治理國家若沒有法律就會混亂，遵守法律若不知變革就會衰落。這一思想是由先秦法家代表人物慎到提出的。一方面說明了法律在國家治理中具有關鍵作用，另一方面也揭示了法律應與時俱進的道理。慎到認為，統(tǒng)治者應“以道變法”，即根據(jù)社會實際來制定、修改法律。在現(xiàn)代社會，制定和修改法律也應注重維護其體系的封閉性與開放性，以求兼顧法理與人情。

A state governed without laws will be chaotic but rigid conformity to law without reform will lead to decline. Proposed by the Pre-Qin Legalist ShenDao, the concept illustrates the key role of law in governing the state and the need for the law to keep pace with the times. According to Shen, rulers shall make and amend laws based on social realities. Similarly, in modern society, efforts should be made to maintain the rigidity and flexibility of the legal system in the formulation and revision of laws, so as to balance law and compassion.

引例 Citation：

◎ 故治國無其法則亂，守法而不變則衰。有法而行私，謂之不法。以力役法者，百姓也；以死守法者，有司也；以道變法者，君長也。（歐陽詢等《藝文類聚》卷五十四）

（所以，治理國家若沒有法律就會混亂，遵守法律若不知變革就會衰落。有法可依卻徇私情、滿足私欲的話，就是違反法律。以身守法是百姓的事；以死亡來捍衛(wèi)法律的尊嚴，這是政府機關的事；根據(jù)形勢的變化不斷變革法制，這是國君的事情。）

Therefore, ruling a country without laws brings chaos while rigidly following laws without reform leads to decline. Bending the law for personal desires constitutes violation of the law. It is the duty of the people to observe the law; it is the responsibility of governments to defend the dignity of the law; it is the obligation of the monarch to adapt the law to actualities. (Ouyang Xun et al.: An Anthology of Pre-Tang Dynasty Literature)

（本文摘自教育部、國家語委重大文化工程“中華思想文化術語傳播工程”項目。）