The Analects of Confucius (from the Chinese Classics)
The Analects of Confucius (from the Chinese Classics)-2
CHAP. XXIV. The Master said, 'The superior man wishes to be
slow in his speech and earnest in his conduct.'
CHAP. XXV. The Master said, 'Virtue is not left to stand alone.
He who practises it will have neighbors.'
CHAP. XXVI. Tsze-yu said, 'In serving a prince, frequent
remonstrances lead to disgrace. Between friends, frequent reproofs
make the friendship distant.'
BOOK V. KUNG-YE CH'ANG.
CHAP. I. 1. The Master said of Kung-ye Ch'ang that he might
be wived; although he was put in bonds, he had not been guilty of
any crime. Accordingly, he gave him his own daughter to wife.
2. Of Nan Yung he said that if the country were well governed
he would not be out of office, and if it were ill-governed, he would
escape punishment and disgrace. He gave him the daughter of his
own elder brother to wife.
CHAP. II. The Master said of Tsze-chien, 'Of superior virtue
indeed is such a man! If there were not virtuous men in Lu, how
could this man have acquired this character?'
CHAP. III. Tsze-kung asked, 'What do you say of me, Ts'ze?
The Master said, 'You are a utensil.' 'What utensil?' 'A gemmed
sacrificial utensil.'
CHAP. IV. 1. Some one said, 'Yung is truly virtuous, but he is
not ready with his tongue.'
2. The Master said, 'What is the good of being ready with the
tongue? They who encounter men with smartnesses of speech for
the most part procure themselves hatred. I know not whether he
be truly virtuous, but why should he show readiness of the
tongue?'
CHAP. V. The Master was wishing Ch'i-tiao K'ai to enter on
official employment. He replied, 'I am not yet able to rest in the
assurance of THIS.' The Master was pleased.
CHAP. VI. The Master said, 'My doctrines make no way. I will
get upon a raft, and float about on the sea. He that will accompany
me will be Yu, I dare say.' Tsze-lu hearing this was glad,
upon which the Master said, 'Yu is fonder of daring than I am. He
does not exercise his judgment upon matters.'
CHAP. VII. 1. Mang Wu asked about Tsze-lu, whether he was
perfectly virtuous. The Master said, 'I do not know.'
2. He asked again, when the Master replied, 'In a kingdom of
a thousand chariots, Yu might be employed to manage the military
levies, but I do not know whether he be perfectly virtuous.'
3. 'And what do you say of Ch'iu?' The Master replied, 'In a
city of a thousand families, or a clan of a hundred chariots, Ch'iu
might be employed as governor, but I do not know whether he is
perfectly virtuous.'
4. 'What do you say of Ch'ih?' The Master replied, 'With his
sash girt and standing in a court, Ch'ih might be employed to
converse with the visitors and guests, but I do not know whether
he is perfectly virtuous.'
CHAP. VII. 1. The Master said to Tsze-kung, 'Which do you
consider superior, yourself or Hui?'
2. Tsze-kung replied, 'How dare I compare myself with Hui?
Hui hears one point and knows all about a subject; I hear one point,
and know a second.'
3. The Master said, 'You are not equal to him. I grant you, you
are not equal to him.'
CHAP. IX. 1. Tsai Yu being asleep during the daytime, the
Master said, 'Rotten wood cannot be carved; a wall of dirty earth
will not receive the trowel. This Yu!— what is the use of my
reproving him?'
2. The Master said, 'At first, my way with men was to hear
their words, and give them credit for their conduct. Now my way is
to hear their words, and look at their conduct. It is from Yu that I
have learned to make this change.'
CHAP. X. The Master said, 'I have not seen a firm and
unbending man.' Some one replied, 'There is Shan Ch'ang.' 'Ch'ang,'
said the Master, 'is under the influence of his passions; how can he
be pronounced firm and unbending?'
CHAP. XI. Tsze-kung said, 'What I do not wish men to do to
me, I also wish not to do to men.' The Master said, 'Ts'ze, you have
not attained to that.'
CHAP. XII. Tsze-kung said, 'The Master's personal displays of
his principles and ordinary descriptions of them may be heard. His
discourses about man's nature, and the way of Heaven, cannot be
heard.'
CHAP. XIII. When Tsze-lu heard anything, if he had not yet
succeeded in carrying it into practice, he was only afraid lest he
should hear something else.
CHAP. XIV. Tsze-kung asked, saying, 'On what ground did
Kung-wan get that title of Wan?' The Master said, 'He was of an
active nature and yet fond of learning, and he was not ashamed to
ask and learn of his inferiors!— On these grounds he has been
styled Wan.'
CHAP. XV. The Master said of Tsze-ch'an that he had four of
the characteristics of a superior man:— in his conduct of himself, he
was humble; in serving his superiors, he was respectful; in
nourishing the people, he was kind; in ordering the people, he was
just.'
CHAP. XVI. The Master said, 'Yen P'ing knew well how to
maintain friendly intercourse. The acquaintance might be long, but
he showed the same respect as at first.'
CHAP. XVII. The Master said, 'Tsang Wan kept a large tortoise
in a house, on the capitals of the pillars of which he had hills made,
and with representations of duckweed on the small pillars above
the beams supporting the rafters.— Of what sort was his wisdom?'
CHAP. XVIII. 1. Tsze-chang asked, saying, 'The minister Tsze-
wan thrice took office, and manifested no joy in his countenance.
Thrice he retired from office, and manifested no displeasure. He
made it a point to inform the new minister of the way in which he
had conducted the government;— what do you say of him?' The
Master replied. 'He was loyal.' 'Was he perfectly virtuous?' 'I do not
know. How can he be pronounced perfectly virtuous?'
2. Tsze-chang proceeded, 'When the officer Ch'ui killed the
prince of Ch'i, Ch'an Wan, though he was the owner of forty horses,
abandoned them and left the country. Coming to another State, he
said, "They are here like our great officer, Ch'ui," and left it. He
came to a second State, and with the same observation left it also;—
what do you say of him?' The Master replied, 'He was pure.' 'Was he
perfectly virtuous?' 'I do not know. How can he be pronounced
perfectly virtuous?'
CHAP. XIX. Chi Wan thought thrice, and then acted. When the
Master was informed of it, he said, 'Twice may do.'
CHAP. XX. The Master said, 'When good order prevailed in his
country, Ning Wu acted the part of a wise man. When his country
was in disorder, he acted the part of a stupid man. Others may
equal his wisdom, but they cannot equal his stupidity.'
CHAP. XXI. When the Master was in Ch'an, he said, 'Let me
return! Let me return! The little children of my school are
ambitious and too hasty. They are accomplished and complete so
far, but they do not know how to restrict and shape themselves.'
CHAP. XXII. The Master said, 'Po-i and Shu-ch'i did not keep
the former wickednesses of men in mind, and hence the
resentments directed towards them were few.'
CHAP. XXIII. The Master said, 'Who says of Wei-shang Kao
that he is upright? One begged some vinegar of him, and he begged
it of a neighbor and gave it to the man.'
CHAP. XXIV. The Master said, 'Fine words, an insinuating
appearance, and excessive respect;— Tso Ch'iu-ming was ashamed
of them. I also am ashamed of them. To conceal resentment against
a person, and appear friendly with him;— Tso Ch'iu-ming was
ashamed of such conduct. I also am ashamed of it.'
CHAP. XXV. 1. Yen Yuan and Chi Lu being by his side, the
Master said to them, 'Come, let each of you tell his wishes.'
2. Tsze-lu said, 'I should like, having chariots and horses, and
light fur dresses, to share them with my friends, and though they
should spoil them, I would not be displeased.'
3. Yen Yuan said, 'I should like not to boast of my excellence,
nor to make a display of my meritorious deeds.'
4. Tsze-lu then said, 'I should like, sir, to hear your wishes.'
The Master said, 'They are, in regard to the aged, to give them rest;
in regard to friends, to show them sincerity; in regard to the young,
to treat them tenderly.'
CHAP. XXVI. The Master said, 'It is all over! I have not yet
seen one who could perceive his faults, and inwardly accuse
himself.'
CHAP. XXVII. The Master said, 'In a hamlet of ten families,
there may be found one honourable and sincere as I am, but not so
fond of learning.'
BOOK VI. YUNG YEY.
CHAP. I. 1. The Master said, 'There is Yung!— He might occupy
the place of a prince.'
2. Chung-kung asked about Tsze-sang Po-tsze. The Master
said, 'He may pass. He does not mind small matters.'
3. Chung-kung said, 'If a man cherish in himself a reverential
feeling of the necessity of attention to business, though he may be
easy in small matters in his government of the people, that may be
allowed. But if he cherish in himself that easy feeling, and also
carry it out in his practice, is not such an easy mode of procedure
excessive?'
4. The Master said, 'Yung's words are right.'
CHAP. II. The Duke Ai asked which of the disciples loved to
learn. Confucius replied to him, 'There was Yen Hui; HE loved to
learn. He did not transfer his anger; he did not repeat a fault.
Unfortunately, his appointed time was short and he died; and now
there is not such another. I have not yet heard of any one who
loves to learn as he did.'
CHAP. III. 1. Tsze-hwa being employed on a mission to Ch'i,
the disciple Zan requested grain for his mother. The Master said,
'Give her a fu.' Yen requested more. 'Give her an yu,' said the
Master. Yen gave her five ping.
2. The Master said, 'When Ch'ih was proceeding to Ch'i, he had
fat horses to his carriage, and wore light furs. I have heard that
a superior man helps the distressed, but does not add to the wealth
of the rich.'
3. Yuan Sze being made governor of his town by the Master,
he gave him nine hundred measures of grain, but Sze declined
them.
4. The Master said, 'Do not decline them. May you not give
them away in the neighborhoods, hamlets, towns, and villages?'
CHAP. IV. The Master, speaking of Chung-kung, said, 'If the
calf of a brindled cow be red and horned, although men may not
wish to use it, would the spirits of the mountains and rivers put it
aside?'
CHAP. V. The Master said, 'Such was Hui that for three months
there would be nothing in his mind contrary to perfect virtue. The
others may attain to this on some days or in some months, but
nothing more.'
CHAP. VI. Chi K'ang asked about Chung-yu, whether he was fit
to be employed as an officer of government. The Master said, 'Yu is
a man of decision; what difficulty would he find in being an officer
of government?' K'ang asked, 'Is Ts'ze fit to be employed as an
officer of government?' and was answered, 'Ts'ze is a man of
intelligence; what difficulty would he find in being an officer of
government?' And to the same question about Ch'iu the Master
gave the same reply, saying, 'Ch'iu is a man of various ability.'
CHAP. VII. The chief of the Chi family sent to ask Min Tsze-
ch'ien to be governor of Pi. Min Tsze-ch'ien said, 'Decline the offer
for me politely. If any one come again to me with a second
invitation, I shall be obliged to go and live on the banks of the
Wan.'
CHAP. VIII. Po-niu being ill, the Master went to ask for him.
He took hold of his hand through the window, and said, 'It is killing
him. It is the appointment of Heaven, alas! That such a man should
have such a sickness! That such a man should have such a sickness!'
CHAP. IX. The Master said, 'Admirable indeed was the
virtue of Hui! With a single bamboo dish of rice, a single gourd dish
of drink, and living in his mean narrow lane, while others could not
have endured the distress, he did not allow his joy to be affected by
it. Admirable indeed was the virtue of Hui!'
CHAP. X. Yen Ch'iu said, 'It is not that I do not delight in your
doctrines, but my strength is insufficient.' The Master said, 'Those
whose strength is insufficient give over in the middle of the way
but now you limit yourself.'
CHAP. XI. The Master said to Tsze-hsia, 'Do you be a scholar
after the style of the superior man, and not after that of the mean
man.'
CHAP. XII. Tsze-yu being governor of Wu-ch'ang, the Master
said to him, 'Have you got good men there?' He answered, 'There is
Tan-t'ai Mieh-ming, who never in walking takes a short cut, and
never comes to my office, excepting on public business.'
CHAP. XIII. The Master said, 'Mang Chih-fan does not boast of
his merit. Being in the rear on an occasion of flight, when they were
about to enter the gate, he whipped up his horse, saying, "It is not
that I dare to be last. My horse would not advance."'
CHAP. XIV. The Master said, 'Without the specious speech of
the litanist T'o and the beauty of the prince Chao of Sung, it is
difficult to escape in the present age.'
CHAP. XV. The Master said, 'Who can go out but by the door?
How is it that men will not walk according to these ways?'
CHAP. XVI. The Master said, 'Where the solid qualities are in
excess of accomplishments, we have rusticity; where the
accomplishments are in excess of the solid qualities, we have the
manners of a clerk. When the accomplishments and solid qualities
are equally blended, we then have the man of virtue.'
CHAP. XVII. The Master said, 'Man is born for uprightness. If
a man lose his uprightness, and yet live, his escape from death is
the effect of mere good fortune.'
CHAP. XVIII. The Master said, 'They who know the truth are
not equal to those who love it, and they who love it are not equal to
those who delight in it.'
CHAP. XIX. The Master said, 'To those whose talents are above
mediocrity, the highest subjects may be announced. To those who
are below mediocrity, the highest subjects may not be announced.'
CHAP. XX. Fan Ch'ih asked what constituted wisdom. The
Master said, 'To give one's self earnestly to the duties due to men,
and, while respecting spiritual beings, to keep aloof from them, may
be called wisdom.' He asked about perfect virtue. The Master said,
'The man of virtue makes the difficulty to be overcome his first
business, and success only a subsequent consideration;— this may
be called perfect virtue.'
CHAP. XXI. The Master said, 'The wise find pleasure in water;
the virtuous find pleasure in hills. The wise are active; the virtuous
are tranquil. The wise are joyful; the virtuous are long-lived.'
CHAP. XXII. The Master said, 'Ch'i, by one change, would come
to the State of Lu. Lu, by one change, would come to a State where
true principles predominated.'
CHAP. XXIII. The Master said, 'A cornered vessel without
corners.— A strange cornered vessel! A strange cornered vessel!'
CHAP. XXIV. Tsai Wo asked, saying, 'A benevolent man,
though it be told him,— 'There is a man in the well' will go in after
him, I suppose.' Confucius said, 'Why should he do so?' A superior
man may be made to go to the well, but he cannot be made to go
down into it. He may be imposed upon, but he cannot be fooled.'
CHAP. XXV. The Master said, 'The superior man, extensively
studying all learning, and keeping himself under the restraint of
the rules of propriety, may thus likewise not overstep what is
right.'
CHAP. XXVI. The Master having visited Nan-tsze, Tsze-lu was
displeased, on which the Master swore, saying, 'Wherein I have
done improperly, may Heaven reject me, may Heaven reject me!'
CHAP. XXVII. The Master said, 'Perfect is the virtue which is
according to the Constant Mean! Rare for a long time has been its
practise among the people.'
CHAP. XXVIII. 1. Tsze-kung said, 'Suppose the case of a man
extensively conferring benefits on the people, and able to assist all,
what would you say of him? Might he be called perfectly virtuous?'
The Master said, 'Why speak only of virtue in connexion with him?
Must he not have the qualities of a sage? Even Yao and Shun were
still solicitous about this.
2. 'Now the man of perfect virtue, wishing to be established
himself, seeks also to establish others; wishing to be enlarged
himself, he seeks also to enlarge others.
3. 'To be able to judge of others by what is nigh in ourselves;—
this may be called the art of virtue.'
BOOK VII. SHU R.
CHAP. I. The Master said, 'A transmitter and not a maker,
believing in and loving the ancients, I venture to compare myself
with our old P'ang.'
CHAP. II. The Master said, 'The silent treasuring up of
knowledge; learning without satiety; and instructing others without
being wearied:— which one of these things belongs to me?'
CHAP. III. The Master said, 'The leaving virtue without proper
cultivation; the not thoroughly discussing what is learned; not being
able to move towards righteousness of which a knowledge is
gained; and not being able to change what is not good:— these are
the things which occasion me solicitude.'
CHAP. IV. When the Master was unoccupied with business, his
manner was easy, and he looked pleased.
CHAP. V. The Master said, 'Extreme is my decay. For a long
time, I have not dreamed, as I was wont to do, that I saw the duke
of Chau.'
CHAP. VI. 1. The Master said, 'Let the will be set on the path
of duty.
2. 'Let every attainment in what is good be firmly grasped.
3. 'Let perfect virtue be accorded with.
4. 'Let relaxation and enjoyment be found in the polite arts.'
CHAP. VII. The Master said, 'From the man bringing his
bundle of dried flesh for my teaching upwards, I have never
refused instruction to any one.'
CHAP. VIII. The Master said, 'I do not open up the truth to
one who is not eager to get knowledge, nor help out any one who is
not anxious to explain himself. When I have presented one corner
of a subject to any one, and he cannot from it learn the other three,
I do not repeat my lesson.'
CHAP. IX. 1. When the Master was eating by the side of a
mourner, he never ate to the full.
2. He did not sing on the same day in which he had been
weeping.
CHAP. X. 1. The Master said to Yen Yuan, 'When called to
office, to undertake its duties; when not so called, to lie retired;— it
is only I and you who have attained to this.'
2. Tsze-lu said, 'If you had the conduct of the armies of a
great State, whom would you have to act with you?'
3. The Master said, 'I would not have him to act with me, who
will unarmed attack a tiger, or cross a river without a boat, dying
without any regret. My associate must be the man who proceeds to
action full of solicitude, who is fond of adjusting his plans, and then
carries them into execution.'
CHAP. XI. The Master said, 'If the search for riches is sure to
be successful, though I should become a groom with whip in hand
to get them, I will do so. As the search may not be successful, I will
follow after that which I love.'
CHAP. XII. The things in reference to which the Master
exercised the greatest caution were — fasting, war, and sickness.
CHAP. XIII. When the Master was in Ch'i, he heard the Shao,
and for three months did not know the taste of flesh. 'I did not
think'' he said, 'that music could have been made so excellent as
this.'
CHAP. XIV. 1. Yen Yu said, 'Is our Master for the ruler of
Wei?' Tsze-kung said, 'Oh! I will ask him.'
2. He went in accordingly, and said, 'What sort of men were
Po-i and Shu-ch'i?' 'They were ancient worthies,' said the Master.
'Did they have any repinings because of their course?' The Master
again replied, 'They sought to act virtuously, and they did so; what
was there for them to repine about?' On this, Tsze-kung went out
and said, 'Our Master is not for him.'
CHAP. XV. The Master said, 'With coarse rice to eat, with
water to drink, and my bended arm for a pillow;— I have still joy in
the midst of these things. Riches and honours acquired by
unrighteousness, are to me as a floating cloud.'
CHAP. XVI. The Master said, 'If some years were added to my
life, I would give fifty to the study of the Yi, and then I might come
to be without great faults.'
CHAP. XVII The Master's frequent themes of discourse were—
the Odes, the History, and the maintenance of the Rules of
Propriety. On all these he frequently discoursed.
CHAP. XVIII. 1. The Duke of Sheh asked Tsze-lu about
Confucius, and Tsze-lu did not answer him.
2. The Master said, 'Why did you not say to him,— He is
simply a man, who in his eager pursuit (of knowledge) forgets his
food, who in the joy of its attainment forgets his sorrows, and who
does not perceive that old age is coming on?'
CHAP. XIX. The Master said, 'I am not one who was born in
the possession of knowledge; I am one who is fond of antiquity, and
earnest in seeking it there.'
CHAP. XX. The subjects on which the Master did not talk,
were— extraordinary things, feats of strength, disorder, and
spiritual beings.
CHAP. XXI. The Master said, 'When I walk along with two
others, they may serve me as my teachers. I will select their good
qualities and follow them, their bad qualities and avoid them.'
CHAP. XXII. The Master said, 'Heaven produced the virtue
that is in me. Hwan T'ui— what can he do to me?'
CHAP. XXIII. The Master said, 'Do you think, my disciples, that
I have any concealments? I conceal nothing from you. There is
nothing which I do that is not shown to you, my disciples;— that is
my way.'
CHAP. XXIV. There were four things which the Master
taught,— letters, ethics, devotion of soul, and truthfulness.
CHAP. XXV. 1. The Master said, 'A sage it is not mine to see;
could I see a man of real talent and virtue, that would satisfy me.'
2. The Master said, 'A good man it is not mine to see; could I
see a man possessed of constancy, that would satisfy me.
3. 'Having not and yet affecting to have, empty and yet
affecting to be full, straitened and yet affecting to be at ease:— it is
difficult with such characteristics to have constancy.'
CHAP. XXVI. The Master angled,— but did not use a net. He
shot,— but not at birds perching.
CHAP. XXVII. The Master said, 'There may be those who act
without knowing why. I do not do so. Hearing much and selecting
what is good and following it; seeing much and keeping it in
memory:— this is the second style of knowledge.'
CHAP. XXVIII. 1. It was difficult to talk (profitably and
reputably) with the people of Hu-hsiang, and a lad of that place
having had an interview with the Master, the disciples doubted.
2. The Master said, 'I admit people's approach to me without
committing myself as to what they may do when they have retired.
Why must one be so severe? If a man purify himself to wait upon
me, I receive him so purified, without guaranteeing his past
conduct.'
CHAP. XXIX. The Master said, 'Is virtue a thing remote? I wish
to be virtuous, and lo! virtue is at hand.'
CHAP. XXX. 1. The minister of crime of Ch'an asked whether
the duke Chao knew propriety, and Confucius said, 'He knew
propriety.'
2. Confucius having retired, the minister bowed to Wu-ma Ch'i
to come forward, and said, 'I have heard that the superior man is
not a partisan. May the superior man be a partisan also? The prince
married a daughter of the house of Wu, of the same surname with
himself, and called her,— "The elder Tsze of Wu." If the prince
knew propriety, who does not know it?'
3. Wu-ma Ch'i reported these remarks, and the Master said, 'I
am fortunate! If I have any errors, people are sure to know them.'
CHAP. XXXI. When the Master was in company with a person
who was singing, if he sang well, he would make him repeat the
song, while he accompanied it with his own voice.
CHAP. XXXII. The Master said, 'In letters I am perhaps equal
to other men, but the character of the superior man, carrying out in
his conduct what he professes, is what I have not yet attained to.'
CHAP. XXXIII. The Master said, 'The sage and the man of
perfect virtue;— how dare I rank myself with them? It may simply
be said of me, that I strive to become such without satiety, and
teach others without weariness.' Kung-hsi Hwa said, 'This is just
what we, the disciples, cannot imitate you in.'
CHAP. XXXIV. The Master being very sick, Tsze-lu asked leave
to pray for him. He said, 'May such a thing be done?' Tsze-lu
replied, 'It may. In the Eulogies it is said, "Prayer has been made
for thee to the spirits of the upper and lower worlds."' The Master
said, 'My praying has been for a long time.'
CHAP. XXXV. The Master said, 'Extravagance leads to
insubordination, and parsimony to meanness. It is better to be
mean than to be insubordinate.'
CHAP. XXXVI. The Master said, 'The superior man is satisfied
and composed; the mean man is always full of distress.'
CHAP. XXXVII. The Master was mild, and yet dignified;
majestic, and yet not fierce; respectful, and yet easy.
BOOK VIII. T'AI-PO.
CHAP. I. The Master said, 'T'ai-po may be said to have
reached the highest point of virtuous action. Thrice he declined the
kingdom, and the people in ignorance of his motives could not
express their approbation of his conduct.'
CHAP. II. 1. The Master said, 'Respectfulness, without the
rules of propriety, becomes laborious bustle; carefulness, without
the rules of propriety, becomes timidity; boldness, without the rules
of propriety, becomes insubordination; straightforwardness,
without the rules of propriety, becomes rudeness.
2. 'When those who are in high stations perform well all their
duties to their relations, the people are aroused to virtue. When old
friends are not neglected by them, the people are preserved from
meanness.'
CHAP. III. The philosopher Tsang being ill, he called to him
the disciples of his school, and said, 'Uncover my feet, uncover my
hands. It is said in the Book of Poetry, "We should be apprehensive
and cautious, as if on the brink of a deep gulf, as if treading on thin
ice," and so have I been. Now and hereafter, I know my escape
from all injury to my person, O ye, my little children.'
CHAP. IV. 1. The philosopher Tsang being ill, Meng Chang
went to ask how he was.
2. Tsang said to him, 'When a bird is about to die, its notes are
mournful; when a man is about to die, his words are good.
3. 'There are three principles of conduct which the man of
high rank should consider specially important:— that in his
deportment and manner he keep from violence and heedlessness;
that in regulating his countenance he keep near to sincerity; and
that in his words and tones he keep far from lowness and
impropriety. As to such matters as attending to the sacrificial
vessels, there are the proper officers for them.'
CHAP. V. The philosopher Tsang said, 'Gifted with ability, and
yet putting questions to those who were not so; possessed of much,
and yet putting questions to those possessed of little; having, as
though he had not; full, and yet counting himself as empty;
offended against, and yet entering into no altercation; formerly I
had a friend who pursued this style of conduct.'
CHAP. VI. The philosopher Tsang said, 'Suppose that there is
an individual who can be entrusted with the charge of a young
orphan prince, and can be commissioned with authority over a state
of a hundred li, and whom no emergency however great can drive
from his principles:— is such a man a superior man? He is a
superior man indeed.'
CHAP. VII. 1. The philosopher Tsang said, 'The officer may not
be without breadth of mind and vigorous endurance. His burden is
heavy and his course is long.
2. 'Perfect virtue is the burden which he considers it is his to
sustain;— is it not heavy? Only with death does his course stop;— is
it not long?
CHAP. VIII. 1. The Master said, 'It is by the Odes that the
mind is aroused.
2. 'It is by the Rules of Propriety that the character is
established.
3. 'It is from Music that the finish is received.'
CHAP. IX. The Master said, 'The people may be made to follow
a path of action, but they may not be made to understand it.'
CHAP. X. The Master said, 'The man who is fond of daring and
is dissatisfied with poverty, will proceed to insubordination. So will
the man who is not virtuous, when you carry your dislike of him to
an extreme.'
CHAP. XI. The Master said, 'Though a man have abilities as
admirable as those of the Duke of Chau, yet if he be proud and
niggardly, those other things are really not worth being looked at.'
CHAP. XII. The Master said, 'It is not easy to find a man who
has learned for three years without coming to be good.'
CHAP. XIII. 1. The Master said, 'With sincere faith he unites
the love of learning; holding firm to death, he is perfecting the
excellence of his course.
2. 'Such an one will not enter a tottering State, nor dwell in a
disorganized one. When right principles of government prevail in
the kingdom, he will show himself; when they are prostrated, he
will keep concealed.
3. 'When a country is well-governed, poverty and a mean
condition are things to be ashamed of. When a country is ill-
governed, riches and honour are things to be ashamed of.'
CHAP. XIV. The Master said, 'He who is not in any particular
office, has nothing to do with plans for the administration of its
duties.'
CHAP. XV. The Master said, 'When the music master Chih first
entered on his office, the finish of the Kwan Tsu was magnificent;—
how it filled the ears!'
CHAP. XVI. The Master said, 'Ardent and yet not upright;
stupid and yet not attentive; simple and yet not sincere:— such
persons I do not understand.'
CHAP. XVII. The Master said, 'Learn as if you could not reach
your object, and were always fearing also lest you should lose it.'
CHAP. XVIII. The Master said, 'How majestic was the manner
in which Shun and Yu held possession of the empire, as if it were
nothing to them!'
CHAP. XIX. 1. The Master said, 'Great indeed was Yao as a
sovereign! How majestic was he! It is only Heaven that is grand,
and only Yao corresponded to it. How vast was his virtue! The
people could find no name for it.
2. 'How majestic was he in the works which he accomplished!
How glorious in the elegant regulations which he instituted!'
CHAP. XX. 1. Shun had five ministers, and the empire was
well-governed.
2. King Wu said, 'I have ten able ministers.'
3. Confucius said, 'Is not the saying that talents are difficult to
find, true? Only when the dynasties of T'ang and Yu met, were they
more abundant than in this of Chau, yet there was a woman among
them. The able ministers were no more than nine men.
4. 'King Wan possessed two of the three parts of the empire,
and with those he served the dynasty of Yin. The virtue of the
house of Chau may be said to have reached the highest point
indeed.'
CHAP. XXI. The Master said, 'I can find no flaw in the
character of Yu. He used himself coarse food and drink, but
displayed the utmost filial piety towards the spirits. His ordinary
garments were poor, but he displayed the utmost elegance in his
sacrificial cap and apron. He lived in a low mean house, but
expended all his strength on the ditches and water-channels. I can
find nothing like a flaw in Yu.'
BOOK IX. TSZE HAN.
CHAP. I. The subjects of which the Master seldom spoke
were— profitableness, and also the appointments of Heaven, and
perfect virtue.
CHAP. II. 1. A man of the village of Ta-hsiang said, 'Great
indeed is the philosopher K'ung! His learning is extensive, and yet
he does not render his name famous by any particular thing.'
2. The Master heard the observation, and said to his disciples,
'What shall I practise? Shall I practise charioteering, or shall I
practise archery? I will practise charioteering.'
CHAP. III. 1. The Master said, 'The linen cap is that prescribed
by the rules of ceremony, but now a silk one is worn. It is
economical, and I follow the common practice.
2. 'The rules of ceremony prescribe the bowing below the hall,
but now the practice is to bow only after ascending it. That is
arrogant. I continue to bow below the hall, though I oppose the
common practice.'
CHAP. IV. There were four things from which the Master was
entirely free. He had no foregone conclusions, no arbitrary
predeterminations, no obstinacy, and no egoism.
CHAP. V. 1. The Master was put in fear in K'wang.
2. He said, 'After the death of King Wan, was not the cause of
truth lodged here in me?
3. 'If Heaven had wished to let this cause of truth perish, then
I, a future mortal, should not have got such a relation to that cause.
While Heaven does not let the cause of truth perish, what can the
people of K'wang do to me?'
CHAP. VI. 1. A high officer asked Tsze-kung, saying, 'May we
not say that your Master is a sage? How various is his ability!'
2. Tsze-kung said, 'Certainly Heaven has endowed him
unlimitedly. He is about a sage. And, moreover, his ability is
various.'
3. The Master heard of the conversation and said, 'Does the
high officer know me? When I was young, my condition was low,
and therefore I acquired my ability in many things, but they were
mean matters. Must the superior man have such variety of ability?
He does not need variety of ability.'
4. Lao said, 'The Master said, "Having no official employment,
I acquired many arts."'
CHAP. VII. The Master said, 'Am I indeed possessed of
knowledge? I am not knowing. But if a mean person, who appears
quite empty-like, ask anything of me, I set it forth from one end to
the other, and exhaust it.'
CHAP. VIII. The Master said, 'The FANG bird does not come;
the river sends forth no map:— it is all over with me!'
CHAP. IX. When the Master saw a person in a mourning dress,
or any one with the cap and upper and lower garments of full
dress, or a blind person, on observing them approaching, though
they were younger than himself, he would rise up, and if he had to
pass by them, he would do so hastily.
CHAP. X. 1. Yen Yuan, in admiration of the Master's doctrines,
sighed and said, 'I looked up to them, and they seemed to become
more high; I tried to penetrate them, and they seemed to become
more firm; I looked at them before me, and suddenly they seemed
to be behind.
2. 'The Master, by orderly method, skilfully leads men on. He
enlarged my mind with learning, and taught me the restraints of
propriety.
3. 'When I wish to give over the study of his doctrines, I
cannot do so, and having exerted all my ability, there seems
something to stand right up before me; but though I wish to follow
and lay hold of it, I really find no way to do so.'
CHAP. XI. 1. The Master being very ill, Tsze-lu wished the
disciples to act as ministers to him.
2. During a remission of his illness, he said, 'Long has the
conduct of Yu been deceitful! By pretending to have ministers when
I have them not, whom should I impose upon? Should I impose
upon Heaven?