Thorough Comprehension of Life(11)
達生(十一)
1 Dongye Ji was famous for his horsemanship.
東野稷素以馬術精湛著名於世。
2 Once, the Duke Zhuang of Lu invited him to perform his horsemanship in the palace. Dongye Ji’s horse marched and backed in a singular line. Left and right circling was as round as the compasses did.
有一次，魯莊公邀請他到宮中來表演。東野稷騎的馬，進退都保持一致，恰似一條筆直的線一樣; 就連左右繞圈子，也彷彿用圓規所畫出來的那麼的渾圓而標準。
3 Duke Zhuang acclaimed for the horsemanship. He said, “The line of embroidering is no straighter than it.”
魯莊公對這樣的馬術嘆為觀止。他說：「就是繡花的紋路，也不過如此。」
東野稷以御見莊公，進退中繩，左右旋中規。
4 To please all audiences, the duke asked him to circle another one hundred times. When Dongye Ji rode his horse to circle, Yan He entered into the duke’s camp and told him, “Dongye Ji will make a mistake soon, I think.”
在座眾人，莫不被東野稷精湛的騎術所深深吸引住，驚嘆之聲此起彼落。為了滿足大家高昂的興致與慾望，魯莊公於是要求東野稷再轉一百圈。就在東野稷騎著馬轉圈的時候，顏闔走進了魯莊公的帳幕之中，對莊公說︰「照我看，東野稷馬上就要出錯了。
莊公以為文弗過也。使之鉤百而反。顏闔遇之，入見曰：「稷之馬將敗。」公密而不應。
5 Ignoring Yan He, Duke Zhuang kept talking about Dongye Ji’s horsemanship with his ministers. After a while Dongye Ji’s horse made a mistake to run out of the original trace. Reminding the prediction by Yan He, Duke Zhuang turned to ask Yan He, “How do you know that he will make a mistake?”
魯莊公沒有理會顏闔，繼續與大臣們談論東野稷的馬術。沒有多久東野稷的馬一個閃失，果然走出了原有的軌跡。莊公想起剛才顏闔的預言，轉過頭問顏闔︰「你是怎麼知道東野稷會出錯的？」
少焉，果敗而反。公曰：「子何以知之？」
6 Yan He answered, “Even the best horse, if it fatigues after constant riding, its attention will reduce. I saw his horse appearing exhaustion, so I predicted that it would make a mistake. That’s all.”
顏闔回答說︰「一匹狀況再好、訓練再精良的馬，在過度操練，及精力不足的情況下，其專注力就會明顯的降低。我見東野稷的坐騎疲態已露，所以預料它立刻就要出錯，如此而已。」
曰：「其馬力竭矣，而猶求焉，故曰敗。」