鐔津文集 7.10

7.10

勢以刑張。其亡也速。刑以勢行。其濫也甚。堯舜非無刑於天下也。而天下不怨。蓋用其刑。以德不以勢也。桀紂非無勢於天下也。而天下忽亡。蓋張其勢。不以德而以刑也。夫物莫不有勢也。而國家朝廷之勢。勢之大也。世莫不有刑也。而堯舜之刑。刑之正也。駕大勢以刑民。民雖苟而不服。秦氏以刑懼天下。而道路無敢偶言。方二世而秦亡。武王奮其威以誅紂。有天下不啻三十世。然其用刑一也。而延促之數不鈞者。蓋其所以用之者異也。故古之君子其在人之上者。崇德而不崇勢。其在人之下者。不務其勢而務其德也。所以為刑正而為政治也。後世則反于是矣。為人上者以刑而鼓勢。為人下者乘勢而侮刑。欲人無怨。其可得乎。

When coercive power is expanded through punishments, ruin comes swiftly; when punishments are carried out relying on coercive power, excess becomes severe. It was not that Yao and Shun did not employ punishments under Heaven, yet all under Heaven held no resentment; this was because they applied their punishments through virtue and not through coercive power. It was not that Jie and Zhou had no coercive power under Heaven, yet they suddenly perished; this was because they expanded their power through punishment and not through virtue. Nothing lacks power, but the power of the state and the imperial court is the greatest of powers; no age lacks punishments, but the punishments of Yao and Shun were the most upright of punishments. If one mounts great coercive power to punish the people, even if the people submit temporarily, they will not do so from the heart. The Qin clan terrified all under Heaven through punishments, so that on the roads no one dared to converse in pairs; yet in the time of the Second Emperor, Qin perished. King Wu roused his majesty to execute Zhou, and possessed all under Heaven for no less than thirty generations. Yet their use of punishments was identical, while the duration of their spans was unequal; this was because the means by which they used them were different. Therefore, the gentleman of old, when above others, exalted virtue and did not exalt coercive power; when below others, he did not strive after coercive power, but strove after virtue. This was how punishments were made upright and governance was accomplished. Later generations have reversed this: those who are above people use punishments to incite coercive power, while those who are below people seize upon coercive power to flout punishments. Hoping that people will be without resentment—how could that be possible?