蓋有非常之功，必待非常之人。

【西漢】劉徹《武帝求茂才異等詔》

世界上非同尋常的功業(yè)，一定有待非同尋常、超凡脫俗的人來創(chuàng)立。

“It takes an extraordinary man to create an extraordinary work.”

[Western Han Dynasty 202 BC—8 AD] Liu Che:

To accomplish an outstanding feat requires outstanding talent.

千人之諾諾，不如一士之諤諤。

【西漢】司馬遷《史記·商君列傳第八》

眾多唯唯諾諾、曲意逢迎的人，比不上一個(gè)率直勇敢、直言進(jìn)諫的人。

“One honest official is worth more than a host of toadies.”

[Western Han Dynasty 202 BC—8 AD] Sima Qian:.

One official who speaks his mind is more valuable than a thousand yes-men.

邦之興，由得人也；邦之亡，由失人也。得其人，失其人，非一朝一夕之故，其所由來者漸矣。

【唐】白居易《策林·辨興亡之由》

國家的興盛，由于得到人才；國家的滅亡，由于失去了人才。得到人才，失去人才，不是一天一夜、突然變化的結(jié)果，其原因，暗自滋長，日積月累，已經(jīng)很久了。

“The rise of a state depends on gaining men; the demise of a state is the result of losing men. Gaining or losing such men is not a matter of one day or one night; it is a long drawn-out process.”

[Tang Dynasty 618—907] Bai Juyi:

A state flourishes if it can get men of genuine talent;a state collapses if it loses men of genuine talent. Gaining or losing such men doesn’t, happen overnight; it happens gradually.

任賢必治，任不肖必亂，必然之道也。

任賢必治，任不肖必亂，必然之道也。

【北宋】司馬光《資治通鑒》

廉思 毛廣淞 李純 編著保羅·懷特（Paul White） 翻譯外文出版社有限責(zé)任公司 2021年6月出版

任用賢能的人才，國家一定能夠長治久安，任用宵小之徒、無能之輩，必然會(huì)引起混亂，這是理所當(dāng)然的道理。

“Only when worthies hold office does proper rule come about. Appointment of the incompetent inevitably brings turmoil. This is an iron law.”

[Northern Song Dynasty 960—1127] Sima Guang:

It is a self-evident truth that if men of talent are appointed to office the state will of necessity be well governed, and that if nonentities are installed in office the result will be chaos.

為政之要，莫先于用人。

為政之要，莫先于用人。

【北宋】司馬光《資治通鑒》

治國理政的頭等大事，莫過于選用人才。

“Nothing is more important for government than choosing the right people.”

[Northern Song Dynasty 960—1127] Sima Guang:

As a key to good government,nothing is more important than choice of the right people.

好勝人，恥聞過，騁辯給，眩聰明，厲威嚴(yán)，恣強(qiáng)愎，此六者，君上之弊也。

【北宋】司馬光《資治通鑒》

凡事爭強(qiáng)好勝，追求高人一等，不愿聽到批評(píng)，倚仗口才滔滔不絕，炫耀小聰明，對(duì)人愛擺威儀且嚴(yán)苛，恣意剛愎自用，這六點(diǎn)是君主的弊病。

“The six character flaws a gentleman must guard against are: exulting in success; aversion to criticism;loquacity; boasting; riding roughshod over others; and stubbornness.”

Provenance:

[Northern Song Dynasty 960—1127] Sima Guang:

The drawbacks in a gentleman’s character are sixfold: delighting in victory; turning a deaf ear to criticism; having the“gift of the gab”; flaunting petty accomplishments; being overbearing toward others; and being self-willed.

舉才不出氏族，用法不及權(quán)貴，是以才不濟(jì)務(wù)，奸無所懲。

【北宋】司馬光《資治通鑒》

推舉人才，不超出高門大戶、貴戚氏族的范圍；執(zhí)行法令，不敢觸碰權(quán)貴的利益，所以選出的人才難以擔(dān)當(dāng)大任，奸詐狡猾的人，也得不到懲處。

“Promotion of the talented should eschew birthright,and the laws should be blind to power and wealth; if not, then social problems will remain rampant, and the wicked go unpunished.”

[Northern Song Dynasty 960—1127] Sima Guang:

The elevation of capable men should not be based on the criterion of noble family, and the application of the laws should not be restricted by considerations of power or wealth; otherwise problems will remain unsolved, and evildoers will escape the punishment they deserve.

有功必賞，有罪必罰，則為善者日進(jìn)，為惡者日止。

【北宋】司馬光《資治通鑒》

有功勞，就一定會(huì)得到獎(jiǎng)賞；有罪責(zé)，就一定會(huì)得到懲處，這樣一來，做好事的人，會(huì)一天比一天多，而干壞事的人，就會(huì)一天比一天減少直至停止。

“Always reward the worthy, and always punish the unworthy, and there will be more and more of the former and fewer and fewer of the latter.”

[Northern Song Dynasty 960—1127] Sima Guang:

If meritorious men are invariably rewarded, and wrongdoers invariably punished, then the number of those who do good deeds will constantly increase while the number of those who do bad deeds will constantly decrease and even be completely eradicated.

明主用人也，使能者不敢遺其力，而不能者不得處其任。

【北宋】司馬光《資治通鑒》

英明的君主，在任用人才時(shí)，讓有才華有能力的人全力以赴，讓那些沒有能力的人得不到任用（避免其濫竽充數(shù)，尸位素餐，貽害人民）。

“A sagacious ruler, in his employment of people,ensures that those of ability use their talents to the full,and bars the inept from office. ”

[Northern Song Dynasty 960—1127] Sima Guang:

In appointing men to office, a wise ruler lets those of ability give free rein to their talents, and is wary of restraining them. At the same time, he ensures that those of no ability do not eat the bread of idleness while occupying sinecures and afflicting the people.

駿馬能歷險(xiǎn)，力田不如牛。堅(jiān)車能載重，渡河不如舟。

【清】顧嗣協(xié)《雜興》

駿馬能夠穿越艱險(xiǎn)、馳騁千里，但論起耕田的本領(lǐng)，它比不過田間的老牛；堅(jiān)固的車子能負(fù)重前行，但是渡過江河時(shí)，它施展不開，還不如一條小船。喻意要想讓人才各盡其用，就要避其短板，用其擅長的一面。

“A fine horse can traverse difficult roads, but an ox is better for plowing, A strong cart can bear a heavy burden,but a boat is better for crossing a river.”

[Qing Dynasty 1644—1911] Gu Sixie: “Random Thoughts”.

A first-rate steed can gallop a thousand miles and endure any hardship, but it is not as useful as an ox for plowing. A sturdy cart can carry a heavy load, but it is not as useful as a boat for crossing a river.

This metaphor points out that everyone has his own particular talent, and should be used so that he can give full play to it.

不知人之短，不知人之長，不知人長中之短，不知人短中之長，則不可以用人，不可以教人。

【清】魏源《默觚·治篇七》

不清楚人才的長處，不清楚人才的短板，不知道他長處中不足的地方，不知道他短板中的優(yōu)點(diǎn)所在，那么，就很難做到合理地任用人才，或培育人才。

“Ignorant of a person’s strengths and weaknesses,and of the weaknesses in the former and strengths in the latter, then you cannot use him, cannot train him. ”

[Qing Dynasty 1644—1911] Wei Yuan:

If you do not know a person’s strong and weak points,or the flaws in his strong points and the strengths in his weak points, you can neither employ nor educate him.

我勸天公重抖擻，不拘一格降人才。

【清】龔自珍《己亥雜詩》

我勸上天（此處指皇帝與朝廷）重新振作起來，不受條條框框的限制，大刀闊斧選用各種各樣的人才。

“I urge the Heavenly Lord to bestir himself and not let regulations stop him embracing men of talent.”

[Qing Dynasty 1644—1911] Gong Zizhen: “Random Poems Written in 1839”.

“I petition the Lord of Heaven (here meaning the emperor or the imperial court) to rally his energy and not be a stickler for rules, but reach out to talented people. ” （本文摘編自《古語金句》，標(biāo)題為編者所加）