【每週成語】
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成語：強詞奪理（QIANG CI DUO LI）: sophistry; loud rhetoric making up for fallacious argument; twist words and force logic shoving false arguments down people’s throats; one’s words are overbearing and distorts reason; distort the right and speciously.
出處：呂氏春秋。
釋義：指無理而強辯。往往指恃強凌弱素來蔑視真理的人，他們所搬出來的說辭都是似是而非，強詞奪理而已。
故事：戰國時代，宋國有一個大夫名高陽應，是一個愛強辯的人。只要有機會遇到任何細微末節的小事即使沒有任何理由，他也不放過與人辯論。雖然很多人嘴裡說不過他，但是心裡就對他不服。有一天高陽應計劃建一棟房子而且即將動工。一位有經驗的木匠看了蓋房子的木柴對高陽應建議說，“ 現在還不能動工，木頭還沒有乾呢！用這樣濕的木頭做柱子，不久會有裂痕。木頭一旦有了裂痕，就支撐不住房子的重量，將來不久房子就會倒塌。我想最好等到木頭完全風乾了再動工吧! ” 可是，高陽應不同意木匠的觀點而反駁說，“我的觀念恰恰與你的想法相反。用濕木頭做房柱，房子不但不會倒塌，反而更牢固。你看，木頭越乾越有力，磚瓦越乾越輕。現在支撐房子的木頭還是濕的時候，尚可支撐屋頂；等過了一段時間，磚瓦乾了，壓力減輕了，木頭風乾了，不是更能支撐住嗎？房子怎麼會倒呢? ”木匠聽他這麼一駁無話可說，只好照著高陽應的藍圖動工了。房子很快就建好了，但是，建好不久，正如木匠預測的，房子倒塌了。
用法：晉惠帝並非不知道老百姓的痛苦，而是自私自利貪圖享受裝糊塗。問他如何解決老百姓的飢餓問題，他無詞以對，只好說‘何不食肉糜？’。實際上他是“強詞奪理”。
故事英譯：During the Era of Warring Stats, there was a man named Guang Yang Ying in Song State, who liked to carry on fallacious arguments with others. He didn’t lose any opportunity to argue with others when he happened to meet trivial things without even any reasons. Although many persons couldn’t win him in arguments, anyway they didn’t agree with his distorted reasons in hearts.
One day, Gao Yang Ying would build a house and was going to start the work. An experienced carpenter saw the wood of the house and suggested to Gao Yang Ying, “Now you shouldn’t start the building work because the wood had not been dried yet. If you use the wet logs to be the pillars of the house, the wood will be split in a short time and the split wood-columns could not support the weight of the roof, and the house will collapse soon. I think that it is better to wait till the wood fully being dried, and you start the work. ” However, Gao Yang Ying didn’t agree with the carpenter’s view point and argued, “My idea is just on the contrary with yours that using wet wood to be the pillars of the house will be not only there is no the possibility of falling down but also it will be stronger. Look, as the wet wood becomes dryer in future, it will be stronger, and the bricks and roofing tiles will be lighter. Now the wood which was supporting the roof, was still wet and can support the roof, after a period of time, the weight of the bricks and tiles have been dried fully and the pressure of them will be decreased, and isn’t it right that the wood-pillars will be more able to support the roof of the house? How can you say that it can’t support the roof and the house will be collapsed?” After hearing Gao Yang Ying’s saying, the carpenter had nothing to say and could not but follow Gao Yang Ying’s blueprint to start the work. The house had been built up quickly, but not long after, just as the carpenter had predicted that the house collapsed totally.
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