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战国战国 · 文 Prose

齐桓晋文之事·节选

The Matter of Duke Huan of Qi and Duke Wen of Jin (Excerpt)

孟轲

Meng Ke (Mencius)

论辩Argument 仁政Benevolent Government 语录体Recorded Sayings

齐宣王问曰：齐桓、晋文之事，可得闻乎？
孟子对曰：仲尼之徒无道桓文之事者，是以后世无传焉，臣未之闻也。
无以，则王乎？
曰：德何如则可以王矣？
曰：保民而王，莫之能御也。

King Xuan of Qi asked: 'May I hear of the matter of Duke Huan of Qi and Duke Wen of Jin?' Mencius replied: 'The disciples of Zhongni do not speak of the matter of Duke Huan and Duke Wen, and therefore it has not been transmitted to the later ages; I have not heard of it. If you must have it, then is it not the Kingly Way?' He asked: 'What must the virtue be to become the true king?' He said: 'To become the true king by protecting the people—none can resist it.'

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Meaning

The opening dialogue of the 'Mencius on King Hui of Liang I,' Mencius's persuasion of King Xuan of Qi to practice the benevolent government. King Xuan, whose state of Qi was strong in his reign and who cherished the ambition of 'opening up the territory, making Qin and Chu come to court, being present in the central states, and soothing the four barbarians,' opens by asking of the hegemonic enterprises of Duke Huan of Qi and Duke Wen of Jin. Mencius, with the 'the disciples of Zhongni do not speak of the matter of Duke Huan and Duke Wen,' first denies the legitimacy of the topic of hegemony, then turns to propose the higher goal: 'if you must have it, then is it not the Kingly Way?' And when King Xuan asks what virtue can make one the true king, he sets the argument: 'to become the true king by protecting the people—none can resist it,' the four characters 'protecting the people and becoming the king' the core proposition of the whole dialogue, and the essence of the Confucian benevolent government.

齐宣王问道：齐桓公、晋文公称霸诸侯的事迹，可以讲给我听听吗？孟子回答说：孔子的门徒没有人谈论齐桓公、晋文公称霸的事，因此后世没有流传下来，我没有听说过这些事。如果一定要我说，那就谈谈施行王道统一天下的道理吧！齐宣王问：要有怎样的德行才可以称王天下呢？孟子说：爱护百姓、使百姓安居乐业，由此去统一天下，是没有什么力量能够阻挡的。

Appreciation

In style, this is the recorded-sayings prose of the Mencius, unfolding in the dialogue and the question and answer, the composition simple yet the edge of the argument exposed. In structure, the passage is the four-layer advance of 'the question—the answer—the advance—the establishment': King Xuan asks of the hegemony (the question); Mencius declines with the 'no speaking' and the 'not heard' (the answer); then turns to propose on his own, 'if you must have it, then is it not the Kingly Way' (the advance); and finally establishes the argument with 'to become the true king by protecting the people' (the establishment). Mencius is good at the art of the 'desiring to capture and first letting go': he first firmly denies the legitimacy of the topic of hegemony, blocking the answer King Xuan expects, then throws out a higher goal (the Kingly Way), making the other party follow his own direction; the 'protecting the people and becoming the king—none can resist it' of the close falls like a hammer, the whole persuasion of the benevolent government in the dialogue of the few turns.

【白话串讲】孟子写《齐桓晋文之事》：齐宣王问齐桓晋文之事，孟子说：“仲尼之徒无道桓文之事者”——他不谈霸道，谈王道。“保民而王，莫之能御也”——“老吾老以及人之老，幼吾幼以及人之幼”——他劝齐宣王推行仁政。【意象与手法】这是一段典型的语录体问答文字，孟子层层设问、步步牵引，先以「未之闻也」回避霸道，再以「无以，则王乎」反客为主，最后以「保民而王」立论，一问一答之间波澜迭起，展现了孟子雄辩的论说艺术。【情感与主旨】孟子并非回避现实的政治理想，而是要将齐宣王从霸道引向王道，以「保民」为君王立心，体现了先秦儒家「民为贵」的仁政理想与以德服人的政治智慧。【名句点睛】「保民而王，莫之能御也」是全篇纲领：保民而行王道，则天下归心，无可抵挡，至今仍闪耀着民本思想的光辉。

Background

Mencius (c. 372–289 BC), named Ke, courtesy name Ziyu, a native of the state of Zou of the Warring States (present-day Zoucheng, Shandong), a disciple of the followers of Zisi, the most important representative of the Confucianism after Confucius, honored by the later ages as the 'Second Sage.' He lived in the mid-Warring States, when the seven great powers stood side by side, the wars of annexation ever more fierce, and the feudal lords mostly devoted to enriching the state and strengthening the army, attacking the cities and seizing the land, the way of the hegemon rampant. Mencius traveled through the states, successively persuading King Xuan of Qi, King Hui of Liang, and other sovereigns, urging the 'benevolent government' and the 'Kingly Way,' holding that 'the people are the most important, the altars of the soil and the grain next, and the sovereign the least.' This passage, from the 'Mencius on King Hui of Liang I,' is the opening dialogue of Mencius's persuasion of King Xuan of Qi to practice the benevolent government.

孟子（约前372—前289），名轲，字子舆，战国时期邹国（今山东邹城）人，受业于子思门人，是孔子之后儒家最重要的代表，被后世尊为「亚圣」。他生活的战国中期，七雄并立，兼并战争愈演愈烈，诸侯多务于富国强兵、攻城略地，霸道横行。孟子周游列国，先后游说齐宣王、梁惠王等国君，力倡「仁政」「王道」，主张「民为贵，社稷次之，君为轻」。本文节选自《孟子·梁惠王上》，正是孟子游说齐宣王推行仁政的开篇对话。齐宣王在位时齐国国力强盛，怀有「辟土地，朝秦楚，莅中国而抚四夷」的雄心，因此开口便问齐桓、晋文两位春秋霸主的霸业。孟子敏锐地把握住宣王「欲王天下」的心理，以「仲尼之徒无道桓文之事」为托词回避霸道话题，顺势将谈话引向「王道」，并最终归结到「保民而王」的仁政纲领。这段对话虽短，却是理解孟子政治思想的一把钥匙，从中可见战国诸子游说之风的时代背景与儒家民本思想的历史渊源。

Art

The art is the four-layer advance of 'the question, the answer, the advance, and the establishment' and the 'desiring to capture and first letting go': the denial of the topic of hegemony first, then the advance of the higher goal, then the establishment of the argument. The dialogue of the few turns, the 'no speaking,' the 'not heard,' the 'if you must have it,' and the 'protecting the people and becoming the king,' each turn turns, the argument of the benevolent government in the question and the answer.

从文体看，本文是《孟子》中的语录体散文，以对话问答展开，一事一议，章法简洁而机锋毕露。结构上，全段呈「问—答—进—立」的四层推进：齐宣王问霸业（问），孟子以「无道」「未之闻」婉拒（答），转而主动提出「无以，则王乎」（进），最后以「保民而王」立论收束（立）。孟子善用「欲擒故纵」之法：先断然否定霸话题的正当性，堵死宣王期待的答案，再抛出一个更高的目标（王道），使对方不得不顺着自己的思路追问，论辩主动权始终掌握在孟子手中。语言上，本段多用设问与短句，「可得闻乎」「则王乎」「莫之能御也」等句式或疑或断，节奏明快；「无以」「则」「矣」「也」等虚词穿插其间，使语气在婉转与决断之间流转。尤为精妙的是「以子之矛攻子之盾」的转化艺术：宣王要的是霸道，孟子却把「王」字拆解为「王道」并赋予其高于霸道的价值，使君王的野心被导向儒家的政治理想，这是孟子论辩术的典范。此外，全段问句「可得闻乎」「则王乎」的递次运用，使对话如当面交锋，步步紧逼，语势动人，尤见语录体散文以言传神的魅力。

Allusions

The 'Duke Huan of Qi and Duke Wen of Jin' of the piece is a pair of allusions of deep cultural meaning. Duke Huan of Qi (reigned 685–643 BC), employing Guan Zhong as his prime minister, 'honored the king and repelled the barbarians,' gathered the feudal lords nine times and rectified the world, the first hegemon of the Spring and Autumn. Duke Wen of Jin, Chong'er, returned to his state after nineteen years of exile, and in the Battle of Chengpu greatly defeated the Chu army, and at the covenant of Jiantu became the hegemon of the feudal lords. What the two represent is the 'way of the hegemon'—the dominance by force and by stratagem. And the Confucian tradition to which Mencius belongs, from Confucius on, 'tracing the merit to Yao and Shun and modeling on Kings Wen and Wu,' rejecting the hegemons, the 'the disciples of Zhongni do not speak of the matter of Duke Huan and Duke Wen' the very position of the Confucian school against the hegemony.

文中「齐桓、晋文」是一组深含文化意味的典故。齐桓公（前685—前643在位）任用管仲为相，「尊王攘夷」，九合诸侯，一匡天下，为春秋第一霸主；晋文公重耳流亡十九年后归国，城濮之战大败楚军，践土之盟称霸诸侯。二人所代表的是「霸道」——以武力与权谋称雄。而孟子所属的儒家道统，自孔子起便「祖述尧舜，宪章文武」，崇尚「王道」——以仁义德化服人。《论语》中孔子说「齐桓公正而不谲」「管仲相桓公，霸诸侯，一匡天下，民到于今受其赐」，对霸业尚有保留的肯定；而孟子将王道与霸道截然对立，认为「以力假仁者霸」「以德行仁者王」。孟子说「仲尼之徒无道桓文之事」，表面是「臣未之闻」的托词，实则是在儒家价值坐标中为齐宣王的霸业欲念划出界限——儒家不传霸道之学。这一回避之举，正是先秦「王霸之辨」思想交锋的缩影，也奠定了后世两千年政治伦理中「王道」高于「霸道」的价值取向。

Commentary

Though short, this passage is the double pivot of the understanding of Mencius's political philosophy and the pre-Qin prose art. In the history of thought, the four characters 'protecting the people and becoming the king' condense the Confucian people-based thought into an operable program of the governance, in the same vein as the 'the people are the most important' and the 'he who gains the hearts of the people gains the world' of the Mencius, directly influencing the two-thousand-year discourse of the 'politics of the Kingly Way' and the 'benevolent government.' In literature, the recorded-sayings prose of the dialogue and the question and answer, with its sharp edges and the ever-turning turns, is the model of the art of the argument of the Warring States.

这段文字虽短，却是理解孟子政治哲学与先秦散文艺术的双重枢纽。从思想史看，「保民而王」四字将儒家的民本思想浓缩为可操作的治国纲领，与《孟子》中「民为贵，社稷次之，君为轻」「得民心者得天下」等命题一脉相承，直接影响了两千年来「王道政治」与「仁政」的话语传统。从文学史看，这段问答体现了《孟子》「长于譬喻，辞不迫切，而意已独至」的论辩风格，其欲擒故纵、层层逼问的章法，为后世议论文（如韩愈《原毁》、苏洵《六国论》）提供了范本。在传播史上，本文与《寡人之于国也》并列为《孟子》入选语文教材最广的篇目，「保民而王」「莫之能御」更成为常用语典。历代注家如赵岐、朱熹皆于此着墨甚多，朱熹《孟子集注》释「保民而王」为「保养斯民，则民心归之，而为天下主」，可见其在经学传统中的分量。今日读之，「保民」的政治智慧依然能引发对「以人民为中心」治理理念的古今呼应。

Prosody

Form Pre-Qin recorded-sayings prose (question-and-answer dialogue)先秦语录体散文（问答体对话）

Rhyme Unrhymed, but with the particles 'hu,' 'yan,' 'ye,' 'yi' controlling the pauses and the tones, forming the rhythm of the uneven and the even. The questions 'may I hear of it,' 'then is it not the Kingly Way,' 'what must the virtue be,' each turning本文不押韵，但以「乎」「焉」「也」「矣」等语气词控制句读与声调，形成错落有致的节奏。问句「可得闻乎」「则王乎」「德何如则可以王矣」均以升调收束，如钩似钓，逼出下文；答句「莫之能御也」以「也」字顿挫作结，声情笃定，掷地有声。

Tone pattern The question of King Xuan is eager, the denial of Mencius is firm, the 'if you must have it' turns easily, and the 'protecting the people and becoming the king' falls like a hammer—the whole from the question to the establishment, the four-layer advance carried by the rhythm句式长短相间、骈散结合：「仲尼之徒无道桓文之事者」为长句，从容展开；「无以，则王乎」「保民而王，莫之能御也」为短句，斩截有力。全文以「曰」字领起问答，一问一答之间形成对话体的流动感，论辩的紧迫与从容在节奏中自然呈现。

Reading note The particles and the questions control the rhythm, the question and the answer each turning, the argument of the benevolent government in the dialogue.本文虽为散文不押韵，但声韵之美在语气词的调度与句式的长短搭配。开篇「齐宣王问曰」「孟子对曰」以「曰」字立起对话框架，其后「可得闻乎」「则王乎」「可以王矣」「莫之能御也」连用疑问与肯定语气词，问句以「乎」「矣」上扬，答句以「也」下沉，一问一答恰似潮起潮落，声情随论辩推进而起伏。句式上，长句舒徐（「仲尼之徒无道桓文之事者，是以后世无传焉」），短句峻急（「无以，则王乎」「保民而王」），长句蓄势、短句发力，形成「缓—急—缓—急」的节奏节拍，读来抑扬顿挫。这种以虚词与句式控制声韵的手法，是先秦语录体散文的普遍特征，《论语》《孟子》皆然，而孟子更以雄辩之势出之，故后人有「孟子文气盛」之评。诵读此段，宜缓其问答、重其断语，方得孟子「辞气浩然」之神。

Line by line

齐宣王问曰：齐桓、晋文之事，可得闻乎？

King Xuan of Qi asked: 'May I hear of the matter of Duke Huan of Qi and Duke Wen of Jin?' (The first layer, the question: King Xuan, cherishing the ambition of the hegemony, opens by asking of the hegemonic enterprises of the two dukes.)

齐宣王问道：齐桓公、晋文公称霸诸侯的事迹，可以讲给我听听吗？

King Xuan of Qi asked: 'May I hear of how Huan of Qi and Wen of Jin lorded over the feudal lords?'

这一问看似寻常，实为全文的枢纽之问。齐宣王身为一国之君，关心的不是「如何治国安民」，而是春秋霸主「齐桓、晋文」的霸业，暴露出他以武力扩张、称雄天下为最高目标的权力欲。值得注意的是问话的称谓与口气：「可得闻乎」是虚心求教之辞，却问错了方向——宣王预设的答案正是孟子所要否定的。此问为下文孟子的婉拒与转向提供了靶子，一问一答之间，孟子的论辩机锋已经悄然布局。宣王开口便问霸业，正说明战国诸侯普遍以「力」为价值坐标，孟子所要扭转的，正是这种以霸道为尊的时代心理。

The question seems plain, yet is the whole's hinge. King Xuan, a ruler in his own state, cares not 'how to rule and feed the people,' but the hegemony of the Spring and Autumn lords Huan and Wen, exposing his will to power that sets armed expansion and domination of the world as the highest end. Note the address and tone: 'may I hear' the words of a humble learner, yet asking in the wrong direction - the answer the King presupposes is the very one Mencius will negate. The question provides the target for Mencius' later gentle refusal and turn; between the question and answer, Mencius' debate edge is already laid. The King opening with hegemony shows that Warring States rulers generally took 'might' as their value coordinate; what Mencius will turn is exactly this age's psychology that honors hegemony.

孟子对曰：仲尼之徒无道桓文之事者，是以后世无传焉，臣未之闻也。

Mencius replied: 'The disciples of Zhongni do not speak of the matter of Duke Huan and Duke Wen, and therefore it has not been transmitted to the later ages; I have not heard of it.' (The second layer, the answer: the denial of the topic of the hegemony, the position of the Confucian school against the hegemony, the 'desiring to capture and first letting go.')

孟子回答说：孔子的门徒没有人谈论齐桓公、晋文公称霸的事，因此后世没有流传下来，我也没有听说过这些事。

Mencius replied: 'The disciples of Zhongni never spoke of the doings of Huan and Wen; therefore later ages have no tradition, and your servant has never heard of them.'

孟子的回答妙在「以托词立界限」。他并不直接批评霸业，而是以「仲尼之徒无道桓文之事」为由，声称儒家根本不传霸道之学——这不仅婉转地拒绝了宣王的问题，更把「谈论霸业」本身划入儒家不屑的领域。「是以后世无传焉」补足因果，「臣未之闻也」以谦抑之辞自居无知，实则是居高临下的价值判断：霸道不值一提。这一手「欲擒故纵」，先堵死对方期待的答案，再为后文「王乎」的转折蓄势，论辩从容而锋锐。细味「无道」「无传」「未闻」三层递进，可见孟子用语之精密，层层剥夺霸道话题的正当性。

Mencius' reply lies in 'setting a boundary by a pretext.' He does not directly criticize hegemony, but on the plea that 'the disciples of Zhongni spoke nothing of the deeds of Huan and Wen,' claims the Confucians simply do not transmit the learning of hegemony - this at once tactfully refuses the King's question, and marks 'speaking of hegemony' itself as a field the Confucians disdain. 'Therefore later ages have no tradition' completing the cause; 'your servant has not heard of them' taking ignorance in humble words, in truth a lofty value judgment: hegemony is not worth mention. This move of 'luring in to let go' first blocks the answer the other expects, then charges the turn to 'royal rule' below, the debate unhurried and sharp. Savor the three advances 'spoke nothing,' 'no tradition,' 'never heard,' showing the precision of Mencius' words, layer by layer stripping the topic of hegemony of all legitimacy.

无以，则王乎？

If you must have it, then is it not the Kingly Way? (The third layer, the advance: the denial of the hegemony then the advance of the higher goal, the Kingly Way, making the other party follow his own direction.)

如果一定要我说，那就谈谈施行王道、以仁义统一天下的道理吧！

If you have no alternative, then shall we speak of kingly rule?

「无以，则王乎」是全段唯一的转折枢纽，也是孟子论辩艺术最见功力处。孟子用「无以」（如果没有别的可说）作让步，看似退让，实则以「王乎」两字陡然反转，把话题从「霸道」强行扭到「王道」，而且用反问语气抛出，令宣王不得不接话追问。更精妙的是，「王」字本是宣王心向往之的目标（称王天下），孟子却悄然置换其内涵——不是以力称王，而是以德称王。一个「王」字，被孟子赋予了全新的政治内涵，君王之野心被导向儒家之理想，机锋流转之间，辩论主动权尽在掌握，这正是「以子之矛攻子之盾」的妙用。

'If you must speak - then of royal rule?' is the passage's only turning hinge, and the place where Mencius' art of debate shows most skill. Mencius uses 'if you must' (if there is nothing else to say) as a concession, seeming to yield, in truth turning sharply on the two words 'royal rule,' wrenching the topic from 'hegemony' to 'kingly rule,' and casting it as a rhetorical question, leaving the King no choice but to追问. More subtle, the word 'rule' (to be king) was the King's own longed-for end (to reign over the world), yet Mencius quietly changes its content - not to reign by force, but to reign by virtue. One word 'king,' given a new political content by Mencius, the ruler's ambition turned toward the Confucian ideal; between the flowing edges, the debate's initiative fully in hand - the very use of 'your own spear against your own shield.'

曰：德何如则可以王矣？

He asked: 'What must the virtue be to become the true king?' (The following of King Xuan: the Kingly Way arouses his interest, the virtue asked, the dialogue advancing.)

齐宣王问：要有怎样的德行才可以称王天下呢？

The King asked: 'What sort of virtue does one need to reign as king?'

这一问证明孟子的转向完全成功。宣王本问霸业，此刻却主动追问「德何如则可以王」，意味着他已接受孟子设定的议题，从「力」的轨道滑入「德」的轨道。句中的「德」字是关键——宣王或许以为德只是称王的必要条件之一，而孟子要论证的正是「德」即「保民」的全部内涵。一问之间，君王的好奇心已被引向儒家的仁政学说，可见孟子「诱敌深入」之术的高明：不强迫对方接受结论，而是让对方自己沿着预设的路径发问。从「问霸」到「问德」，一进一退之间，宣王已在不知不觉中被孟子「驯化」，这正是儒家「以德化人」理想的论辩呈现。

This question proves Mencius' turn a complete success. The King asked of hegemony; now he主动 asks 'what virtue to reign,' meaning he has accepted Mencius' set topic, sliding from the track of 'force' to the track of 'virtue.' The word 'virtue' is the key - the King may think virtue only one necessary condition of reigning, while Mencius will argue that 'virtue' is the whole content of 'sheltering the people.' In one question, the ruler's curiosity is already drawn to the Confucian doctrine of benevolent rule, showing the genius of Mencius' 'luring the enemy deep': not forcing the other to accept a conclusion, but letting him ask along the preset path of his own accord. From 'asking of hegemony' to 'asking of virtue,' between advance and retreat, the King has unawares been 'trained' by Mencius - the very debate presentation of the Confucian ideal of 'transforming men by virtue.'

曰：保民而王，莫之能御也。

He said: 'To become the true king by protecting the people—none can resist it.' (The fourth layer, the establishment: the four characters 'protecting the people and becoming the king' the core proposition of the whole dialogue, the essence of the benevolent government, falling like a hammer.)

孟子说：爱护百姓、使百姓安居乐业，由此去统一天下，是没有什么力量能够阻挡的。

He said: 'One who shelters the people and so reigns - no power on earth can stop him.'

「保民而王，莫之能御也」是全文的点题之句，短短十字道尽儒家政治理想的核心。「保民」是手段与路径——保障民生、护养百姓，使民有恒产、有恒心；「王」是目标与归宿——以王道统一天下；「莫之能御」则以斩钉截铁的否定句式宣告其必然性，气势雄浑，不容辩驳。这十个字把「民本」思想化为最凝练的政治宣言，与《寡人之于国也》中「养生丧死无憾，王道之始也」的论述互为表里，是孟子仁政学说的纲领性表述，也是理解先秦儒家政治哲学最不该错过的一句话。宣王闻此，遂有后文「愿闻保民之道」的追问，可见此句已成功把对话引向孟子预设的轨道。

'Sheltering the people and thereby reigning - none can stop him' is the whole's thesis sentence, ten characters containing the core of the Confucian political ideal. 'Sheltering the people' the means and path - securing the people's livelihood, nurturing them, giving them steady livelihood and steady hearts; 'reign' the goal and end - unifying the world by the kingly way; 'none can stop him' the clipped negative sentence declaring its necessity, the force grand, beyond dispute. These ten characters turn the 'people-first' thought into the most condensed political manifesto, inwardly answering the 'no regret in living and dying, the beginning of royal rule' of 'Hui of Liang on his state,' the programmatic statement of Mencius' doctrine of benevolence, and the sentence no reader of pre-Qin Confucian political philosophy should miss. Hearing this, the King goes on to ask below to 'hear the way of sheltering the people,' showing the line has drawn the dialogue onto Mencius' preset track.

Study

Word focus

无道 Do not speak of (no one speaks of). The word of the denial: 'the disciples of Zhongni do not speak of the matter of Duke Huan and Duke Wen'—the Confucian school's non-speech of the hegemony, the denial of the topic of the hegemony, the beginning of the 'desiring to capture and first letting go.' 「仲尼之徒无道桓文之事者」中的「无道」是「没有人谈论、称道」之意，看似客观陈述，实为孟子精心设计的价值判断。儒家自孔子以来便以仁义为道统，「道」字本身即含褒贬——称道何事，便意味着认可何事。孟子说孔门「无道桓文之事」，等于宣布霸业不在儒家价值序列之内，为拒绝宣王之问寻得道义依据。「无道」与「传焉」「未之闻也」连用，构成三层递进：无人称道、后世无传、我未闻知，层层剥夺霸道话题的正当性。一词之微，已见孟子把「霸道」排除出儒门道统的深意，其论辩之精密，于此可见一斑。

保民 To protect the people. The core proposition: 'to become the true king by protecting the people'—the protection of the people the foundation of the Kingly Way, the essence of the Confucian benevolent government, the four characters the pivot of the whole dialogue. 「保民而王」中的「保」字是孟子政治哲学的基石。「保」本义为养育、护持，《说文》释为「养也」，孟子取「保养、安定」之意，将君王的职责定义为护养百姓——使民不饥不寒、养生丧死无憾，而不是驱使民去征伐。一个「保」字，把君与民的关系从「统治—被统治」改写为「养育—被养育」，民由此获得被保障的主体地位。与「保民」相对，孟子另有「虐民」「罔民」之说，「保」字正立起仁政与暴政的分界。此字浓缩了儒家民本思想的全部要义，故「保民而王」四字成为孟子政治哲学的旗帜，与「民为贵」的命题互相发明。

莫之能御 None can resist it. The word of the power: 'none can resist it'—the king who protects the people, no one in the world can resist him, the irresistibility of the benevolent government, the hammer of the establishment. 「莫之能御也」中的「御」是抵挡、阻挡之意，「莫之能御」即「没有什么力量能够抵挡它」，以全称否定的句式宣告王道力量的绝对性。这个短语的修辞力量在于双重强化：一是「莫」字作全称否定，排除了任何例外；二是「之」字提前构成宾语前置的强调句式，使「抵挡它」的意味更加突出。斩钉截铁的论断与宣王「可得闻乎」的试探口气形成鲜明对照，既收束全篇的论辩，又以雷霆之势为后文展开「保民」的具体方略作铺垫，充分体现了孟子散文雄辩刚健的语言风格。