歸，召晏子而問之曰：「今日寡人出獵，上山則見虎，下澤則見蛇，殆所謂之不祥也？
On returning to court, he summoned Yanzi and consulted with him, saying, “Today, while hunting, I went up a mountain and saw a tiger; then I went down to a marshy place and saw a snake.
」晏子曰：「國有三不祥，是不與焉。
These things are probably what people call unlucky omens, are they not?” “A state has three unlucky omens,” replied Yanzi, “and the things you have mentioned are not among them.
夫有賢而不知，一不祥；知而不用，二不祥；用而不任，三不祥也。
To have worthy men and be unaware of it is the first; to be aware of having worthy men but not employ them is the second; and to employ them but fail to give them responsibilities is the third.
所謂不祥，乃若此者也。
The term ‘unlucky omen’ refers only to these things.
今上山見虎，虎之室也；下澤見蛇，蛇之穴也。
“In this instance, you went up a mountain and saw a tiger; that is the tiger’s dwelling.
如虎之室，如蛇之穴，而見之，曷為不祥也！」
You went down to a marshy place and saw a snake; that is the snake’s lair.
How can it be unlucky to see the dwelling of a tiger or the lair of a snake?