The Sayings Of Confucius
The Sayings Of Confucius-4
26. Ch'ü Po-yü sent a man to Confucius.
As they sat together, Confucius asked him, What does your master do?
He answered, My master wishes to make his faults fewer, but cannot.
When the messenger had left, the Master said, A messenger, a messenger
indeed!
27. The Master said, When not in office discuss not policy.
[72]
28. Tseng-tzu said, Even in his thoughts, a gentleman does not outstep
his place.
29. The Master said, A gentleman is shamefast of speech: his deeds go
further.
30. The Master said, In the way of the gentleman there are three
things that I cannot achieve. Love is never troubled; wisdom has no
doubts; courage is without fear.
That is what ye say, Sir, said Tzu-kung.
31. Tzu-kung would liken this man to that.
The Master said, What talents Tz'u has! Now I have no time for this.
32. The Master said, Sorrow not at being unknown; sorrow for thine own
shortcomings.
33. The Master said, Not to expect to be cheated, nor to look for
falsehood, and yet to see them coming, shows worth in a man.
34. Wei-sheng Mou said to Confucius, How dost thou still find roosts
to roost on, Ch'iu, unless by wagging a glib tongue?
Confucius answered, I dare not wag a glib tongue; but I hate
stubbornness.
35. The Master said, A steed is not praised for his strength, but
praised for his mettle.
36. One said, To mete out good for evil, how were that?
And how would ye meet good? said the Master. Meet evil with justice;
meet good with good.
37. The Master said, Alas! no man knows me! Tzu-kung said, Why do ye
say, Sir, that no man knows you?[73]
The Master said, Never murmuring against Heaven, nor finding fault
with men; learning from the lowest, cleaving the heights. I am known
but to one, but to Heaven.
38. Liao, the duke's uncle, spake ill of Tzu-lu to Chi-sun.[134]
Tzu-fu Ching-po told this to Confucius, saying, My master's mind is
surely being led astray by the duke's uncle, but I have still the
strength to expose his body in the market-place.
The Master said, If the Way is to be kept, that is the Bidding, and if
the Way is to be lost, this is the Bidding. What can the duke's uncle
do against the Bidding?
39. The Master said, Men of worth flee the world; the next best flee
the land. Then come those that go at a look, then those that go at
words.
40. The Master said, Seven men did so.
41. Tzu-lu spent a night at Shih-men.
The gate-keeper asked him, Whence comest thou?
From Confucius, answered Tzu-lu.
The man that knows it is no good and yet must still be doing? said the
gate-keeper.
42. When the Master was chiming his sounding stones in Wei, a
basket-bearer said, as he passed the door, The heart is full that
chimes those stones! But then he said, For shame! What a tinkling
sound! If no one knows thee, have done!
Wade the deep places,
Lift thy robe through the shallows!
[74]
The Master said, Where there's a will, that is nowise hard.
43. Tzu-chang said, What does the Book mean by saying that
Kao-tsung[135] in his mourning shed did not speak for three years?
Why pick out Kao-tsung? said the Master. The men of old were all thus.
For three years after their lord had died, the hundred officers did
each his duty and hearkened to the chief minister.
44. The Master said, When those above love courtesy, the people are
easy to lead.
45. Tzu-lu asked, What makes a gentleman?
The Master said, To be bent on becoming better.
Is that all? said Tzu-lu.
By becoming better to bring peace to men.
And is that all?
By becoming better to bring peace to all men, said the Master. Even
Yao and Shun were still struggling to become better, and so bring
peace to all men.
46. Yüan Jang awaited the Master squatting.
Unruly when young, unmentioned as man, undying when old, spells
good-for-nothing! said the Master, and he hit him on the leg with his
staff.
47. When a lad from the village of Ch'üeh was made messenger, someone
asked, saying, Is it because he is doing well?
The Master said, I have seen him sitting in a man's seat, and seen him
walking abreast of his elders. He does not try to do well: he wishes
to be quickly grown up.
FOOTNOTES:
ThediscipleYüanSsu.
Yiwaskilledbyhisbestpupil,whosaidtohimself,
In all the world no one but Yi shoots better than I do. So he killed
him.
SeenotetoBookIII,§22.
ChiuandHuanwerebrothers,sonsoftheDukeofCh'i.
When their father died, their uncle seized the throne. To preserve the
rightful heir, Shao Hu and Kuan Chung fled with Chiu to Lu, whilst
Huan escaped to another state. Later on the usurper was murdered, and
Huan returned to Ch'i and secured the throne. He then required the
Duke of Lu to kill his brother and deliver up to him Shao Hu and Kuan
Chung. This was done. But on the way to Ch'i Shao Hu killed himself.
Kuan Chung, on the other hand, took service under Duke Huan, became
his chief minister, and raised the state to greatness. (See note to
Book III, § 22.)
ChiK'ang.
481b.c.,twoyearsbeforethedeathofConfucius,who
was not at the time in office. Chien was Duke of Ch'i, a state
bordering on Lu. The three chiefs were the heads of the three great
clans that were all-powerful in Lu.
TheheadoftheChiclan,inwhoseserviceTzu-lu
was.
AnemperoroftheYindynasty.
[75]
BOOK XV
1. Ling, Duke of Wei, asked Confucius about the line of battle.
Confucius answered. Of the ritual of dish and platter[136] I have
heard somewhat: I have not learnt warfare.
He left the next day.
In Ch'en grain ran out. His followers were too ill to rise. Tzu-lu
showed that he was put out.
Has a gentleman to face want too? he said.
Gentlemen have indeed to face want, said the Master. The small man,
when he is in want, runs to excess.
2. The Master said, Tz'u,[137] dost thou not take me for a man that
has learnt much and thought it over?
Yes, he answered: is it not so?
No, said the Master. I string all into one.
3. The Master said, Yu,[138] how few men know great-heartedness!
4. The Master said, To rule doing nothing, was what Shun did. For what
is there to do? Self-respect and to set the face to rule, is all.
5. Tzu-chang asked how to get on.
The Master said, Be faithful and true of word, plain and lowly in thy
walk; thou wilt get on even in tribal lands. If thy words be not
faithful and [76]true, thy walk not plain and lowly, wilt thou get on
even in thine own town? Standing, see these words ranged before thee;
driving, see them written upon the yoke. Then thou wilt get on.
Tzu-chang wrote them on his girdle.
6. The Master said, Straight indeed was the historian Yü! Like an
arrow whilst the land kept the Way; and like an arrow when it lost the
Way! What a gentleman was Ch'ü Po-yü! Whilst the land kept the Way he
took office, and when the land had lost the Way he rolled himself up
in thought.
7. The Master said, Not to speak to him that has ears to hear is to
spill the man. To speak to a man without ears to hear is to spill thy
words. Wisdom spills neither man nor words.
8. The Master said, A high will, or a loving heart, will not seek life
at cost of love. To fulfil love they will kill the body.
9. Tzu-kung asked how to attain to love.
The Master said, A workman bent on good work must first sharpen his
tools. In the land that is thy home, serve those that are worthy among
the great and make friends with loving knights.
10. Yen Yüan asked how to rule a kingdom.
The Master said, Follow the Hsia seasons, drive in the chariot of Yin,
wear the head-dress of Chou, take for music the Shao and its dance.
Banish the strains of Cheng and flee men that are glib; for the
strains of Cheng are wanton and glib speakers are dangerous.[77]
11. The Master said. Without thought for far off things, there shall
be trouble near at hand.
12. The Master said, All is ended! I have seen no one that loves mind
as he loves looks!
13. The Master said, Did not Tsang Wen filch his post? He knew the
worth of Liu-hsia Hui,[139] and did not stand by him.
14. The Master said, By asking much of self and little of other men
ill feeling is banished.
15. The Master said, Unless a man say, Would this do? Would that do? I
can do nothing for him.
16. The Master said, When all day long there is no talk of right, and
little wiles find favour, the company is in hard case.
17. The Master said, Right is the stuff of which a gentleman is made.
Done with courtesy, spoken with humility, rounded with truth, right
makes a gentleman.
18. The Master said, His shortcomings trouble a gentleman; to be
unknown does not trouble him.
19. The Master said, A gentleman fears that his name shall be no more
heard when life is done.
[78]
20. The Master said, A gentleman asks of himself, the small man asks
of others.
21. The Master said, A gentleman is firm, not quarrelsome; a friend,
not a partisan.
22. The Master said, A gentleman does not raise a man for his words,
nor spurn the speech for the man.
23. Tzu-kung said, Is there one word by which we may walk till life
ends?
The Master said, Fellow-feeling, perhaps. Do not do unto others what
thou wouldst not have done to thee.
24. The Master said, Of the men that I meet, whom do I cry down, whom
do I overpraise? Or, if I overpraise them, it is after testing them.
It was owing to this people that the three lines of kings went the
straight way.
25. The Master said, I have still known historians that would leave a
gap in their text, and men that would lend a horse to another to ride.
Now it is so no more.
26. The Master said, Cunning words confound the mind; petty impatience
confounds great projects.
27. The Master said, The hatred of the many must be looked into; the
love of the many must be looked into.
28. The Master said, The man can exalt the Way: it is not the Way that
exalts the man.
29. The Master said, The fault is to cleave to a fault.
30. The Master said, I have spent whole days[79] without food and whole
nights without sleep, thinking, and gained nothing by it. Learning is
better.
31. The Master said, A gentleman thinks of the Way; he does not think
of food. Sow, and famine may follow; learn, and pay may come; but a
gentleman grieves for the Way; to be poor does not grieve him.
32. The Master said, What wisdom has got will be lost again, unless
love hold it fast. Wisdom to get and love to hold fast, without
dignity of bearing, will not be honoured among men. Wisdom to get,
love to hold fast and dignity of bearing, without courteous ways are
not enough.
33. The Master said, A gentleman has no small knowledge, but he can
carry out big things: the small man can carry out nothing big, but he
may be knowing in small things.
34. The Master said, Love is more to the people than fire and water. I
have seen men come to their death by fire and water: I have seen no
man that love brought to his death.
35. The Master said, When love is at stake yield not to an army.
36. The Master said, A gentleman is consistent, not changeless.
37. The Master said, A servant of the king honours his work, and puts
food after it.
38. The Master said, Learning knows no rank.
39. The Master said, Mingle not in projects with a man whose way is
not thine.[80]
40. The Master said, The whole end of speech is to be understood.
41. When he saw the music-master Mien, the Master said, as they came
to the steps, Here are the steps. On coming to the mat, he said, Here
is the mat. When all were seated, the Master told him, He and he are
here.
After the music-master had gone, Tzu-chang said, Is this the way to
speak to a music-master?
The Master said, Surely it is the way to help a music-master.[140]
FOOTNOTES:
Forsacrifice.
Tzu-kung.
Tzu-lu:probablysaidtohimontheoccasionmentioned
in § I.
Anotheroftheseseigneursdutempsjadisthatis
more to us than a dim shadow, for he still lives in the pages of
Mencius, who tells us that, He was not ashamed of a foul lord, and did
not refuse a small post. On coming in he did not hide his worth, but
held his own way. Neglected and idle, he did not grumble; straitened
and poor, he did not mope. When brought together with country folk he
was quite at his ease and could not bear to leave them. Thou art thou,
he said, and I am I: standing beside me with thy coat off, or thy body
naked, how canst thou defile me? (Book X, chapter 1). He stopped if a
hand was raised to stop him, for he did not care whether he went or no
(Book III, chapter 9).
Themanbeingblind,assomanymusiciansareinthe
East.
[81]
BOOK XVI
1. The Chi was about to make war on Chuan-yü.[141]
When Confucius saw Jan Yu and Chi-lu,[142] they said to him, The Chi
is going to deal with Chuan-yü.
Confucius said, After all, Ch'iu,[143] art thou not in the wrong? The
kings of old made Chuan-yü lord of Tung Meng.[144] Moreover, as
Chuan-yü is inside our borders it is the liege of the spirits of earth
and corn of our land; so how can ye make war upon it?
Jan Yu said, Our master wishes it. Tzu-lu and I, his two ministers, do
not, either of us, wish it.
Confucius said, Ch'iu, Chou Jen used to say, 'He that can put forth
his strength takes his place in the line; he that cannot stands back.'
Who would take to help him a man that is no stay in danger and no
support in falling? Moreover, what thou sayest is wrong. If a tiger or
a buffalo escapes from his pen, if tortoiseshell or jade is broken in
its case, who is to blame?
Jan Yu said, But Chuan-yü is now strong, and it is near to Pi[145]; if
it is not taken now, in days [82]to come it will bring sorrow on our sons
and grandsons.
Ch'iu, said Confucius, instead of saying 'I want it,' a gentleman
hates to plead that he needs must. I have heard that fewness of men
does not vex a king or a chief, but unlikeness of lot vexes him.
Poverty does not vex him, but want of peace vexes him. For if wealth
were even, no one would be poor. In harmony is number; peace prevents
a fall. Thus, if far off tribes will not submit, bring them in by
encouraging mind and art, and when they come in give them peace. But
now, when far off tribes will not submit, ye two, helpers of your
lord, cannot bring them in. The kingdom is split and falling, and ye
cannot save it. Yet inside our land ye plot to move spear and shield!
The sorrows of Chi's grandsons will not rise in Chuan-yü, I fear: they
will rise within the palace wall.
2. Confucius said, When the Way is kept below heaven, courtesy, music
and punitive wars flow from the Son of heaven. When the Way is lost
below heaven, courtesy, music and punitive wars flow from the great
vassals. When they flow from the great vassals they will rarely last
for ten generations. When they flow from the great ministers they will
rarely last for five generations. When underlings sway the country's
fate they will rarely last for three generations. When the Way is kept
below heaven power does not lie with the great ministers. When the Way
is kept below heaven common folk do not argue.[83]
3. Confucius said, For five generations its income has passed from the
ducal house;[146] for four generations power has lain with the great
ministers: and humbled, therefore, are the sons and grandsons of the
three Huan.
4. Confucius said, There are three friends that help us, and three
that do us harm. The friends that help us are a straight friend, an
outspoken friend, and a friend that has heard much. The friends that
harm us are plausible friends, friends that like to flatter, and
friends with a glib tongue.
5. Confucius said, There are three delights that do good, and three
that do us harm. Those that do good are delight in dissecting good
form and music, delight in speaking of the good in men, and delight in
having many worthy friends. Those that do harm are proud delights,
delight in idle roving, and delight in the joys of the feast.
6. Confucius said. Men that wait upon lords fall into three mistakes.
To speak before the time has come is rashness. Not to speak when the
time has come is secrecy. To speak heedless of looks is blindness.
7. Confucius said, A gentleman has three things to guard against.
In the days of thy youth, ere thy strength is steady, beware of lust.
When manhood is reached, in the fulness of strength, beware of strife.
In old age, when thy strength is broken, beware of greed.
8. Confucius said, A gentleman holds three things [84]in awe. He is in
awe of the Bidding of Heaven; he is in awe of great men; and he is
awed by the words of the holy.
The small man knows not the Bidding of Heaven, and holds it not in
awe. He is saucy towards the great; he makes game of holy men's words.
9. Confucius said, The best men are born wise. Next come those that
grow wise by learning; then those that learn from toil. Those that do
not learn from toil are the lowest of the people.
10. Confucius said, A gentleman has nine aims. To see clearly; to
understand what he hears; to be warm in manner, dignified in bearing,
faithful of speech, keen at work; to ask when in doubt; in anger to
think of difficulties; and in sight of gain to think of right.
11. Confucius said, In sight of good to be filled with longing; to
look on evil as scalding to the touch: I have seen such men, I have
heard such words.
To live apart and search thy will; to achieve thy Way, by doing right:
I have heard these words, but I have seen no such men.
12. Ching, Duke of Ch'i, had a thousand teams of horses; but the
people, on his death day, found no good in him to praise. Po-yi[147]
and Shu-ch'i[148] starved at the foot of Shou-yang, and to this day
the people still praise them.
Is not this the clue to that?
[85]
13. Ch'en K'ang[149] asked Po-yü,[150] Apart from us, have ye heard
anything, Sir?
He answered, No: once as my father stood alone and I sped across the
hall, he said to me, Art thou learning poetry? I answered, No. He that
does not learn poetry, he said, has no hold on words. I withdrew and
learned poetry.
Another day, when he again stood alone and I sped across the hall, he
said to me, Art thou learning courtesy? I answered, No. He that does
not learn courtesy, he said, has no foothold. I withdrew and learned
courtesy. These two things I have heard.
Ch'en K'ang withdrew, and cried gladly, I asked one thing, and I get
three! I hear of poetry; I hear of courtesy; and I hear too that a
gentleman stands aloof from his son.
14. A king speaks of his wife as 'my wife.' She calls herself
'handmaid.' Her subjects speak of her as 'our lord's wife,' but when
they speak to foreigners, they say 'our little queen.' Foreigners
speak of her, too, as 'the lord's wife.'
FOOTNOTES:
AsmallfeudatorystateofLu.
Tzu-lu.HeandJanYuwereintheserviceoftheChi.
JanYu.
AmountaininChuan-yü.SincetheEmperorhadgiventhe
ruler of Chuan-yü the right to sacrifice to its mountains, that state
had some measure of independence, though it was feudatory to Lu, and
within its borders.
AtownbelongingtotheChi.
OfLu.
SeenotetoBookV,§22.
SeenotetoBookV,§22.
ThediscipleTzu-ch'in.
ThesonofConfucius.
[86]
BOOK XVII
1. Yang Huo[151] wished to see Confucius. Confucius did not go to see
him. He sent Confucius a sucking pig. Confucius chose a time when he
was out, and went to thank him. They met on the road.
He said to Confucius, Come, let us speak together. To cherish a gem,
and undo the kingdom, can that be called love?
It cannot, said Confucius.
To love office, and miss the hour again and again, can that be called
wisdom?
It cannot, said Confucius.
The days and months go by; the years do not wait for us.
True, said Confucius; I must take office.
2. The Master said, Men are near to each other by nature; the lives
they lead sunder them.
3. The Master said, Only the wisest and stupidest of men never change.
4. As the Master came to Wu-ch'eng[152] he heard sounds of lute and
song.
Why use an ox-knife to kill a fowl? said the Master, with a pleased
smile.
Tzu-yu answered, Master, once I heard you say, A gentleman that has
learnt the Way loves men; small folk that have learnt the Way are easy
to rule.
[87]
My two-three boys, said the Master, what Yen[153] says is true. I
spake before in play.
5. Kung-shan Fu-jao[154] held Pi in rebellion. He called the Master,
who wished to go.
Tzu-lu said in displeasure. This cannot be! why must ye go to
Kung-shan?
The Master said, He calls me, and would that be all? Could I not make
an Eastern Chou[155] of him that uses me?
6. Tzu-chang asked Confucius what is love.
Confucius said, Love is to mete out five things to all below heaven.
May I ask what they are?
Modesty and bounty, said Confucius, truth, earnestness and kindness.
Modesty escapes insult: bounty wins the many; truth gains men's trust;
earnestness brings success; and kindness is enough to make men work.
7. Pi Hsi called the Master, who wished to go.
Tzu-lu said, Master, I heard you say once, To men whose own life is
evil, no gentleman will go. Pi Hsi holds Chung-mou in rebellion; how
could ye go to him, Sir?
Yes, I said so, answered the Master. But is not a thing called hard
that cannot be ground thin; white, if steeping will not turn it black?
And am I a gourd? Can I hang without eating?
[88]
8. The Master said, Hast thou heard the six words, Yu,[156] and the
six they sink into?
He answered. No.
Sit down, and I shall tell thee. The thirst for love, without love of
learning, sinks into simpleness. Love of knowledge, without love of
learning, sinks into vanity. Love of truth, without love of learning,
sinks into cruelty. Love of straightness, without love of learning,
sinks into rudeness. Love of daring, without love of learning, sinks
into turbulence. Love of strength, without love of learning, sinks
into oddity.
9. The Master said, My little children, why do ye not learn poetry?
Poetry would ripen you; teach you insight, friendliness and
forbearance; show you how to serve your father at home; and teach your
lord abroad; and it would teach you the names of many birds and
beasts, plants and trees.
10. The Master said to Po-yü,[157] Hast thou done the Chou-nan and
Shao-nan?[158] He that has not done the Chou-nan and Shao-nan is like
a man standing with his face to the wall.
11. The Master said, 'Courtesy, courtesy,' is the cry; but are jade
and silk the whole of courtesy? 'Music, music,' is the cry; but are
bells and drums the whole of music?
12. The Master said, Fierce looks and weakness within are like the
small man, like the thief that breaks through or clambers over a wall.
[89]
13. The Master said, The plain townsman is the bane of mind.
14. The Master said, To tell unto the dust all that we hear upon the
way is to lay waste the mind.
15. The Master said, How can we serve the king with a low fellow, who
is itching to get what he wants and trembling to lose what he has?
This trembling to lose what he has may lead him anywhere.
16. The Master said, Men of old had three failings, which have,
perhaps, died out to-day. Ambitious men of old were not nice; now they
are unprincipled. Stern men of old were hard; now they are
quarrelsome. Ignorant men of old were straight; now they are false.
That is all.
17. The Master said, Smooth words and fawning looks are seldom found
with love.
18. The Master said, I hate the ousting of scarlet by purple. I hate
the strains of Cheng, confounders of sweet music. I hate a sharp
tongue, the ruin of kingdom and home.
19. The Master said, I wish no word were spoken!
Tzu-kung said, Sir, if ye said no word, what could your little
children write?
The Master said, What are the words of Heaven? The four seasons pass,
the hundred things bear life. What are the words of Heaven?
20. Ju Pei wished to see Confucius. Confucius pleaded sickness; but,
as the messenger left his door, he took a lute and sang, so the
messenger should hear.[90]
21. Tsai Wo[159] asked about mourning for three years. He thought that
one was enough.
If for three years gentlemen forsake courtesy, courtesy must suffer.
If for three years they forsake music, music must decay. The old grain
passes, the new grain sprouts, the round of woods for the fire-drill
is ended in one year.
The Master said, Feeding on rice, clad in brocade, couldst thou be at
rest?
I could, he answered.
Then do what gives thee rest. But a gentleman, when he is mourning,
has no taste for sweets and no ear for music; he cannot rest in his
home. So he gives these up. Now, they give thee rest; then keep them.
After Tsai Wo had gone, the Master said, Yü's[160] want of love! At
the age of three a child first leaves the arms of his father and
mother, and mourning lasts for three years everywhere below heaven.
But did Yü have for three years the love of his father and mother?
22. The Master said, It is hard indeed when a man eats his fill all
day, and has nothing to task the mind! Could he not play at chequers?
Even that were better.
23. Tzu-lu said, Do gentlemen honour daring?
They put right higher, said the Master. With daring and no sense of
right gentlemen turn rebels and small men turn robbers.
24. Tzu-kung said, Do gentlemen hate too?
[91]
They do, said the Master. They hate the sounding of evil deeds; they
hate men of low estate that slander those over them; they hate daring
without courtesy; they hate men that are stout and fearless, but
blind.
And Tz'u,[161] he said, dost thou hate too?
I hate those that take spying for wisdom, who take want of manners for
courage, and take tale-telling for honesty.
25. The Master said, Only maids and serving-lads are hard to train. If
we draw near to them, they get unruly; if we hold them off, they grow
spiteful.
26. The Master said, When a man of forty is hated, he will be so to
the end.
FOOTNOTES:
Theall-powerful,unscrupulousministeroftheChi.
Averysmalltown,ofwhichthediscipleTzu-yuwas
governor.
Tzu-yu.
StewardoftheChi,andaconfederateofYangHuo.
AkingdomintheeasttomatchChouinthewest,the
home of Kings Wen and Wu.
Tzu-lu.
Hisson.
ThefirsttwobooksofTheBookofPoetry.
Adisciple.
TsaiWo.
Tzu-kung.
[92]
BOOK XVIII
1. The lord of Wei[162] left, the lord of Chi[163] was made a slave,
Pi-kan[164] spake out, and died.
Confucius said, Three of the Yin had love.
2. Whilst Liu-hsia Hui[165] was Chief Knight[166] he was dismissed
thrice.
Men said. Is it not yet time to leave. Sir?
He answered, If I serve men the straight way, where can I go without
being dismissed thrice? If I am to serve men the crooked way, why
should I leave the land of my father and mother?
3. Speaking of how to treat Confucius, Ching, Duke of Ch'i, said, I
cannot treat him as I do the Chi. I put him between Chi and Meng.
I am old, he said; I cannot use him.
Confucius left.
4. The men of Ch'i[167] sent a gift of music girls. Chi Huan accepted
them, and for three days no court was held.
Confucius left.
[93]
5. Chieh-yü, the mad-head of Ch'u, as he passed Confucius, sang,
Phoenix, bright phoenix,
Thy glory is ended!
Think of to-morrow;
The past can't be mended.
Up and away!
The Court is today
With danger attended.
Confucius alighted, for he wished to speak with him: but he hurried
away, and he could not speak with him.
6. Ch'ang-chü and Chieh-ni were working in the fields. As Confucius
passed them, he sent Tzu-lu to ask for the ford.
Ch'ang-chü said, Who is that holding the reins?
He is K'ung Ch'iu, said Tzu-lu.
Is he K'ung Ch'iu of Lu?
Yes, said Tzu-lu.
He knows the ford, said Ch'ang-chü.
Tzu-lu asked Chieh-ni.
Who are ye, Sir? he answered.
I am Chung Yu.
The disciple of K'ung Ch'iu of Lu?
Yes, he answered.
All below heaven is seething and boiling, said Chieh-ni, who can
change it? How much better would it be to follow a knight that flees
the world than to follow a knight that flees persons!
And he went on hoeing without stop.
Tzu-lu went and told the Master, whose face fell.
Can I herd with birds and beasts? he said. Whom[94] but these men can I
take as fellows? And if the Way were kept by all below heaven, I
should not need to change them.
7. Tzu-lu, who was following behind, met an old man carrying a basket
on his staff.
Tzu-lu asked him, Have ye seen the Master, Sir?
The old man answered, Thy four limbs are idle, thou canst not sort the
five seeds: who is thy Master?
And he planted his staff, and weeded.
Tzu-lu stood and bowed.
He kept Tzu-lu for the night, killed a fowl, made millet, gave them
him to eat, and presented his two sons.
Tzu-lu left the next day, and told the Master.
The Master said, He is in hiding.
He sent Tzu-lu back to see him; but when he arrived he had gone.
Tzu-lu said, Not to take office is not right. If the ties of old and
young cannot be thrown off, how can he throw off the liege's duty to
his lord? He wishes to keep his life clean, but he is unsettling the
bonds between men. To discharge that duty a gentleman takes office,
though he knows beforehand that the Way will not be kept.
8. Po-yi, Shu-ch'i, Yü-chung, Yi-yi, Chu-chang, Liu-hsia Hui and
Shao-lien were men that hid from the world.
The Master said, Po-yi[168] and Shu-ch'i[169] did not bend the will or
shame the body.
[95]
We must say that Liu-hsia Hui[170] and Shao-lien bent the will and
shamed the body. Their words hit man's duty, their deeds hit our
hopes. This we can say and no more.
We may say that Yü-chung and Yi-yi lived hidden, but were free of
speech. Their lives were clean, their retreat was well weighed.
But I am unlike all of them: there is nothing I must, or must not, do.
9. Chih, the Great Music-master, went to Ch'i; Kan, the conductor at
the second meal, went to Ch'u; Liao, the conductor at the third meal,
went to Ts'ai; Chüeh, the conductor at the fourth meal, went to Ch'in.
The drum master Fang-shu crossed the River; the tambourine master Wu
crossed the Han; Yang the second bandmaster and Hsiang, who played the
sounding stones, crossed the sea.
10. The Duke of Chou[171] said to the Duke of Lu,[172] A gentleman
does not forsake kinsmen, nor offend his great lieges by not using
them. He will not cast off an old friend unless he have big cause; he
does not ask everything of anyone.
11. Chou had eight knights: Po-ta and Po-kuo, Chung-tu and Chung-hu,
Shu-yeh and Shu-hsia, Chi-sui and Chi-kua.
