鐔津文集 6.22

6.22

水固勝火。而善固勝惡也。苟用之不得其道。雖水火善惡亦不可得其勝矣。水之制火。必於火之方然而水可勝矣。善之制惡。必於惡之未形而善可勝矣。及其惡至乎不可掩。而欲推善以救惡。火至乎不可熄。而欲激水以沃火。其勢可勝之乎。君子小人者其善惡之所出者也。是故君子用則其政善。小人用則其政惡也。斯欲政善而專用小人。暨其惡熾至乎暴戾。上下欲君子而拯之也。是奚異乎激水而沃者邪。雖有彥聖之人如彼堯舜禹。吾知其無如之何也。故古之善用人者用君子必先而小人必後。君子先用。善得以而制惡也。小人後使。惡得以而遷善也。禮不容小人加乎君子。不使不肖高於其賢。所以隆善而沮惡也。詩云。我心匪石。不可轉也。我心匪席。不可卷也。威儀棣棣。不可選也。憂心悄悄。慍于群小。遇閔既多。受侮不少。靜言思之。寤辟有標。我心匪石。不可轉也者。君子有志可以與守也。威儀棣棣不可選也者。君子有法可以與為也。憂心悄悄慍于群小者。惡小人之加乎君子也。遇閔既多受侮不少者。疾小人之玩政也。靜言思之寤辟有標者。怨不用君子也。雖小人之道不能。不加於盛德之家。雖君子之道不能。不沮於已破之國。用舍之政然也。一小人壞之于其前。雖百君子莫能修之于其後。一君子治之于其上。雖百小人莫能亂之于其下。邪正之勢然也。越之漁者使其子漁于夷溪。鄙者專之。能者散之（散疑筆誤宜作助兼）及鄙負其所使也。網則隳其紀綱而命能者治之。能者終不能也。

Water naturally overcomes fire, and good naturally overcomes evil. Yet if the way they are employed is not attained, even water and fire, good and evil, cannot achieve victory. Water's subjugation of fire must occur just as the fire begins to blaze, and only then can water conquer it. Good's subjugation of evil must occur before the evil has taken shape, and only then can good conquer it. When evil has reached the point of being irrepressible, and one seeks to promote good to rescue [the situation] from evil, or when fire has reached the point of being inextinguishable, and one seeks to splash water to quench the fire, can such a momentum be overcome? The gentleman and the petty man are the sources from which good and evil arise. Therefore, when the gentleman is employed, governance is good; when the petty man is employed, governance is evil. If one desires good governance yet exclusively employs petty men, then when their evil blazes up to violent cruelty and high and low wish for a gentleman to save them—how does this differ from splashing water to quench [a conflagration]? Even if there were sagacious men like Yao, Shun, and Yu, I know they could do nothing about it. Thus, those of antiquity who were skilled in employing others surely placed the gentleman first and the petty man last. When the gentleman is employed first, good is able to overcome evil. When the petty man is used later, evil is able to transform toward good. Ritual does not permit the petty man to be placed above the gentleman, nor does it allow the unworthy to be exalted above the worthy; this is how to elevate good and suppress evil. The Book of Songs says: 'My heart is not a stone; / It cannot be turned. / My heart is not a mat; / It cannot be rolled up. / My dignified demeanor is majestic, / It cannot be faulted. / My anxious heart is troubled, / Hated by the herd of petty men. / I have met with many sorrows, / And endured no small insults. / In silence I contemplate this; / Waking, I beat my breast.' 'My heart is not a stone, it cannot be turned' means that the gentleman possesses a resolve that can be held fast. 'My dignified demeanor is majestic, it cannot be faulted' means that the gentleman possesses standards by which he can act. 'My anxious heart is troubled, hated by the herd of petty men' expresses hatred of the petty man being placed above the gentleman. 'I have met with many sorrows, and endured no small insults' expresses detestation of the petty man toying with governance. 'In silence I contemplate this; waking, I beat my breast' expresses resentment at not employing the gentleman. Even though the way of the petty man cannot avoid inflicting harm upon a family of flourishing virtue, and even though the way of the gentleman cannot avoid being thwarted in an already ruined state, such are the consequences of policies of employment and rejection. If one petty man ruins it from beforehand, even a hundred gentlemen cannot repair it afterward. If one gentleman governs it from above, even a hundred petty men cannot throw it into chaos from below. Such is the momentum of the perverse and the upright. A fisherman of Yue had his sons fish in the Yi Stream: the vulgar son monopolized it, while the capable son was dispersed [from it]. When the vulgar son failed in what he was sent to do, breaking the main cords of the net, he ordered the capable son to mend it, but the capable son ultimately could not.