故曰：小知不可使谋事，小忠不可使主法。Therefore, it can be said that those with petty wisdom should not be entrusted with planning affairs, and those who show petty loyalty should not be made to oversee the law.
荆恭王与晋厉公战于鄢陵，荆师败，恭王伤。King Gong of Jing fought against Duke Li of Jin at Yanling. The Jing army was defeated, and King Gong was wounded.
子反为人嗜酒，甘之，不能绝之于口，醉而卧。Zifan was fond of wine. Finding it sweet, he couldn't stop drinking it and got drunk and lay down.
恭王欲复战而谋事，使人召子反，子反辞以心疾。King Gong wanted to resume the battle and discuss strategies. He sent someone to summon Zifan, who excused himself on the grounds of a heart illness.
恭王驾而往视之，入幄中，闻酒臭而还，曰：King Gong rode over to see him. Entering the tent, he smelled the stench of wine and returned, saying:
“今日之战，寡人目亲伤。所恃者司马，司马又如此，是亡荆国之社稷而不恤吾众也。寡人无与复战矣。” "In today's battle, I was wounded in the eye. What I relied on was the Sima. But the Sima is like this. This is to neglect the state of Jing and not care about my people. I have no one to resume the battle with."
罢师而去之，斩子反以为大戮。He called off the army and left, and executed Zifan as a severe punishment.
故曰：竖谷阳之进酒也，非以端恶子反也，实心以忠爱之，而适足以杀之而已矣。So it can be said that Gu Yang's offering of wine was not out of malicious intent towards Zifan. He truly meant to show loyalty and love, but it only ended up killing him.
此行小忠而贼大忠者也。故曰：小忠，大忠之贼也。This is an act of showing petty loyalty while harming great loyalty. Therefore, it is said that petty loyalty is the enemy of great loyalty.
若使小忠主法，则必将赦罪，赦罪以相爱，是与下安矣，然而妨害于治民者也。If those showing petty loyalty are made to oversee the law, they will surely pardon crimes. Pardoning crimes out of affection seems to bring harmony with the subordinates, but it actually hinders the governance of the people.
当魏之方明《立辟》、从宪令行之时，有功者必赏，有罪者必诛，强匡天下，威行四邻；及法慢，妄予，而国日削矣。When Wei was clarifying the "Laws of Establishment" and implementing the decrees, those who were meritorious were surely rewarded, and those who were guilty were surely punished. It was powerful enough to correct the world and its might spread to the neighboring states. But when the laws became lax and rewards were given arbitrarily, the state gradually declined.
当赵之方明《国律》、从大军之时，人众兵强，辟地齐、燕；及《国律》满，用者弱，而国日削矣。When Zhao was clarifying the "National Laws" and following the great military discipline, it had a large population and a strong army, and expanded its territory at the expense of Qi and Yan. But when the "National Laws" became neglected and those who implemented them were weak, the state gradually declined.
当燕之方明《奉法》、审官断之时，东县齐国，南尽中山之地；When Yan was clarifying the "Law-Abiding" and carefully making official judgments, it occupied the eastern part of Qi and the southern part of Zhongshan.
及《奉法》已亡，官断不用，左右交争，论从其下，则兵弱而地削，国制于邻敌矣。But when the "Law-Abiding" was no longer observed and official judgments were no longer made, those around the ruler quarreled, and decisions were made according to the wishes of the subordinates. As a result, the army became weak, the territory was reduced, and the state was controlled by neighboring enemies.
故曰：明法者强，慢法者弱。强弱如是其明矣，而世主弗为，国亡宜矣。So it is said that those who clarify the laws are strong, and those who neglect the laws are weak. The difference between strength and weakness is so obvious, yet the rulers of the world do not act accordingly, and it is fitting that their states perish.
语曰：“家有常业，虽饥不饿；国有常法，虽危不亡。”As the saying goes, "A family with regular occupations will not go hungry even in times of famine; a state with regular laws will not perish even in times of crisis."
夫舍常法而从私意，则臣下饰于智能；臣下饰于智能，则法禁不立矣。If one abandons the regular laws and follows personal will, then the subordinates will feign intelligence and ability. When the subordinates feign intelligence and ability, the legal prohibitions cannot be established.
是亡意之道行，治国之道废也。治国之道，去害法者，则不惑于智能，不矫于名誉矣。This is the Way of implementing the Way of personal will and abolishing the Way of governing the state. The Way of governing the state is to get rid of those who harm the law, so as not to be confused by intelligence and ability, and not to be misled by reputation.
昔者舜使吏决鸿水，先令有功而舜杀之；禹朝诸候之君会稽之上，防风之君后至而禹斩之。In the past, Shun sent officials to control the great flood. One official who completed the task first was killed by Shun. Yu summoned the lords of the vassal states to Kuaiji. The lord of Fangfeng arrived late and was beheaded by Yu.
以此观之，先令者杀，后令者斩，则古者先贵如令矣。Judging from this, those who completed the task first were killed, and those who arrived late were beheaded. So in ancient times, the importance of following orders was highly regarded.
故镜执清而无事，美恶从而比焉；衡执正而无事，轻重从而载焉。Therefore, a mirror, when kept clean and still, reflects beauty and ugliness. A balance, when kept upright and still, measures the weight of things.
夫摇镜，则不得为明；摇衡，则不得为正，法之谓也。If a mirror is shaken, it cannot reflect clearly; if a balance is shaken, it cannot measure accurately. This is what the law is like.
故先王以道为常，以法为本。本治者名尊，本乱者名绝。So the former kings regarded the Way as constant and the law as fundamental. When the foundation is well-governed, the ruler's name is respected; when the foundation is in chaos, the ruler's name is extinguished.
凡智能明通，有以则行，无以则止。故智能单道，不可传于人。而道法万全，智能多失。All those with intelligence and understanding act according to certain principles, and stop when there are no principles. So intelligence and ability, if they deviate from the Way, cannot be passed on to others. But the Way of the law is perfectly safe, while intelligence and ability often lead to mistakes.
夫悬衡而知平，设规而知圆，万全之道也。明主使民饰于道之故，故佚而有功。Hanging a balance can tell whether something is level, and using a compass can tell whether something is round. This is the perfectly safe Way. A wise ruler makes the people abide by the Way, so they can achieve success with ease.
释规而任巧，释法而任智，惑乱之道也。Abandoning the compass and relying on craftsmanship, abandoning the law and relying on intelligence, is the Way to confusion.
乱主使民饰于智，不知道之故，故劳而无功。A confused ruler makes the people feign intelligence, not knowing the Way, so they work hard but achieve nothing.
释法禁而听请谒群臣卖官于上，取赏于下，是以利在私家而威在群臣。Abandoning legal prohibitions and listening to petitions, the ministers sell official positions to those above and seek rewards from those below. Thus, the benefits go to private families and the power lies with the ministers.
故民无尽力事主之心，而务为交于上。So the people have no intention of doing their best to serve the ruler, but instead focus on currying favor with those above.
民好上交，则货财上流，而巧说者用。若是，则有功者愈少。If the people like to curry favor with those above, wealth will flow upwards, and those with glib tongues will be employed. If this is the case, there will be fewer meritorious people.
奸臣愈进而材臣退，则主惑而不知所行，民聚而不知所道。The more the treacherous ministers advance and the capable ministers retreat, the more confused the ruler will be and not know what to do, and the more the people will gather but not know what to follow.
此废法禁、后功劳、举名誉、听请谒之失也。This is the fault of abolishing legal prohibitions, neglecting achievements, promoting reputation, and listening to petitions.
凡败法之人，必设诈托物以来亲，又好言天下之所希有。All those who undermine the law will surely set up deceptions and use things as pretexts to get close to the ruler, and they also like to talk about the rare things in the world.
此暴君乱主之所以惑也，人臣贤佐之所以侵也。This is what confuses the tyrannical and confused rulers and what allows the treacherous ministers to encroach on power.
故人臣称伊尹、管仲之功，则背法饰智有资；称比干、子胥之忠而见杀，则疾强谏有辞。So when ministers praise the achievements of Yi Yin and Guan Zhong, they have the means to violate the law and feign intelligence. When they praise the loyalty of Bi Gan and Wu Zixu who were killed, they have an excuse to oppose forceful admonition.
夫上称贤明，不称暴乱，不可以取类，若是者禁。Praising the wise and the virtuous while not mentioning the violent and the chaotic cannot be used as a proper analogy. Such things should be prohibited.
君子立法以为是也，今人臣多立其私智以法为非者，是邪以智，过法立智。如是者禁，主之道也。A gentleman makes laws considering them right. Now, many ministers establish their own private wisdom and consider the laws wrong. This is using intelligence to do evil, going beyond the law to show off intelligence. Such things should be prohibited. This is the Way of the ruler.
明主之道，必明于公私之分，明法制，去私恩。The Way of a wise ruler must be clear about the distinction between public and private, clarify the legal system, and get rid of private favors.
夫令必行，禁必止，人主之公义也；Making orders must be carried out and prohibitions must be observed. This is the public righteousness of the ruler.
必行其私，信于朋友，不可为赏劝，不可为罚沮，人臣之私义也。Insisting on doing things for personal gain, being faithful to friends, being neither encouraged by rewards nor deterred by punishments. This is the private righteousness of the ministers.
私义行则乱，公义行则治，故公私有分。人臣有私心，有公义。When private righteousness prevails, there will be chaos; when public righteousness prevails, there will be order. So there must be a distinction between public and private. Ministers have both private intentions and public righteousness.
修身洁白而行公行正，居官无私，人臣之公义也；污行从欲，安身利家，人臣之私心也。Cultivating one's character to be pure and acting justly in public affairs, being self-less in office. This is the public righteousness of the ministers. Having immoral conduct, following desires, and seeking personal and family benefits. This is the private intention of the ministers.
明主在上，则人臣去私心行公义；乱主在上，则人臣去公义行私心。When a wise ruler is in power, the ministers abandon their private intentions and act with public righteousness. When a confused ruler is in power, the ministers abandon public righteousness and act with private intentions.
故君臣异心，君以计畜臣，臣以计事君，君臣之交，计也。So the ruler and the ministers have different intentions. The ruler uses schemes to control the ministers, and the ministers use schemes to serve the ruler. The relationship between the ruler and the ministers is based on schemes.
害身而利国，臣弗为也；害国而利臣，君不为也。The ministers will not do things that harm themselves but benefit the state; the ruler will not do things that harm the state but benefit the ministers.
臣之情，害身无利；君之情，害国无亲。君臣也者，以计合者也。The nature of the ministers is that they won't do things that harm themselves without gain; the nature of the ruler is that there is no kinship when it comes to harming the state. The ruler and the ministers are joined together by schemes.
至夫临难必死，尽智竭力，为法为之。As for facing difficulties and being ready to die, exhausting intelligence and efforts, they do it for the sake of the law.
故先王明赏以劝之，严刑以威之。赏刑明，则民尽死；民尽死，则兵强主尊。So the former kings clearly set rewards to encourage them and set strict punishments to intimidate them. When rewards and punishments are clear, the people will be willing to sacrifice themselves. When the people are willing to sacrifice themselves, the army will be strong and the ruler will be respected.
刑赏不察，则民无功而求得，有罪而幸免，则兵弱主卑。故先王贤佐尽力竭智。If rewards and punishments are not properly implemented, the people will seek rewards without merit and try to avoid punishment when guilty. Then the army will be weak and the ruler will be humbled. So the former kings and their virtuous assistants did their best and exhausted their wisdom.
故曰：公私不可不明，法禁不可不审，先王知之矣。So it is said that the distinction between public and private must be clear, and the legal prohibitions must be carefully examined. The former kings understood this.
