2.10 [35] 景公猎逢蛇虎以为不祥晏子谏

齐景公打猎遇到蛇和老虎认为是不祥之兆，晏子进谏

【原文】

景公出猎，上山见虎，下泽见蛇。归，召晏子而问之曰：“今日寡人出猎，上山则见虎，下泽则见蛇，殆所谓不祥也？”晏子对曰：“国有三不祥，是不与焉。夫有贤而不知，一不祥〔也〕；知而不用，二不祥〔也〕；用而不任，三不祥也。所谓不祥，乃若此者〔也〕。今上山见虎，虎之室也；下泽见蛇，蛇之穴也。如虎之室，如蛇之穴，而见之，曷为不祥也！”

【今译】

齐景公外出打猎，上山的时候看见了老虎，走到湖边又见到了蛇。回来后，景公召见晏子问道：“今天我出去打猎，上山见到老虎，走到湖边又见到蛇，这大概就是所谓的不祥之兆吧？”晏子回答道：“国家有三种不吉利的事，而这些是不包含在内的。有贤良的人而不知道，这是第一种不祥；知道贤良的人而不重用，这是第二种不祥；重用了又不信任，这是第三种不祥。所谓不祥之兆，说的就是像这类事情。现在您上山见到老虎，山是老虎的住处；走到湖边见到了蛇，湖边是蛇的洞穴。您去虎窝见到老虎，去蛇穴见到蛇，这哪是不祥之兆呢！”

Duke Jing went out on a hunt. He climbed a mountain and saw a tiger; he went down to a swamp and saw a snake. Upon his return,he summoned Yanzi and asked him: “Today I was out hunting. When I climbed a mountain I saw a tiger and when I went down to a swamp I saw a snake. May I assume this is what is called ‘inauspicious’?”

Yanzi answered: “There are three inauspicious matters for a state and these are not among them. The first instance is if worthy people are not recognized as such; the second instance is if they are recognized as such but are not taken into service; and the third instance is if they are taken into service but they are not empowered to act. The so-called ‘inauspicious matter’ refers only to these three cases. But now,when you climbed a mountain and saw a tiger,you were at the tiger’s lair. When you went down to the swamp and saw a snake,you were at the snake’s hole. If one goes to the lair of the tiger and to the hole of the snake and sees them,why should these sightings be regarded as inauspicious?”

注释

[1]Item 2.10 [35] ↔ Shuoyuan,1.23/6/19.