李斯者，楚上蔡人也。年少時，為郡小吏，見吏舍廁中鼠食不絜，近人犬，數驚恐之。斯入倉，觀倉中鼠，食積粟，居大廡之下，不見人犬之憂。於是李斯乃嘆曰：「人之賢不肖譬如鼠矣，在所自處耳！」

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Li Si was a native of Shangcai[1] in Chu. In his younger days, when he was serving as minor commandery official, he noticed that the rats in the office latrines never had enough to eat and lived in terror due to the proximity of dogs and people. When he went into the granaries, though, he saw that the rats in there ate their fill of the grain stores and lived in blissful luxury unobserved by dogs or people. Thus Li Si heaved an appreciative sigh, saying, "A person is no different from a rat: his quality is purely a function of his environment." 

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[1] Shangcai is still called Shangcai, and is in Henan.

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