DDJ 56. 闭其门, 解其纷的SCOTUS

第五十六章
[原文]

知者不言，言者不知①。塞其兑，闭其门②；挫其锐，解其纷；和其光，同其尘③，是谓玄同④。故不可得而亲，不可得而疏；不可得而利，不可得而害；不可得而贵，不可得而贱⑤；故为天下贵。

[译文]

聪明的智者不多说话，而到处说长论短的人就不是聪明的智者。塞堵住嗜欲的孔窍，关闭住嗜欲的门径。不露锋芒，消解纷争，挫去人们的锋芒，解脱他们的纷争，收敛他们的光耀，混同他们的尘世，这就是深奥的玄同。达到“玄同”境界的人，已经超脱亲疏、利害、贵贱的世俗范围，所以就为天下人所尊重。

http://www.daodejing.org/56.html

"闭其门；挫其锐，解其纷" 这句话，像是说SCOTUS（Supreme Court Of The United States）关起门来讨论。  兼听则明，偏信则暗。有时候需要9个专职来听，才能兼听，避免”偏信“。  开放式民主至少有两种常见死法：或者是独裁取缔之殇，或者是暴民闹剧之亡。  秦以前古代朝代都各有道, 战国毁灭的不是春秋诸侯，秦毁灭的也不是六国，而是中国“道”“无为而无不为”无所不在的“士”精神，荣誉感和mystique。 秦以后的朝代早汉，魏晋，隋唐尚且有人怀念这种精神，以复兴为己任。 宋朝自作聪明的贱武贵文，阉割”武“精神，贿赂”文“精神，终于文武一起在崖山走向黑暗中国近千年绝踪悲剧。所以秦以强亡，宋以智弱。 “知者不言，言者不知”。。。“故不可得而亲，不可得而疏；不可得而利，不可得而害；不可得而贵，不可得而贱。” 自作聪明，偏私贵贱，都是疾驰于悬崖之捷径。 “使我介然有知，行於大道，唯施是畏。大道甚夷，而人好径。”.

********** Constitution ********** 

Yesterday was the last of Article II. instituting the Executive Branch.   There's a post-note on Administrative agencies, not directly prescribed by the Constitution. 

http://www.heritage.org/constitution/#!/articles/2/essays/101/a-note-on-administrative-agencies

Today we move to the Judicial Branch Article III.  The first section carries symmetry for the first three Articles.

Article III (Judicial) Section 1

The judicial Power of the United States shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish.The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services a Compensation, which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office.

http://www.heritage.org/constitution/#!/articles/3/essays/102/judicial-vesting-clause

"This separation-of-powers structure incorporated two novel Federalist ideas. First, "judicial Power" became a distinct part of government, whereas in England it had been treated as an aspect of executive authority (although the English recognized adjudication as a discrete function). Second, like Congress and the President, federal judges ultimately derived their power from "the People," even though they were unelected and given tenure and salary guarantees to ensure their impartiality and prestige. This separate and independent judiciary consisted of a Supreme Court and any lower federal tribunals Congress chose to create. The powers of federal courts can most usefully be divided into three components: judicial review, justiciability, and equitable authority."

http://www.heritage.org/constitution/#!/articles/3/essays/103/supreme-court

"In a system designed to protect against tyranny of both the majority and the minority, the clause is a constitutional contract with those men and women who serve in the judiciary—a contract that can be rescinded only through an act of impeachment.

In recent years, the Good Behavior Clause has been the subject of considerable academic debate due to its close association with the impeachment standard in Article II. When the clause was drafted, however, there was little discussion of its meaning. The Good Behavior Clause affirmed the life-tenure guarantee of federal judges—a fundamental requirement for the separation-of-powers doctrine that underlies the Constitution."