赵彦春英译《资治通鉴》
夫信者，人君之大宝也。国保于民，民保于信；非信无以使民，非民无以守国。是故古之王者不欺四海，霸者不欺四邻，善为国者不欺其民，善为家者不欺其亲。不善者反之，欺其邻国，欺其百姓，甚者欺其兄弟，欺其父子。上不信下，下不信上，上下离心，以至于败。所利不能药其所伤，所获不能补其所亡，岂不哀哉！昔齐桓公不背曹沫之盟，晋文公不贪伐原之利，魏文侯不弃虞人之期，秦孝公不废徙木之赏。此四君者道非粹白，而商君尤称刻薄，又处战攻之世，天下趋于诈力，犹且不敢忘信以畜其民，况为四海治平之政者哉！
A Mirror for Rulers
Faith is a treasure for rulers. A state is defended by its people and people defended by faith. Without faith, no people can be worked; without people, no state can be guarded. Therefore, of yore, rulers never cheated their people and overlords never bullied neighboring states and heads of households never bullied their relatives. On the contrary, now a bad ruler bullies his neighboring states, bullies his people， bullies fathers and sons and brothers. The ruler and his people don’t trust each other and such a state will end up dying out. With the little advantage he’s got by cheating, he cannot cure a fatal wound at all. What he gains is far less than what he loses. Isn’t it distressing?! Then Lord Column of the State of Ch’i kept the Alliance imposed by Tsao Mo; Lord Civil of the State of Chin kept the promise without fighting for the land; Lord Civil of Way obeyed the appointment of hunting with the mountainous people; Lord Piety of Ch’in did not break the promise to the man who moved the pole. According to Lordson Yang’s critical comments, though these four lords did not have perfect governance, and Shang Yang was extremely harsh, and they were engaged in battles and living in a world full of craft, they dared not forget faith to win people, not to mention the present rulers to pacify the world!
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