命民能敬長憐孤，取舍好讓，居事力者，命於其君。
Commoners37 who respected their seniors and took pity on the orphaned, were fond of yielding, and were industrious in the prosecution of their tasks were given honorary titles by their rulers.
命然後得乘飾輿駢馬，未得命者不得乘，乘者皆有罰。
After the titles were bestowed, they received a carriage, cloth, and a pair of horses.
故其民雖有餘財侈物，而無仁義功德，則無所用其餘財侈物。
Those who did not receive an honorary title did not ride in carriages; those who did so were punished.
故其民皆興仁義而賤財利。
Thus, though commoners might have a surplus of goods and a quantity of luxurious items, they had no way to use these goods or items if they were not humane, generous, virtuous, and meritorious.
賤財利則不爭；不爭則強不凌弱，眾不暴寡。
Thus, the people of those times all held humanity and generosity in high esteem and despised possessions and profit.
是唐虞所以興象刑而民利莫敢犯法，而亂斯止矣。
Despising possessions and profit, they were free of strife.
詩云：「告爾民人，謹爾侯度，用戒不虞。
Since there was no strife, the strong did not oppress the weak, and numerically superior groups did not deal violently with minorities.
」此之謂也。
This is what enabled Yao and Shun38 to use [merely] symbolic punishments to such effect that no one among the people dared to break the law, and all disorder stopped from that time on. As is said in the Odes, “Announce to all your people: / Be faithful to your ruler’s code, / That you may be prepared for all that comes.” That sums up the situation. “People” (min 民) is preceded by “honored” (ming 命) at the head of the sentence, but it is plain from what follows that this ming is an excrescence that should be omitted.