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千里之堤，潰于蟻穴
A Dam of a Thousand Miles Can Collapse Due to an Ant Hole
千里長的堤壩會因小小的螞蟻洞穴而潰決。比喻細(xì)小的隱患，也會釀成極大的災(zāi)禍。出自《韓非子》。任何事物都有一個由小變大、積少成多的演進(jìn)過程，如果期望事物向好的方向發(fā)展，就必須消除各種隱患與不利因素，不能因為它的細(xì)小而忽視其存在，必須早發(fā)現(xiàn)、早遏止。此語以比喻的方式，從反面申明了“防微杜漸”的道理。
This expression from Hanfeizi highlights how a minute hazard is capable of developing into a devastating disaster. Everything evolves from small to large or grows from few to many. If achieving a good result is expected, then all kinds of hidden risks and potential dangers must be detected and prevented as early as possible, no matter how negligible they may be. The saying illustrates by analogy the importance of early prevention.
引例 Citations：
◎有形之類，大必起于小；行久之物，族必起于少。故曰：“天下之難事必作于易，天下之大事必作于細(xì)?！笔且杂莆镎哂谄浼?xì)也。故曰：“圖難于其易也，為大于其細(xì)也。”千丈之堤，以螻蟻之穴潰；百尺之室，以突隙之煙焚。（《韓非子·喻老》）
有形的事物，一定是由小變大的；時間久遠(yuǎn)的事物，一定是積少成多的。所以說：“天下的難事必定從簡易開始，天下的大事必定從細(xì)微開始?！币虼?，掌控事物必須從細(xì)微時就著手。所以說：“謀劃難事要從簡易處入手，想做大事要從細(xì)微處入手?！鼻д砷L的堤壩會因螞蟻的洞穴而潰決，百尺高的房屋會因煙囪的縫隙冒出火星而焚毀。
Any living object grows invariably from small to large while any massive accumulation must have started small far back in time. Therefore, it can be said that any difficult job must begin from the easy part and any enormous undertaking must originate from a tiny beginning. Hence, to keep good control of things at hand, it is important to start with managing their small details. That is the reason why one should "start planning for a hard job with its easy part and start undertaking a big task bit by bit." A dam a thousand miles long can collapse by an ant hole and a building a hundred feet tall can be burned to ashes by fire escaping from a chimney crack. (Hanfeizi)
◎故百尋之屋，突直而焚燎；千里之堤，蟻垤（dié）而穿敗。古人防小以全大，慎微以杜萌。（《晉書·陳頵（yūn）傳》）
所以，八百尺高的房屋，會因為直通通的煙囪冒出火星而焚毀；上千里長的堤壩，會因為小小的蟻穴而潰決。古人在不好的事物尚處于細(xì)微階段就開始防范，將其遏止在萌芽狀態(tài)，為的是保全大的方面。
So a building a hundred feet tall can be burned to ashes by fire escaping from a chimney crack and a dam a thousand miles long can collapse because of an ant hole. Ancient people begin to take precautions when dangers are still negligible and try to eliminate them in their nascent stage so as to protect what matters most. (The History of the Jin Dynasty)
推薦：教育部 國家語委
供稿：北京外國語大學(xué) 外語教學(xué)與研究出版社
責(zé)任編輯：錢耐安
