」李克曰：「先於姦邪淫泆之行。
“Wicked intent arises always from cold and hunger, whereas profligacy arises from a waste of spirit in external adornments.
凡姦邪之心，飢寒而起。
Carving patterns in multistoried dwellings does injury to farming; wearing embroidered sashes does injury to women’s weaving.
淫泆者，久飢之詭也。
彫文刻鏤，害農事者也。
Injury done to farming is the source of hunger, whereas injury done to women’s weaving is the origin of exposure to cold.
錦繡纂組，傷女工者也。
When hunger and cold arrive together, there has never been a case in which this did not lead to wickedness.
農事害，則飢之本也；女工傷，則寒之原也。
When men and women use rich adornment to flaunt their good looks, there has never been a case where this did not lead to profligacy.
飢寒並至，而能不為姦邪者，未之有也。
Thus, if a ruler does not prohibit the exercise of artifice and clever craftsmanship, the state will grow poor, while the people grow wasteful.
男女飾美以相矜，而能無淫泆者，未嘗有也。
故上不禁技巧則國貧民侈。
When the state is poor and the people wasteful, then the poor will behave wickedly, and the well-off will abandon themselves to profligacy.
國貧民侈則貧窮者為姦邪，而富足者為淫泆。
This is the same as driving the people into evil ways.
則驅民而為邪也。
However, when people go astray and laws in consequence are used to punish them with no possibility of reprieve, this is the same as preparing pits for the people to fall into.
民以為邪，因以法隨誅之，不赦其罪，則是為民設陷也。
Punishments indeed have an origin. If a ruler does nothing to stop up the source and merely prohibits the results, is this not a way of injuring the state?” “Well argued!” said the marquis.
刑罰之起有原，人主不塞其本而替其末，傷國之道乎？
」文侯曰：「善，以為法服也。」
“This may be used as the basis for our laws.