天下之患，最不可為者，名為治平無事，而其實有不測之憂。坐觀其變，而不為之所，則恐至於不可救；起而強為之，則天下狃於治平之安而不吾信。惟仁人君子豪傑之士，為能出身為天下犯大難，以求成大功；此固非勉強期月之間，而苟以求名之所能也。

One of the most intractable calamities in the world is an unpredicable accident hidden in a superficially peaceful enviornment, on which people just look on and dont address themselves to solve it, until to a situation that is impossible to deal with.  Even worse, I dont believe any abrupt action taken to solve the problem would be successful when that day comes.  Though personal merits and feats are only acquired by great men for their fearless deeds, still those deeds can not be accomplished within a short period of time; therefore, what those men have done are just for their own fame.

       天下治平，無故而發大難之端；吾發之，吾能收之，然後有辭於天下。事至而循循焉欲去之，使他人任其責，責天下之禍，必集於我。

When turmoils take place in peaceful environment, I dare stand out to address the problem, I solve it, and then Ive fulfilled my duties.  But when it is beyond my capability to deal with the problem, and so I hesitate and try to evade it, and let others take the responsibilities, then I must be the chief person to be blamed for such a national calamity.    
      

昔者晁錯盡忠為漢，謀弱山東之諸侯，山東諸侯並起，以誅錯為名；而天子不以察，以錯為之說。天下悲錯之以忠而受禍，不知有以取之也。

Formerly Chao Cuo paid homage to Han Dynasty, mapping out the plan to enfeeble the feudal states east of Mount Taihang, that caused uprising from the states against central empire under the name of killing Chao.  Failed to discern who was royal to him, the emperor tried to appease the feudal states by blaming it on Chao who thus became a scapegoat.  People all pitied Cao for the unfair treatment he received because of his loyalty to the emperor, but actually it was his own fault and he asked for it.   

       古之立大事者，不惟有超世之才，亦必有堅忍不拔之志。昔禹之治水，鑿龍門，決大河而放之海。方其功之未成也，蓋亦有潰冒衝突可畏之患；惟能前知其當然，事至不懼，而徐為之圖，是以得至於成功。

Those great men of ancinet times who achieved brilliant feats must have possessed themselves not only outstanding talents but also dogged perseverance.  Time was when Da Yu, the great hydraulic engineer, was regulating the watercourse of Yellow River, he digged Longmen dike to let the water flow into the sea.  Before the task was accomplished, he also had to face the latent danger of dike burst.  But Da Yu got hold of how the danger would happen and how to tackle with it in the first place; so even the danger did take place, he could address it step by step and gain his success eventually. 

       夫以七國之強，而驟削之，其為變，豈足怪哉？錯不於此時捐其身，為天下當大難之沖，而制吳楚之命，乃為自全之計，欲使天子自將而己居守。且夫發七國之難者，誰乎？己欲求其名，安所逃其患。以自將之至危，與居守至安；己為難首，擇其至安，而遣天子以其至危，此忠臣義士所以憤怨而不平者也。

Now that the seven feudal states had been strong enough, it was not strange that they would rebel against central empire when they were going to be annexed.  Chao Cuo should have stepped forward to solve the problem and clamp down the rebellion initiated by Wu and Chu; on the contrary, for the sake of his own safety, Chao suggested the emperor lead the expedition and he be stayed in the capital.  Who made the rebellion happen, anyway?  How could Cao earn his good reputation while evade his responsibilities for the trouble he had created?  Apparently leading an expeditionary army was the most insecure thing to do, and staying at home was much easier.  Chao was the one who brought the calamity up, but he tried to find the easiest way out, while put the emperor at extreme risk, and that would definitely engendered a feeling of indignation from loyalists and those morally courageous persons at his behavior. 

     
       當此之時，雖無袁盎，錯亦未免於禍。何者？己欲居守，而使人主自將。以情而言，天子固已難之矣，而重違其議。是以袁盎之說，得行於其間。使吳楚反，錯已身任其危，日夜淬礪，東向而待之，使不至於累其君，則天子將恃之以為無恐，雖有百盎，可得而間哉？

In that time, even there was no his political opponent like Yuan Ang, still Chao Cuo could not escape the capital punishment.  Why not?  Because his suggestion that he stay at home and the emperor go to war would be totally unacceptable from any aspect, rational or emotional, and thus put the emperor in a quandary.  Hence, Yuans suggestion of executing Chao to appease the rebels could work out.  Suppose Chao disregarded his own safety and stood out to confront the crisis of the rebellion from Wu and Chu, and made preparations for war, day and night, awaiting the attack from east, then the emperor would not be threated, and would completely rely on Chao without any fear.  In so doing, even there were a hundred Yuan Ang, how could any distrust come between the emperor and Chao?        

       嗟夫！世之君子，欲求非常之功，則無務為自全之計。使錯自將而討吳楚，未必無功，惟其欲自固其身，而天子不悅。奸臣得以乘其隙，錯之所以自全者，乃其所以自禍歟！

Alas!  No great man seeking extraordinary feat would put his personal safety in the first place.  Suppose Chao Cuo himself led the army to launch a punitive expedition against Wu and Chu, he would not necessarily stand little chance to win the war; instead, he opted to save his own life and that made the emperor unhappy, also let bad guys have loopholes to exploit.  To put Chaos fate in a nutshell, again, he asked for it!