《三国志·魏书·董二袁刘传》
刘表势力横跨汉南，袁绍在河朔地区大展拳脚，但都是外表宽和内心好猜忌，有谋划但犹豫不决，身边有贤人却不能重用，得到好的谏言却不能采纳，都因为宠爱幼子而舍弃嫡长子，让庶子作为继承人，抛掉礼法，凭自己的喜好做事，以至于继嗣的后人做事忙乱急迫，丧失手中的势力，这不是因为运气不好。
表跨蹈汉南，绍鹰扬河朔，然皆外宽内忌，好谋无决，有才而不能用，闻善而不能纳，废嫡立庶，舍礼崇爱，至于后嗣颠蹙，社稷倾覆，非不幸也。
Liu Biao's influence spanned the south of the Han Dynasty, and Yuan Shao made great strides in the Hebei region, but they were both outwardly gentle but suspicious, scheming but indecisive, surrounded by worthy people but unable to reuse them, receiving good advice but unable to accept it. They all favored their youngest sons over their eldest and chose to make their daughters their heirs, casting aside the laws of affection and doing things according to their own preferences, so that their successors acted in confusion and haste and lost their power in their hands. This was not because of bad luck.