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26. 冏命
王若曰：「伯冏！惟予弗克于德，嗣先人宅丕後。怵惕惟厲，中夜以興，思免厥愆。昔在文、武，聰明齊聖，小大之臣，咸懷忠良。其侍御樸從，罔匪正人，以旦夕承弼厥辟，出入起居，罔有不欽，發號施令，罔有不臧，下民祗若，萬邦咸休。惟予一人無良，實賴左右前後有位之士，匡其不及。繩愆糾謬，格其非心，俾克紹先烈。今予命汝作大正，正于群仆侍御之臣，懋乃後德，交修不逮；慎簡乃僚，無以巧言令色，便辟側媚，其惟吉士。仆臣正，厥後克正，仆臣諛，厥後自聖；後德惟臣，不德惟臣。爾無昵于憸人，充耳目之官，迪上以非先王之典；非人其吉，惟貨其吉；若時瘝厥官；惟爾大弗克只厥辟，惟予汝辜。」王曰：「嗚呼！欽哉！永弼乃後于彝憲。」
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BOOK XXVI. THE CHARGE TO KHIUNG.
1
The king spoke to the following effect:--'Po-khiung, I
come short in virtue, and have succeeded to the former kings, to occupy the
great throne. I am fearful, and conscious of the peril (of my position). I rise
at midnight, and think how I can avoid falling into errors. Formerly Wan and Wû
were endowed with all intelligence, august and sage, while their ministers,
small and great, all cherished loyalty and goodness. Their servants,
charioteers, chamberlains, and followers were all men of correctness; morning
and evening waiting on their sovereign's wishes, or supplying his deficiencies.
(Those kings), going out and coming in, rising up and sitting down, were thus
made reverent. Their every warning or command was good. The people yielded a
reverent obedience, and the myriad regions were all happy. But I, the One man,
am destitute of goodness, and really depend on the officers who have places
about me to help my deficiencies, applying the line to my faults, and
exhibiting my errors, thus correcting my bad heart, and enabling me to be the
successor of my meritorious predecessors. 'Now I appoint you to be High Chamberlain, to see that
all the officers in your department and my personal attendants are upright and
correct, that they strive to promote the virtue of their sovereign, and
together supply my deficiencies. Be careful in selecting your officers. Do not
employ men of artful speech and insinuating looks, men whose likes and dislikes
are ruled by mine, one-sided men and flatterers; but employ good men. When
these household officers are correct, the sovereign will be correct; when they
are flatterers, the sovereign will consider himself a sage. His virtue or his
want of it equally depends on them. Cultivate no intimacy with flatterers, nor
get them to do duty for me as my ears and eyes;--they will lead their sovereign
to disregard the statutes of the former kings. If you choose the men not for
their personal goodness, but for the sake of their bribes, their offices will
be made of no effect, your great want of reverence for your sovereign will be
apparent, and I will hold you guilty.' The king said, 'Oh! be reverent! Ever help your
sovereign to follow the regular laws of duty (which he should
exemplify).'
Notes
1. THE charge recorded here, like that in the last Book,
is assigned to king Mû. It was delivered on the appointment of a Khiung or
Po-khiung (that is, the eldest Khiung, the eldest brother in his family) to be
High Chamberlain. Of this Khiung we know nothing more than we learn from the
Shû. He was no high dignitary of state. That the charge to him found a place in
the Shû, we are told, shows how important it was thought that men in the lowest
positions, yet coming into contact with the sovereign, should possess correct
principles and an earnest desire for his progress in intelligence and
virtue. King Mû represents himself as conscious of his own
incompetencies, and impressed with a sense of the high duties devolving on him.
His predecessors, much superior to himself, were yet greatly indebted to the
aid of the officers about them;--how much more must this be the case with
him! He proceeds to appoint Khiung to be the High
Chamberlain, telling him how he should guide correctly all the other servants
about the royal person, so that none but good influences should be near to act
upon the king;--telling him also the manner of men whom he should employ, and
the care he should exercise in the selection of them. |
Published
by The Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities, © Copyright 2003
by Anne Kinney and the University of Virginia