The Analects of Confucius (from the Chinese Classics)
The Analects of Confucius (from the Chinese Classics)-4
2. Fan Ch'ih did not immediately understand these answers.
3. The Master said, 'Employ the upright and put aside all the
crooked;— in this way the crooked can be made to be upright.'
4. Fan Ch'ih retired, and, seeing Tsze-hsia, he said to him, 'A
Little while ago, I had an interview with our Master, and asked him
about knowledge. He said, 'Employ the upright, and put aside all the
crooked;— in this way, the crooked will be made to be upright.'
What did he mean?'
5. Tsze-hsia said, 'Truly rich is his saying!
6. 'Shun, being in possession of the kingdom, selected from
among all the people, and employed Kao-yao, on which all who
were devoid of virtue disappeared. T'ang, being in possession of the
kingdom, selected from among all the people, and employed I Yin,
and all who were devoid of virtue disappeared.'
CHAP. XXIII. Tsze-kung asked about friendship. The Master
said, 'Faithfully admonish your friend, and skillfully lead him on. If
you find him impracticable, stop. Do not disgrace yourself.'
CHAP. XXIV. The philosopher Tsang said, 'The superior man
on grounds of culture meets with his friends, and by their
friendship helps his virtue.'
BOOK XIII. TSZE-LU.
CHAP. I. 1. Tsze-lu asked about government. The Master said,
'Go before the people with your example, and be laborious in their
affairs.'
2. He requested further instruction, and was answered, 'Be
not weary (in these things).'
CHAP. II. 1. Chung-kung, being chief minister to the Head of
the Chi family, asked about government. The Master said, 'Employ
first the services of your various officers, pardon small faults, and
raise to office men of virtue and talents.'
2. Chung-kung said, 'How shall I know the men of virtue and
talent, so that I may raise them to office?' He was answered, 'Raise
to office those whom you know. As to those whom you do not know,
will others neglect them?'
CHAP. III. 1. Tsze-lu said, 'The ruler of Wei has been waiting
for you, in order with you to administer the government. What will
you consider the first thing to be done?'
2. The Master replied, 'What is necessary is to rectify names.'
3. 'So, indeed!' said Tsze-lu. 'You are wide of the mark! Why
must there be such rectification?'
4. The Master said, 'How uncultivated you are, Yu! A superior
man, in regard to what he does not know, shows a cautious reserve.
5. 'If names be not correct, language is not in accordance with
the truth of things. If language be not in accordance with the truth
of things, affairs cannot be carried on to success.
6. 'When affairs cannot be carried on to success, proprieties
and music will not flourish. When proprieties and music do not
flourish, punishments will not be properly awarded. When
punishments are not properly awarded, the people do not know
how to move hand or foot.
7. 'Therefore a superior man considers it necessary that the
names he uses may be spoken appropriately, and also that what he
speaks may be carried out appropriately. What the superior man
requires, is just that in his words there may be nothing incorrect.'
CHAP. IV. 1. Fan Ch'ih requested to be taught husbandry. The
Master said, 'I am not so good for that as an old husbandman.' He
requested also to be taught gardening, and was answered, 'I am not
so good for that as an old gardener.'
2. Fan Ch'ih having gone out, the Master said, 'A small man,
indeed, is Fan Hsu!
3. If a superior love propriety, the people will not dare not to
be reverent. If he love righteousness, the people will not dare not
to submit to his example. If he love good faith, the people will not
dare not to be sincere. Now, when these things obtain, the people
from all quarters will come to him, bearing their children on their
backs;— what need has he of a knowledge of husbandry?'
CHAP. V. The Master said, 'Though a man may be able to
recite the three hundred odes, yet if, when intrusted with a
governmental charge, he knows not how to act, or if, when sent to
any quarter on a mission, he cannot give his replies unassisted,
notwithstanding the extent of his learning, of what practical use is
it?'
CHAP. VI. The Master said, 'When a prince's personal conduct
is correct, his government is effective without the issuing of orders.
If his personal conduct is not correct, he may issue orders, but they
will not be followed.'
CHAP. VII. The Master said, 'The governments of Lu and Wei
are brothers.'
CHAP. VIII. The Master said of Ching, a scion of the ducal
family of Wei, that he knew the economy of a family well. When he
began to have means, he said, 'Ha! here is a collection!' When they
were a little increased, he said, 'Ha! this is complete!' When he had
become rich, he said, 'Ha! this is admirable!'
CHAP. IX. 1. When the Master went to Wei, Zan Yu acted as
driver of his carriage.
2. The Master observed, 'How numerous are the people!'
3. Yu said, 'Since they are thus numerous, what more shall be
done for them?' 'Enrich them,' was the reply.
4. 'And when they have been enriched, what more shall be
done?' The Master said, 'Teach them.'
CHAP. X. The Master said, 'If there were (any of the princes)
who would employ me, in the course of twelve months, I should
have done something considerable. In three years, the government
would be perfected.'
CHAP. XI. The Master said, '"If good men were to govern a
country in succession for a hundred years, they would be able to
transform the violently bad, and dispense with capital
punishments." True indeed is this saying!'
CHAP. XII. The Master said, 'If a truly royal ruler were to
arise, it would still require a generation, and then virtue would
prevail.'
CHAP. XIII. The Master said, 'If a minister make his own
conduct correct, what difficulty will he have in assisting in
government? If he cannot rectify himself, what has he to do with
rectifying others?'
CHAP. XIV. The disciple Zan returning from the court, the
Master said to him, 'How are you so late?' He replied, 'We had
government business.' The Master said, 'It must have been family
affairs. If there had been government business, though I am not
now in office, I should have been consulted about it.'
CHAP. XV. 1. The Duke Ting asked whether there was a single
sentence which could make a country prosperous. Confucius replied,
'Such an effect cannot be expected from one sentence.
2. 'There is a saying, however, which people have— "To be a
prince is difficult; to be a minister is not easy."
3. 'If a ruler knows this,— the difficulty of being a prince,—
may there not be expected from this one sentence the prosperity of
his country?'
4. The duke then said, 'Is there a single sentence which can
ruin a country?' Confucius replied, 'Such an effect as that cannot be
expected from one sentence. There is, however, the saying which
people have— "I have no pleasure in being a prince, but only in
that no one can offer any opposition to what I say!"
5. 'If a ruler's words be good, is it not also good that no one
oppose them? But if they are not good, and no one opposes them,
may there not be expected from this one sentence the ruin of his
country?'
CHAP. XVI. 1. The Duke of Sheh asked about government.
2. The Master said, 'Good government obtains, when those
who are near are made happy, and those who are far off are
attracted.'
CHAP. XVII. Tsze-hsia, being governor of Chu-fu, asked about
government. The Master said, 'Do not be desirous to have things
done quickly; do not look at small advantages. Desire to have things
done quickly prevents their being done thoroughly. Looking at
small advantages prevents great affairs from being accomplished.'
CHAP. XVIII. 1. The Duke of Sheh informed Confucius, saying,
'Among us here there are those who may be styled upright in their
conduct. If their father have stolen a sheep, they will bear witness
to the fact.'
2. Confucius said, 'Among us, in our part of the country, those
who are upright are different from this. The father conceals the
misconduct of the son, and the son conceals the misconduct of the
father. Uprightness is to be found in this.'
CHAP. XIX. Fan Ch'ih asked about perfect virtue. The Master
said, 'It is, in retirement, to be sedately grave; in the management
of business, to be reverently attentive; in intercourse with others,
to be strictly sincere. Though a man go among rude, uncultivated
tribes, these qualities may not be neglected.'
CHAP. XX. 1. Tsze-kung asked, saying, 'What qualities must a
man possess to entitle him to be called an officer? The Master said,
'He who in his conduct of himself maintains a sense of shame, and
when sent to any quarter will not disgrace his prince's commission,
deserves to be called an officer.'
3. Tsze-kung pursued, 'I venture to ask who may be placed in
the next lower rank?' And he was told, 'He whom the circle of his
relatives pronounce to be filial, whom his fellow-villagers and
neighbours pronounce to be fraternal.'
3. Again the disciple asked, 'I venture to ask about the class
still next in order.' The Master said, 'They are determined to be
sincere in what they say, and to carry out what they do. They are
obstinate little men. Yet perhaps they may make the next class.'
4. Tsze-kung finally inquired, 'Of what sort are those of the
present day, who engage in government?' The Master said 'Pooh!
they are so many pecks and hampers, not worth being taken into
account.'
CHAP. XXI. The Master said, 'Since I cannot get men pursuing
the due medium, to whom I might communicate my instructions, I
must find the ardent and the cautiously-decided. The ardent will
advance and lay hold of truth; the cautiously-decided will keep
themselves from what is wrong.'
CHAP. XXII. 1. The Master said, 'The people of the south have
a saying— "A man without constancy cannot be either a wizard or a
doctor." Good!
2. 'Inconstant in his virtue, he will be visited with disgrace.'
3. The Master said, 'This arises simply from not attending to
the prognostication.'
CHAP. XXIII. The Master said, 'The superior man is affable,
but not adulatory; the mean man is adulatory, but not affable.'
CHAP. XXIV. Tsze-kung asked, saying, 'What do you say of a
man who is loved by all the people of his neighborhood?' The
Master replied, 'We may not for that accord our approval of him.'
'And what do you say of him who is hated by all the people of his
neighborhood?' The Master said, 'We may not for that conclude that
he is bad. It is better than either of these cases that the good in the
neighborhood love him, and the bad hate him.'
CHAP. XXV. The Master said, 'The superior man is easy to
serve and difficult to please. If you try to please him in any way
which is not accordant with right, he will not be pleased. But in his
employment of men, he uses them according to their capacity. The
mean man is difficult to serve, and easy to please. If you try to
please him, though it be in a way which is not accordant with right,
he may be pleased. But in his employment of men, he wishes them
to be equal to everything.'
CHAP. XXVI. The Master said, 'The superior man has a
dignified ease without pride. The mean man has pride without a
dignified ease.'
CHAP. XXVII. The Master said, 'The firm, the enduring, the
simple, and the modest are near to virtue.'
CHAP. XXVIII. Tsze-lu asked, saying, 'What qualities must a
man possess to entitle him to be called a scholar?' The Master said,
'He must be thus,— earnest, urgent, and bland:— among his friends,
earnest and urgent; among his brethren, bland.'
CHAP. XXIX. The Master said, 'Let a good man teach the
people seven years, and they may then likewise be employed in
war.'
CHAP. XXX. The Master said, 'To lead an uninstructed people
to war, is to throw them away.'
BOOK XIV. HSIEN WAN.
CHAP. I. Hsien asked what was shameful. The Master said,
'When good government prevails in a state, to be thinking only of
salary; and, when bad government prevails, to be thinking, in the
same way, only of salary;— this is shameful.'
CHAP. II. 1. 'When the love of superiority, boasting,
resentments, and covetousness are repressed, this may be deemed
perfect virtue.'
2. The Master said, 'This may be regarded as the achievement
of what is difficult. But I do not know that it is to be deemed
perfect virtue.'
CHAP. III. The Master said, 'The scholar who cherishes the
love of comfort is not fit to be deemed a scholar.'
CHAP. IV. The Master said, 'When good government prevails
in a state, language may be lofty and bold, and actions the same.
When bad government prevails, the actions may be lofty and bold,
but the language may be with some reserve.'
CHAP. V. The Master said, 'The virtuous will be sure to speak
correctly, but those whose speech is good may not always be
virtuous. Men of principle are sure to be bold, but those who are
bold may not always be men of principle.'
CHAP. VI. Nan-kung Kwo, submitting an inquiry to Confucius,
said, 'I was skillful at archery, and Ao could move a boat along
upon the land, but neither of them died a natural death. Yu and Chi
personally wrought at the toils of husbandry, and they became
possessors of the kingdom.' The Master made no reply; but when
Nan-kung Kwo went out, he said, 'A superior man indeed is this! An
esteemer of virtue indeed is this!'
CHAP. VII. The Master said, 'Superior men, and yet not
always virtuous, there have been, alas! But there never has been a
mean man, and, at the same time, virtuous.'
CHAP. VIII. The Master said, 'Can there be love which does
not lead to strictness with its object? Can there be loyalty which
does not lead to the instruction of its object?'
CHAP. IX. The Master said, 'In preparing the governmental
notifications, P'i Shan first made the rough draft; Shi-shu
examined and discussed its contents; Tsze-yu, the manager of
Foreign intercourse, then polished the style; and, finally, Tsze-ch'an
of Tung-li gave it the proper elegance and finish.'
CHAP. X. 1. Some one asked about Tsze-ch'an. The Master said,
'He was a kind man.'
2. He asked about Tsze-hsi. The Master said, 'That man! That
man!'
3. He asked about Kwan Chung. 'For him,' said the Master, 'the
city of Pien, with three hundred families, was taken from the chief
of the Po family, who did not utter a murmuring word, though, to
the end of his life, he had only coarse rice to eat.'
CHAP. XI. The Master said, 'To be poor without murmuring is
difficult. To be rich without being proud is easy.'
CHAP. XII. The Master said, 'Mang Kung-ch'o is more than fit
to be chief officer in the families of Chao and Wei, but he is not fit
to be great officer to either of the States Tang or Hsieh.'
CHAP. XIII. 1. Tsze-lu asked what constituted a COMPLETE
man. The Master said, 'Suppose a man with the knowledge of Tsang
Wu-chung, the freedom from covetousness of Kung-ch'o, the
bravery of Chwang of Pien, and the varied talents of Zan Ch'iu; add
to these the accomplishments of the rules of propriety and music:—
such a one might be reckoned a COMPLETE man.'
2. He then added, 'But what is the necessity for a complete
man of the present day to have all these things? The man, who in
the
view of gain, thinks of righteousness; who in the view of danger is
prepared to give up his life; and who does not forget an old
agreement however far back it extends:— such a man may be
reckoned a COMPLETE man.'
CHAP. XIV. 1. The Master asked Kung-ming Chia about Kung-
shu Wan, saying, 'Is it true that your master speaks not, laughs not,
and takes not?'
2. Kung-ming Chia replied, 'This has arisen from the reporters
going beyond the truth.— My master speaks when it is the time to
speak, and so men do not get tired of his speaking. He laughs when
there is occasion to be joyful, and so men do not get tired of his
laughing. He takes when it is consistent with righteousness to do so,
and so men do not get tired of his taking.' The Master said, 'So! But
is it so with him?'
CHAP. XV. The Master said, 'Tsang Wu-chung, keeping
possession of Fang, asked of the duke of Lu to appoint a successor
to him in his family. Although it may be said that he was not using
force with his sovereign, I believe he was.'
CHAP. XVI. The Master said, 'The duke Wan of Tsin was crafty
and not upright. The duke Hwan of Ch'i was upright and not crafty.'
CHAP. XVII. 1. Tsze-lu said, 'The Duke Hwan caused his
brother Chiu to be killed, when Shao Hu died with his master, but
Kwan Chung did not die. May not I say that he was wanting in
virtue?'
2. The Master said, 'The Duke Hwan assembled all the princes
together, and that not with weapons of war and chariots:— it was
all through the influence of Kwan Chung. Whose beneficence was
like his? Whose beneficence was like his?'
CHAP. XVIII. 1. Tsze-kung said, 'Kwan Chung, I apprehend,
was wanting in virtue. When the Duke Hwan caused his brother
Chiu to be killed, Kwan Chung was not able to die with him.
Moreover, he became prime minister to Hwan.'
2. The Master said, 'Kwan Chung acted as prime minister to
the Duke Hwan, made him leader of all the princes, and united and
rectified the whole kingdom. Down to the present day, the people
enjoy the gifts which he conferred. But for Kwan Chung, we should
now be wearing our hair unbound, and the lappets of our coats
buttoning on the left side.
3. 'Will you require from him the small fidelity of common
men and common women, who would commit suicide in a stream or
ditch, no one knowing anything about them?'
CHAP. XIX. 1. The great officer, Hsien, who had been family-
minister to Kung-shu Wan, ascended to the prince's court in
company with Wan.
2. The Master, having heard of it, said, 'He deserved to be
considered WAN (the accomplished).'
CHAP. XX. 1. The Master was speaking about the unprincipled
course of the duke Ling of Wei, when Ch'i K'ang said, 'Since he is of
such a character, how is it he does not lose his State?'
2. Confucius said, 'The Chung-shu Yu has the superintendence
of his guests and of strangers; the litanist, T'o, has the management
of his ancestral temple; and Wang-sun Chia has the direction of the
army and forces:— with such officers as these, how should he lose
his State?'
CHAP. XXI. The Master said, 'He who speaks without modesty
will find it difficult to make his words good.'
CHAP. XXII. 1. Chan Ch'ang murdered the Duke Chien of Ch'i.
2. Confucius bathed, went to court, and informed the duke Ai,
saying, 'Chan Hang has slain his sovereign. I beg that you will
undertake to punish him.'
3. The duke said, 'Inform the chiefs of the three families of it.'
4. Confucius retired, and said, 'Following in the rear of the
great officers, I did not dare not to represent such a matter, and my
prince says, "Inform the chiefs of the three families of it."'
5. He went to the chiefs, and informed them, but they would
not act. Confucius then said, 'Following in the rear of the great
officers, I did not dare not to represent such a matter.'
CHAP. XXIII. Tsze-lu asked how a ruler should be served. The
Master said, 'Do not impose on him, and, moreover, withstand him
to his face.'
CHAP. XXIV. The Master said, 'The progress of the superior
man is upwards; the progress of the mean man is downwards.'
CHAP. XXV. The Master said, 'In ancient times, men learned
with a view to their own improvement. Now-a-days, men learn
with a view to the approbation of others.'
CHAP. XXVI. 1. Chu Po-yu sent a messenger with friendly
inquiries to Confucius.
2. Confucius sat with him, and questioned him. 'What,' said he,
'is your master engaged in?' The messenger replied, 'My master is
anxious to make his faults few, but he has not yet succeeded.' He
then went out, and the Master said, 'A messenger indeed! A
messenger indeed!'
CHAP. XXVII. The Master said, 'He who is not in any particular
office, has nothing to do with plans for the administration of its
duties.'
CHAP. XXVIII. The philosopher Tsang said, 'The superior man,
in his thoughts, does not go out of his place.'
CHAP. XXIX. The Master said, 'The superior man is modest in
his speech, but exceeds in his actions.'
CHAP. XXX. 1. The Master said, 'The way of the superior man
is threefold, but I am not equal to it. Virtuous, he is free from
anxieties; wise, he is free from perplexities; bold, he is free from
fear.
2. Tsze-kung said, 'Master, that is what you yourself say.'
CHAP. XXXI. Tsze-kung was in the habit of comparing men
together. The Master said, 'Tsze must have reached a high pitch of
excellence! Now, I have not leisure for this.'
CHAP. XXXII. The Master said, 'I will not be concerned at
men's not knowing me; I will be concerned at my own want of
ability.'
CHAP. XXXIII. The Master said, 'He who does not anticipate
attempts to deceive him, nor think beforehand of his not being
believed, and yet apprehends these things readily (when they
occur);— is he not a man of superior worth?'
CHAP. XXXIV. 1. Wei-shang Mau said to Confucius, 'Ch'iu, how
is it that you keep roosting about? Is it not that you are an
insinuating talker?'
2. Confucius said, 'I do not dare to play the part of such a
talker, but I hate obstinacy.'
CHAP. XXXV. The Master said, 'A horse is called a ch'i, not
because of its strength, but because of its other good qualities.'
CHAP. XXXVI. 1. Some one said, 'What do you say concerning
the principle that injury should be recompensed with kindness?'
2. The Master said, 'With what then will you recompense
kindness?
3. 'Recompense injury with justice, and recompense kindness
with kindness.'
CHAP. XXXVII. 1. The Master said, 'Alas! there is no one that
knows me.'
2. Tsze-kung said, 'What do you mean by thus saying— that
no one knows you?' The Master replied, 'I do not murmur against
Heaven. I do not grumble against men. My studies lie low, and my
penetration rises high. But there is Heaven;— that knows me!'
CHAP. XXXVIII. 1. The Kung-po Liao, having slandered Tsze-lu
to Chi-sun, Tsze-fu Ching-po informed Confucius of it, saying, 'Our
master is certainly being led astray by the Kung-po Liao, but I have
still power enough left to cut Liao off, and expose his corpse in the
market and in the court.'
2. The Master said, 'If my principles are to advance, it is so
ordered. If they are to fall to the ground, it is so ordered. What can
the Kung-po Liao do where such ordering is concerned?'
CHAP. XXXIX. 1. The Master said, 'Some men of worth retire
from the world.
2. Some retire from particular states.
3. Some retire because of disrespectful looks.
4. Some retire because of contradictory language.'
CHAP. XL. The Master said, 'Those who have done this are
seven men.'
CHAP. XLI. Tsze-lu happening to pass the night in Shih-man,
the gatekeeper said to him, 'Whom do you come from?' Tsze-lu said,
'From Mr. K'ung.' 'It is he,— is it not?'— said the other, 'who knows
the impracticable nature of the times and yet will be doing in
them.'
CHAP. XLII. 1. The Master was playing, one day, on a musical
stone in Wei, when a man, carrying a straw basket, passed the door
of the house where Confucius was, and said, 'His heart is full who so
beats the musical stone.'
2. A little while after, he added, 'How contemptible is the
one-ideaed obstinacy those sounds display! When one is taken no
notice of, he has simply at once to give over his wish for public
employment. "Deep water must be crossed with the clothes on;
shallow water may be crossed with the clothes held up."'
3. The Master said, 'How determined is he in his purpose! But
this is not difficult!'
CHAP. XLIII. 1. Tsze-chang said, 'What is meant when the Shu
says that Kao-tsung, while observing the usual imperial mourning,
was for three years without speaking?'
2. The Master said, 'Why must Kao-tsung be referred to as an
example of this? The ancients all did so. When the sovereign died,
the officers all attended to their several duties, taking instructions
from the prime minister for three years.'
CHAP. XLIV. The Master said, 'When rulers love to observe
the rules of propriety, the people respond readily to the calls on
them for service.'
CHAP. XLV. Tsze-lu asked what constituted the superior man.
The Master said, 'The cultivation of himself in reverential
carefulness.' 'And is this all?' said Tsze-lu. 'He cultivates himself so
as to give rest to others,' was the reply. 'And is this all?' again
asked Tsze-lu. The Master said, 'He cultivates himself so as to give
rest to all the people. He cultivates himself so as to give rest to all
the people:— even Yao and Shun were still solicitous about this.'
CHAP. XLVI. Yuan Zang was squatting on his heels, and
so waited the approach of the Master, who said to him, 'In youth
not humble as befits a junior; in manhood, doing nothing worthy of
being handed down; and living on to old age:— this is to be a pest.'
With this he hit him on the shank with his staff.
CHAP. XLVI. 1. A youth of the village of Ch'ueh was employed
by Confucius to carry the messages between him and his visitors.
Some one asked about him, saying, 'I suppose he has made great
progress.'
2. The Master said, 'I observe that he is fond of occupying the
seat of a full-grown man; I observe that he walks shoulder to
shoulder with his elders. He is not one who is seeking to make
progress in learning. He wishes quickly to become a man.'
BOOK XV. WEI LING KUNG.
CHAP. I. 1. The Duke Ling of Wei asked Confucius about
tactics. Confucius replied, 'I have heard all about sacrificial vessels,
but I have not learned military matters.' On this, he took his
departure the next day.
2. When he was in Chan, their provisions were exhausted, and
his followers became so ill that they were unable to rise.
3. Tsze-lu, with evident dissatisfaction, said, 'Has the superior
man likewise to endure in this way?' The Master said, 'The superior
man may indeed have to endure want, but the mean man, when he
is in want, gives way to unbridled license.'
CHAP. II. 1. The Master said, 'Ts'ze, you think, I suppose, that
I am one who learns many things and keeps them in memory?'
2. Tsze-kung replied, 'Yes,— but perhaps it is not so?'
3. 'No,' was the answer; 'I seek a unity all-pervading.'
CHAP. III. The Master said, 'Yu, those who know virtue are
few.'
CHAP. IV. The Master said, 'May not Shun be instanced as
having governed efficiently without exertion? What did he do? He
did nothing but gravely and reverently occupy his royal seat.'
CHAP. V. 1. Tsze-chang asked how a man should conduct
himself, so as to be everywhere appreciated.
2. The Master said, 'Let his words be sincere and truthful, and
his actions honourable and careful;— such conduct may be practised
among the rude tribes of the South or the North. If his words be
not sincere and truthful and his actions not honourable and careful,
will he, with such conduct, be appreciated, even in his
neighborhood?
3. 'When he is standing, let him see those two things, as it
were, fronting him. When he is in a carriage, let him see them
attached to the yoke. Then may he subsequently carry them into
practice.'
4. Tsze-chang wrote these counsels on the end of his sash.
CHAP. VI. 1. The Master said, 'Truly straightforward was the
historiographer Yu. When good government prevailed in his State,
he was like an arrow. When bad government prevailed, he was like
an arrow.
2. A superior man indeed is Chu Po-yu! When good
government prevails in his state, he is to be found in office. When
bad government prevails, he can roll his principles up, and keep
them in his breast.'
CHAP. VII. The Master said, 'When a man may be spoken
with, not to speak to him is to err in reference to the man. When a
man may not be spoken with, to speak to him is to err in reference
to our words. The wise err neither in regard to their man nor to
their words.'
CHAP. VIII. The Master said, 'The determined scholar and the
man of virtue will not seek to live at the expense of injuring their
virtue. They will even sacrifice their lives to preserve their virtue
complete.'
CHAP. IX. Tsze-kung asked about the practice of virtue. The
Master said, 'The mechanic, who wishes to do his work well, must
first sharpen his tools. When you are living in any state, take
service with the most worthy among its great officers, and make
friends of the most virtuous among its scholars.'
CHAP. X. 1. Yen Yuan asked how the government of a country
should be administered.
2. The Master said, 'Follow the seasons of Hsia.
3. 'Ride in the state carriage of Yin.
4. 'Wear the ceremonial cap of Chau.
5. 'Let the music be the Shao with its pantomimes.
6. Banish the songs of Chang, and keep far from specious
talkers. The songs of Chang are licentious; specious talkers are
dangerous.'
CHAP. XI. The Master said, 'If a man take no thought about
what is distant, he will find sorrow near at hand.'
CHAP. XII. The Master said, 'It is all over! I have not seen one
who loves virtue as he loves beauty.'
CHAP. XIII. The Master said, 'Was not Tsang Wan like one
who had stolen his situation? He knew the virtue and the talents
of Hui of Liu-hsia, and yet did not procure that he should stand
with him in court.'
CHAP. XIV. The Master said, 'He who requires much from
himself and little from others, will keep himself from being the
object of resentment.'
CHAP. XV. The Master said, 'When a man is not in the habit of
saying— "What shall I think of this? What shall I think of this?" I
can indeed do nothing with him!'
CHAP. XVI. The Master said, 'When a number of people are
together, for a whole day, without their conversation turning on
righteousness, and when they are fond of carrying out the
suggestions of a small shrewdness;— theirs is indeed a hard case.'
CHAP. XVII. The Master said, 'The superior man in everything
considers righteousness to be essential. He performs it according to
the rules of propriety. He brings it forth in humility. He completes it
with sincerity. This is indeed a superior man.'
CHAP. XVIII. The Master said, 'The superior man is distressed
by his want of ability. He is not distressed by men's not knowing
him.'
CHAP. XIX. The Master said, 'The superior man dislikes the
thought of his name not being mentioned after his death.'
CHAP. XX. The Master said, 'What the superior man seeks, is
in himself. What the mean man seeks, is in others.'
CHAP. XXI. The Master said, 'The superior man is dignified,
but does not wrangle. He is sociable, but not a partizan.'
CHAP. XXII. The Master said, 'The superior man does not
promote a man simply on account of his words, nor does he put
aside good words because of the man.'
CHAP. XXIII. Tsze-kung asked, saying, 'Is there one word
which may serve as a rule of practice for all one's life?' The Master
said, 'Is not RECIPROCITY such a word? What you do not want done
to yourself, do not do to others.'
CHAP. XXIV. 1. The Master said, 'In my dealings with men,
whose evil do I blame, whose goodness do I praise, beyond what is
proper? If I do sometimes exceed in praise, there must be ground
for it in my examination of the individual.
2. 'This people supplied the ground why the three dynasties
pursued the path of straightforwardness.'
CHAP. XXV. The Master said, 'Even in my early days, a
historiographer would leave a blank in his text, and he who had a
horse would lend him to another to ride. Now, alas! there are no
such things.'
CHAP. XXVI. The Master said, 'Specious words confound
virtue. Want of forbearance in small matters confounds great plans.'
CHAP. XXVII. The Master said, 'When the multitude hate a
man, it is necessary to examine into the case. When the multitude
like a man, it is necessary to examine into the case.'
CHAP. XXVIII. The Master said, 'A man can enlarge the
principles which he follows; those principles do not enlarge the
man.'
CHAP. XXIX. The Master said, 'To have faults and not to
reform them,— this, indeed, should be pronounced having faults.'
CHAP. XXX. The Master said, 'I have been the whole day
without eating, and the whole night without sleeping:— occupied
with thinking. It was of no use. The better plan is to learn.'
CHAP. XXXI. The Master said, 'The object of the superior man
is truth. Food is not his object. There is plowing;— even in that
there is sometimes want. So with learning;— emolument may be
found in it. The superior man is anxious lest he should not get truth;
he is not anxious lest poverty should come upon him.'
CHAP. XXXII. 1. The Master said, 'When a man's knowledge is
sufficient to attain, and his virtue is not sufficient to enable him to
hold, whatever he may have gained, he will lose again.
2. 'When his knowledge is sufficient to attain, and he has
virtue enough to hold fast, if he cannot govern with dignity, the
people will not respect him.
3. 'When his knowledge is sufficient to attain, and he has
virtue enough to hold fast; when he governs also with dignity, yet if
he try to move the people contrary to the rules of propriety:— full
excellence is not reached.'
CHAP. XXXIII. The Master said, 'The superior man cannot be
known in little matters; but he may be intrusted with great
concerns. The small man may not be intrusted with great concerns,
but he may be known in little matters.'
CHAP. XXXIV. The Master said, 'Virtue is more to man than
either water or fire. I have seen men die from treading on water
and fire, but I have never seen a man die from treading the course
of virtue.'
CHAP. XXXV. The Master said, 'Let every man consider virtue
as what devolves on himself. He may not yield the performance of
it even to his teacher.'
CHAP. XXXVI. The Master said, 'The superior man is correctly
firm, and not firm merely.'
CHAP. XXXVII. The Master said, 'A minister, in serving his
prince, reverently discharges his duties, and makes his emolument
a secondary consideration.'
CHAP. XXXVIII. The Master said, 'In teaching there should be
no distinction of classes.'
CHAP. XXXIX. The Master said, 'Those whose courses are
different cannot lay plans for one another.'
CHAP. XL. The Master said, 'In language it is simply required
that it convey the meaning.'
CHAP. XLI. 1. The Music-master, Mien, having called upon
him, when they came to the steps, the Master said, 'Here are the
steps.' When they came to the mat for the guest to sit upon, he