Still, though history may have only had a limited impact on emperors, and may not ever have been of "aid" to the imperial "government," for the ordinary citizen it is a "mirror" that never loses its sheen.
而歷史儘管對帝王的功用有限，《通鑑》不見得能「資」皇帝之「治」；但對一般小民而言，卻是不折不扣的一面鏡子。