韩非子(节选三)

The Works of Han Feizi(Ⅲ)

第十七章备内 人主之患在于信人，信人则制于人。人臣之于其君，非有骨肉之亲也，缚于势而不得不事也。故为人臣者．窥觇其君心也无须臾之休，而人主怠傲处其上，此世所以有劫君弑主也。为人主而大信其子，则奸臣得乘于子以成其私，故李兑傅赵王而饿主父。为人主而大信其妻，则奸臣得乘于妻以成其私，故优施傅丽姬，杀申生而立奚齐。夫以妻之近与子之亲而犹不可信，则其馀无可信者矣。

Chapter 17 Guarding Against the Interior The difficulty of the lord of men lies in his confidence in men. Confiding in men, he is restrained by men. Ministers, in relation to the ruler, have no kinship, but, solely because constrained by force of circumstances, serve him. Therefore, those who minister to a ruler, always watch the mental condition of their master without stopping even for a moment; whereas the lord of men remains idle and arrogant over them. This is the reason why the world sees cases of ruler-molestation and regicide. If the lord of men has much confidence in his son, then wicked ministers will utilize his son to accomplish their selfish purposes. For illustration, Li Dui, while assisting the King of Zhao, starved the Father Sovereign. If the lord of men has much confidence in his spouse, then wicked ministers will utilize his spouse to accomplish their selfish purposes. For illustration, Actor Shi, while assisting Li （favourite concubine of Duke Xian of Jin）, murdered Shen Sheng and placed Xi Qi in his stead. Indeed, even the spouse who is so near and the son who is so dear to the sovereign are not trustworthy, much less can anybody else be trustworthy.