秦召魏相信安君，信安君不欲往。蘇代為說秦王曰：「臣聞之，忠不必當，當必不忠。今臣願大王陳臣之愚意，恐其不忠於下吏，自使有要領之罪。願大王察之。今大王令人執事於魏，以完其交，臣恐魏交之益疑也。將以塞趙也，臣又恐趙之益勁也。夫魏王之愛習魏信也，甚矣；其智能而任用之也，厚矣；其畏惡嚴尊秦也，明矣。今王之使人入魏而不用，則王之使人入魏無益也。若用，魏必舍所愛習而用所畏惡，此魏王之所以不安也。夫舍萬乘之事而退，此魏信之所難行也。夫令人之君處所不安，令人之相行所不能，以此為親，則難久矣。臣故恐魏交之益疑也。且魏信舍事，則趙之謀者必曰：『舍於秦，秦必令其所愛信者用趙。』是趙存而我亡也，趙安而我危也。則上有野戰之氣，下有堅守之心，臣故恐趙之益勁也。

 

Qin summoned Lord Xin'an[1], Chancellor of Wei. Lord Xin'an did not want to go. Working on his behalf, Su Dai[2] exercised his persuasions on the King of Qin[3], saying, "Your servant has heard that not everyone who is devoted to you will be a member of your party, and not everyone in your party will be devoted to you[4]. Now I wish to present a humble suggestion before Your Majesty, but I am afraid that there are those under you who are not loyal, and I will find myself accused of some crime for which I will be cut in half or beheaded[5]. I hope that Your Majesty will bear this in mind. Now you intend to send a certain individual[6] to take care of your affairs in Wei and consolidate your relationships there, and your servant is afraid that your good relations with Wei will falter as a result. You seek to isolate Zhao, but I am afraid that it will only grow more vigorous as a result[7]. The King of Wei's[8] affectionate familiarity with Wei Xin[9]; how deep it is! His recruitment and employment policies, how generous they are! His timorous respect for Qin, how evident it is! Now if you send[10] someone to Wei and he turns out to be unemployable, you will have sent him there to no benefit. If your candidate is to be employed, then the King of Wei will have to reject someone he is fond of and used to working with, and appoint someone he fears, something that will leave him ill-at-ease[11]. To abandon the affairs of a state of ten thousand chariots and withdraw, this is something that Wei Xin will be loathe to do. If your approach to fostering your foreign relations involves obliging a lord of men to live in a state of unease and a public servant to accept your restrictions on his actions, it will be difficult to make them last. Therefore your servant is afraid that your relations with Wei will grow increasingly shaky. Furthermore, if Wei Xin abandons his responsibilities, then the strategists of Zhao[12] will certainly say, 'His resignation is down to Qin; the King of Qin will certainly send someone he trusts and favours to take charge of Zhao next.' This being so, Zhao's survival implies our extinction, and peace for Zhao means danger for us. As a result, those at the summit of the state will be filled with the spirit of the battlefield, and the those below them will harden their hearts ready to mount a defence. Therefore I am afraid that Zhao will be strengthened by this.   

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「大王欲完魏之交，而使趙小心乎？不如用魏信而尊之以名。魏信事王，國安而名尊；離王，國危而權輕。然則魏信之事主也，上所以為其主者忠矣，下所以自為者厚矣，彼其事王必完矣。趙之用事者必曰：『魏氏之名族不高於我，土地之實不厚於我。魏信以韓、魏事秦，秦甚善之，國得安焉，身取尊焉。今我講難於秦兵為招質，國處削危之形，非得計也。結怨於外，主患於中，身處死亡之地，非完事也。』彼將傷其前事，而悔其過行；冀其利，必多割地以深下王。則是大王垂拱之割地以為利重，堯、舜之所求而不能得也。臣願大王察之。」

 

"Do you wish to settle your relations with Wei while ensuring that Zhao observes due caution? You could do no better than to make use of Wei Xin and honour him with noble titles. If Wei Xin handles your affairs in Wei, peace and renown will ensue. If he leaves, peril and weakness will follow. This being so, Wei Xin will serve your interests[13]. Superior individuals work for their lord out of loyalty, and inferior ones work for themselves in order to profit; therefore he will certainly serve your interests wholeheartedly[14]. Those responsible for Zhao's affairs will say, 'The name and pedigree of the House of Wei is no more distinguished than ours; their lands and resources are no more impressive. Wei Xin is going to put Wei to work in service of Qin's interests[15]. The King of Qin favours him; thus he will obtain peace for his state and respect for himself. Now we have got into a difficult entanglement with Qin[16] and it has a mind to make our armies its own. To place one's state in a situation in which it is at risk of losing territory is not a winning strategy. With bitter entanglements abroad and burgeoning[17] troubles at home, we are standing on deadly ground. This is hardly an ideal way to handle things.' They will curse their previous management of their affairs, and regret their prior conduct[18]. Hoping to profit, they will certainly offer you extensive lands as a token of their profound submission to Your Majesty[19]. Thus you will be able to sit with your hands folded, growing richer and stronger as you receive lands such as not even Yao[20] or Shun[21] could have taken. I hope that Your Majesty will consider this."

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[1] Lord Xin'an is known principally via this story. 

[2] Su Dai was a brother of Su Qin and an opponent of Qin.

[3] It is not clear which King of Qin is indicated here.

[4] Reading 黨 for 當, per the commentaries. 

[5] The commentaries and modern translations disagree on the precise reading of this sentence, and this is a best-guess interpretation.

[6] Whomever the King of Qin intends to replace Lord Xin'an as Chancellor of Wei. It is not known who this person was, and he is referred to in such oblique terms throughout.

[7] Because Zhao will suspect that Qin is about to form an alliance with Wei. 

[8] It is not clear which King of Wei is indicated here. 

[9] I.e. Lord Xin'an.

[10] Yao suggests 令 for 今 here.

[11] The commentaries suggest that 以 here may be superfluous. 

[12] Some commentaries suggest reading 魏 for 趙 here. 

[13] Reading 王 for 主 here, per the commentaries. 

[14] This entire passage seems deliberately ambiguous, implying that whether Lord Xin'an is motivated by devotion or self-interest, the result will be the same.

[15] The commentaries disagree on the correct reading of this sentence, but they agree that 韓 is superfluous. 

[16] Reading 搆 for 講 here, per the commentaries. 

[17] Reading 生 for 主, per the commentaries.

[18] Reading 過其 for 其過, per the commentaries.

[19] Reading 多 for 之, per the commentaries. 

[20] Yao (c. 2188-2089 BCE) was a semi-legendary Chinese founder.

[21] Shun (c. 2187-2067 BCE) was another semi-legendary founding father.