“然则买马善而若恶，皆无危补 于闰,然而王之买马也，必将待工。今治天下举错非也，国家为虚戾而 社稷不血食，然而王不待工而与建信君，何也？”赵王未之应也。客曰: “（燕郭）[郭偃]之法有所谓（桑雍）[柔痈]者，王知之乎？ ”王曰“未之闻 也所谓（桑雍）[柔痈]者，便辟左右之近者及夫人优爱孺子也。此皆 能乘王之醉昏而求所欲于王者也。是能得之乎内，则大臣为之枉法于外矣口故日月晖于外，其贼在于内。谨备其所憎，而祸在于所爱。”
【今译】
一个客人谒见赵王说：“我听说大王派人买马，有这么回事吗？"赵王说:"有。”“为什么到现在还不安排他们出发？”赵王说还没有找到 揸长相马的师傅呢。”客人回答说广大王何不派建信君去？ ”“建信君要 处理国家大事，又不懂得相马。”客人说：“大王何不派纪姬去？ ”赵王说： “纪姬是一个女人，不懂得相马。”客人回答说广买到好马，对国家有什 么帮助？”赵王说广没有帮助买的马不好，对国家有什么危害？”赵王 说：“没有危害。”客人回答说既然如此，买的马好与不好，都对国家既 没有帮助又没有危害，然而大王买马却一定要等找到一个撞长相马的 师傅。如今治理天下的举措是错误的，国家沦为废墟，社稷之神不能得 到祭祀，然而大王不等待一个揸长治理国家的师傅，却将国事交付给建 信君，为什么呢？”赵王没有作任何回答。客人说郭偃的法律中有所 谓的‘柔痈’，大王知道此事吗？”赵王说：“没有听说过。”“所谓的‘柔 痈’，是君主身边的宠臣、爱妾、徘优和男童。这些人都能趁着大王昏醉时向大王索取自己想要的东西。这些人能够在宫内为所欲为，那大臣们就会在宫外徇私枉法了，所以太阳和月亮外表放射着光辉，为害的 东西却隐藏在内部.人们对自己讨厌的人谨慎防备，而祸患却出在自 己所喜爱的人身上
A guest paid a visit to the king of the state of Zhao and said, “I heard that Your Majesty wants to send some people to purchase horses for you. Is that true?” “Yes，that s true, “Why haven71 you sent them?”“I haven71 yet found anyone who is good at judging the quality of horses.”‘‘Why not send Lord Jianxin then?”‘‘Lord Jianxin takes care of government affairs‘ Anyway, he is not able to judge the quality of horses. ” “Why not sent Madame Ji?”“Madame Ji is a woman. She knows nothing about the quality of horses either,”“ Will the state benefit if you can obtain a fine horse?”“That won’t provide any benefit to the state,”“Can the 'state be damaged if you buy a bad horse?” “ That won? t do any harm to the state." “ Well，in that case，a fine horse cannot benefit the state and a bad one cannot do any harm to it. However, you look for a person who is good at judging the quality of animals when you want to purchase horses. Our policies on governing the state are wrong. As a result, the state will be ruined，and sacrifices normally held to worship both the Deity of Crops and the Deity of Earth will be suspended. But instead of looking for the right person to administer the state, you devolve it on Lord Jianxin. Why?” The king didn’t answer his question. The guest continued, “In the regulations stipulated by Guo Yan, there is a so-called Rouju, Do you know that?”“I’ve never heard anything about it,”replied the king. “The so-called Rouju refers to a sovereign’ s favourite court officials? concubines, dwarf entertainers and handsome young men. All these people take advantage of the sovereign to obtain whatever they want when the sovereign loses consciousness due to alcohol If these people can have their lusts fulfilled inside the palace, high-ranking court officials will pervert the law outside the palace. Both the sun and the moon have halos and prominence，but things causing damage to them stay on their inside. It is natural to be cautious with people one dislikes, but normally problems are initiated by those whom one loves."