说苑/周天子使家父毛伯求賻求金於諸侯，春秋譏之。

周天子使家父毛伯求賻求金於諸侯，春秋譏之。

Eric Henry

The Zhou Son of Heaven sent Jia-fu and Mao-bo to seek goods and gold from the various lords; the Spring and Autumn Annals deride these actions.

故天子好利則諸侯貪，諸侯貪則大夫鄙，大夫鄙則庶人盜。

Eric Henry

From this we can see that, when the Son of Heaven is acquisitive, the various lords will be greedy; when the lords are greedy, the court officers will act basely; and, when the court officers act basely, the common people will engage in thievery.

上之變下，猶風之靡草也。

Eric Henry

The changes wrought by those above on those below are like the action of the wind causing grass to bend.

故為人君者，明貴德而賤利，以道下，下之為惡尚不可止。

Eric Henry

Therefore, those who act as rulers must grasp the importance of prizing virtue and despising profit so that they can lead the way for those below—and, even if they do this, the bad behavior of those below cannot be stopped.