DDJ 49. 誓以无心

第四十九章
[原文]

圣人常无心①，以百姓之心为心。善者，吾善之；不善者，吾亦善之，德善②。信者，吾信之；不信者，吾亦信之，德信。圣人在天下，歙歙焉③为天下浑其心④，百姓皆注其耳目⑤，圣人皆孩之⑥。

[译文]

圣人常常是没有私心的，以百姓的心为自己的心。对于善良的人，我善待于他；对于不善良的人，我也善待他，这样就可以得到善良了，从而使人人向善。对于守信的人，我信任他；对不守信的人，我也信任他，这样可以得到诚信了，从而使人人守信。有道的圣人在其位，收敛自己的欲意，使天下的心思归于浑朴。百姓们都专注于自己的耳目聪明，有道的人使他们都回到婴孩般纯朴的状态。

http://www.daodejing.org/49.html

“圣人常无心”

"善者，吾善之；不善者，吾亦善之，德善"

"信者，吾信之；不信者，吾亦信之，德信"

“歙歙焉为天下浑其心”
道德经这段古话描述一种迥异于古代中国“显学”儒家法家的统治哲学， 反而更加类似于现代美国的法制精神，就是“lack of presumption", especially "presumption of innocence".   圣人之”德“异于常人之”德“。系统之”德“不同于常人之德。  Character makes destiny, but Scale makes Character.   

  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presumption_of_innocence

  “Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation: — "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

ARTICLE II, SECTION 1, CLAUSE 8
http://www.heritage.org/constitution/#!/articles/2/essays/85/oath-of-officeWalter Burkert has shown that since Lycurgus of Athens (d. 324 BCE), who held that "it is the oath which holds democracy together", religion, morality and political organization had been linked by the oath, and the oath and its prerequisite altar had become the basis of both civil and criminal, as well as international law.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oath#Greek_tradition

"Opposition to oath-taking among some groups of Christian caused many problems for these groups throughout their history. Quakers were frequently imprisoned because of their refusal to swear loyalty oaths. Testifying in court was also difficult; George Fox, Quakers' founder, famously challenged a judge who had asked him to swear, saying that he would do so once the judge could point to any Bible passage where Jesus or his apostles took oaths. (The judge could not, but this did not allow Fox to escape punishment.) Legal reforms from the 18th century onwards mean that everyone in the United Kingdom now has the right to make a solemn affirmation instead of an oath. The United States has permitted affirmations since it was founded; it is explicitly mentioned in the Constitution. Only President Franklin Pierce has chosen to affirm rather than swear at his inauguration.

As late as 1880, Charles Bradlaugh was denied a seat as an MP in the Parliament of the United Kingdom because of his professed atheism as he was judged unable to swear the Oath of Allegiance in spite of his proposal to swear the oath as a "matter of form"."