Analects of Confucius 2 (1 & 3)
compile starting 28th September 2002
Volume 5 Book 10
1. Confucius in his native village bore himself with simplicity, as if he had no gifts of speech. But when in the temple or at court, he expressed himself readily and clearly, yet with a measure of reserve.
2. At court, when conversing with ministers of his own rank, he spoke out boldly; when conversing with the higher ministers he spoke respectfully; but when the prince was present, his movements were nervous, though self-possessed.
3. When the prince summoned him to receive a visitor, his expression seemed to change, and his legs as if were bent under him. As he saluted those who stood with him, on the right hand or the left as occasion required, his robe in front and behind hung straight and undisturbed; and , as he hastened forward, it was as if with outstretched wings. When the visitor had departed he always reported, saying: "The guest is no longer looking back."
4. On entering the palace gate he appeared to stoop, as though the gate were not high enough to admit him. He never stood in the middle of the gateway, nor in going through did he step on the sill. As he passed the throne he wore a constrained expression, his legs appeared to bend, and words seemed to fail him. As he ascended the audience hall, holding up his skirt, he appeared to stoop and he held his breath as if he dare not breathe. On coming forth from his audience, after descending the first step his expression relaxed into one of relief; at the bottom of the steps he hastened forward as with outstretched wings, and on regaining his place he maintained an attitude of nervous respect.
5. He carried the ducal mace with bent back, as if unequal to its weight, neither higher than when making a bow, nor lower than when offering a gift; his expression, too, was perturbed and anxious, and he dragged his feet as if something were trailing behind. While offering the presents (with which he was commissioned) he wore an easy look; and at the subsequent private audience he bore himself with amiability.
6. He did not wear facings of purple or mauve, nor even in undress did he use red or crimson. In the hot weather he wore an unlined gown of fine or loose woven material, but always outside and over another. With a black robe he wore black lambskin, with a light robe fawn, and with a yellow robe fox. His undress fur gown was long, with the right sleeve cut short. He always had his sleeping garment made half as long against as his body. He had thick fox or badger for home wear. When out of mourning he omitted none of the usual ornaments. His skirts, all save his court skirt, he always shaped toward the waist. He did not pay visits of condolence in dark lamb's fur or a dark hat. At the new moon he always put on his court robes and presented himself at court.
7. When fasting he always wore a spotless suit of linen cloth. When fasting, too, he always altered his diet, and in his dwelling always changed his seat.
8. He had no objection to his rice being of the finest, nor to having his meat finely minced. Rice affected by the weather, or turned, he would not eat, nor fish that was unsound, nor flesh that was gone. Neither would he eat anything discoloured, nor that smelt, nor that was under or over cooked, or not in season. He would not eat anything improperly cut, nor anything served without its proper seasoning. However much meat there might be he did not allow what he took to exceed the flavour of the rice; only in wine he had no set limit, short of mental confusion. Bought wine or dried meat from the market he would not eat. He was never without ginger at his meals; but he was not a great eater. After the sacrifices in the ducal temple he never kept his share of the flesh overnight, nor the flesh of his ancestral sacrifices more than three days, lest after three days it might not be eaten. He did not converse while eating, nor talk when in bed. Though his food were only coarse rice and vegetable broth he invariably offered a little in sacrifice, and always with solemnity.
9. He would not sit on his mat unless it were straight.
10. When his fellow villagers had a feast he only left after the elders had departed. When his fellow villagers held a procession to expel the pestilential influences, he put on his court robes and stood on the eastern steps.
11. When sending complimentary enquiries to anyone in another state, he bowed twice as he escorted his messenger forth. On K'ang Tzu sending him a present of medicine he bowed and accepted it, but said: "As I am not well acquainted with it I do not dare to taste it."
12. When his stable was burnt down, on coming forth from the audience he asked: "Is anyone hurt?" He did not ask about the horses.
13. When the prince sent him a present of food, he always adjusted his mat and first tasted it himself; but if the prince's present were fresh meat, he always had it cooked, and set it before his ancestors. Were the prince's present living he always kept it alive. When in attendance on the prince at a state dinner, while the prince sacrificed he (acted the subordinate part of) first tasting the dishes. When he was ill and the prince came to see him, he had his head laid to the east, and his court robes thrown over him, with his sash drawn across. When his prince commanded his presence, hi did not wait while his carriage was being yoked, but started on foot.
14. On entering the imperial ancestral temple, he asked about every detail.
15. When a friend died, with no one to fall back upon, he would say: "I will see to his funeral." On receiving a present from a friend, unless it were sacrificial flesh, he never made obeisance, not even if it were a carriage and horses.
16. In bed he did not lie like a corpse. At home he wore no formal air. Whenever he saw anyone in mourning, even though it were an intimate acquaintance, his expression always changed, and when he saw anyone in a cap of state, or a blind man, even though not in public, he always showed respect. On meeting anyone in deep mourning, he would bow to the crossbar of his carriage, as he did also to anyone carrying the census boards. When entertained at a rich repast, he always expressed his appreciation with an altered look and standing up. On a sudden clap of thunder, or a violent storm of wind, he always changed countenance.
17. When mounting his carriage he always stood correctly, holding the mounting cord in his hand. In the carriage he did not look behind, nor speak hastily, nor point with his hands.
18. Seeing their faces that rose, hovered about and settled again, (the Master) remarked: "Ah! hen-pheasant on the hill bridge, you know your time! You know your time!" Tzu Lu motioned towards it, whereupon it smelt at him three times and rose.
Volume 6 Book 11
1. The Master observed: In the arts of civilization our forerunners are esteemed uncultivated, while in those arts, their successors are looked upon as cultured gentlemen. But when I have need of those arts, I follow our forerunners.
2. The Master said: "Of all who were with me in Ch'en and Ch'ai, not one now comes to my door." Noted for moral character there were Yen Yuan, Min Tzu Ch'ien, Jan Niu and Chung Kung; for gifts of speech Tsai Wo and Tzu Kung; for administration ability, Jan Yu and Chi Lu; and for literature and learning Tzu Yu and Tzu Hsia.
3. The Master said: "Hui was not one who gave me any assistance. He was invariably satisfied with whatever I said."
4. The Master said: "What a filial son Min Tzu Ch'ien has been! No one takes exception to what his parents and brothers have said of him!"
5. Nan Yung frequently repeated the White Sceptre Ode. Confucius gave him his elder brother's daughter to wife.
6. Once when Chi K'ang Tzu asked which of the disciples was fond of learning, the Master replied: "There was Yen Hui who was fond of learning, but unhappily his life was cut short and he died,--now there is none."
7. When Yen Yuan died, Yen Lu begged for the Master's carriage in order to (sell it) and turn it into an outer shell. The Master answered: "Gifted or not gifted, everyone speaks of his own son. When Li died he had a coffin but no shell. I did not walk on foot to provide a shell for him, for I have to follow behind the great officers of state and may not go afoot."
8. When Yen Yuan died the Master said: "Alas! Heaven has bereft me; heaven has bereft me."
9. When Yen Yuan died the Master bewailed him with exceeding grief, whereupon his followers said to him: "Sir! You are carrying your grief to excess." "Have I gone to excess?" asked he. "But if I may not grieve exceedingly over this man, for whom shall I grieve?"
10. When Yen Hui died the other disciples proposed to give him an imposing funeral, to which the Master said: "It will not do." Nevertheless they buried him sumptuously. "Hui!" said the Master, "You regarded me as a father, while I am not permitted to regard you as my son. But it is not I. It is these disciples of mine."
11. When Chi Lu asked about his duty to the spirits the Master replied: "While still unable to do your duty to the living, how can you do your duty to the dead?" When he ventured to ask about death, Confucius answered: "Not yet understanding life how can you understand death?"
12. Once when Ming Tzu was standing by the Master's side he looked so self-contained, Tzu Lu so full of energy, and Jan Yu and Tzu Kung so frank and fearless that the Master was highly gratified. (But, said he) "A man like Yu will not come to a natural death."
13. When the men of Lu were for rebuilding the Long treasury, Min Tzu Ch'ien observed: "How would it do to restore it as before? Why need it be reconstructed?" The Master said: "This man seldom speaks, but when he does he is sure to hit the mark."
14. The Master said: "What is Yu's harp doing in my school?" The other disciples on hearing this ceased to respect Tzu Lu, whereupon the Master said: "Yu! he has ascended the hall, though he has not yet entered the inner rooms."
15. Tzu Kung asked which was the better, Shih or Shang? The Master replied: "Shih exceeds, Shang comes short." "So then," queried he, "Shih surpasses Shang, eh?" "To go beyond the mark," replied the Master, "is as bad as to come short of it."
16. The Chief of the Chi clan was richer than Duke Chou had been, yet the disciple Ch'iu collected his revenues for him and kept on still further increasing his income. "He is no disciple of mine," said the Master, "you may beat the drum, my sons, and attack him."
17. Ch'ai was simple minded; Shen dull; Shih surface; Yu unrefined.
18. The Master said: "Hui! He was almost perfect, yet he was often in want. T'zu was not content with his lot, and yet his goods increased abundantly; nevertheless in his judgments he often hit the mark."
19. When Tzu Chang asked what characterized the way of the man of natural goodness, the Master replied: "He does not tread the beaten track, nor yet does he enter into the inner sanctum of philosophy."
20. The Master said: "That a man's address may be solid and reliable, this one may grant, but does it follow that he is a man of the higher type, or is his seriousness only in appearance?"
21. When Tzu Lu asked whether he should put what he heard into immediate practice, the Master answered: "You have parents and elders still living, why should you at once put all you hear into practice?" When Jan Yu asked whether he should put what he heard into immediate practice, the Master answered: "Put what you hear at once into practice." Kung-hsi Hua asked" When Yu asked if he should put the precepts he heard into immediate practice, you, Sir, replied: 'You have parents and elders alive,' but when Ch'iu asked if he should put the precepts he heard into immediate practice, you, Sir, replied: 'Put what you hear at once into practice.' As I am perplexed about your meaning I venture to ask a solution." "Ch'iu," answered the Master, "lags behind, so I urged him forward; but Yu has energy for two men, so I held him back."
22. When the Master was put in peril in K'uang, Yen Hui fell behind. On the Master saying to him: "I thought you were dead?" He replied: "While you, Sir, live, how should I dare to die?"
23. When Chi Tzu-jan asked if Chung Yu and Jan Ch'iu could be called great ministers, the Master replied: "I thought, Sir, you were going to ask about something extraordinary, and it is only a question about Yu and Ch'iu. He who may be called a great minister is one who serves his prince according to the right, and when that cannot be, resigns. Now, as for Yu and Ch'iu, they may be styled ordinary minister." "So, then," said Tzu Jan, "they would follow their chief, eh?" "To parricide or regicide," answered the Master, "they would assuredly not follow."
24. When Tzu Lu obtained the appointment of Tzu Kao as governor of Pi, the Master said: "You are doing an ill turn to another man's son." "He will have his people and officers," replied Tzu Lu, "he will also have the altars of the land and the grain, why must he read books before he is considered educated?" "It is because of this kind of talk," said the Master, "that I hate glib people."
25. Once when Tzu Lu, Tseng Shih, Jan Yu and Kung-hsi Hua were seated with the Master, he said: "You no doubt consider me a day or so your senior, but pray do not so consider me. Living in private life you are each saying: 'I am unknown,' now suppose some prince were to take notice of you, what would you like to do?" Tzu Lu in offhand manner replied: "Give me a kingdom of a thousand chariots, hemmed in by two great powers, oppressed by invading troops, with famine superadded, and let me have its administration,--in three years' time I could make it brave and, moreover, make it know the right course to pursue." The Master smiled at him "And how about you, Ch'iu?" "Give me a district of sixty or seventy li square," answered he, "or say, one of fifty or sixty li square, and let me have its administration,--in three years' time I could make its people dwell in plenty; but as to the arts of civilization, I should have to await a nobler man." "And how about you Ch'ih?" "I do not say that I could do it," answered he, "but I should like to learn. I would like at the service in the great ancestral temple, or say, at the prince's imperial audience, to take part, in cap and gown, as a minor assistant." "And how about you, Tien?" Pausing as he thrummed his harp, its notes still vibrating, he left the instrument, arose, and replied, saying: "My wishes are different from those presented by these three gentlemen." "What harm in that?" said the Master. "Let each name his desire." "Mine would be," he said, "towards the end of spring, with the dress of the season all complete, along with five or six newly capped young men, and six or seven youths, to go and wash in the I, enjoy the breezes among the Rain Altars, and return home singing." The Master heaved a deep sigh and said: "I am with Tien." When the three others withdrew, Tseng Chih remained behind and asked: "What do you think of the remarks of these three disciples?" The Master answered: "Well, each of them merely stated his aspirations." "Then why did you smile, Sir, at Yu?" he pursued. "The administration of a country demands a right bearing," was the reply, "but his speech lacked modesty,--that is why I smiled at him." "But Ch'iu,--was it not a state that he wanted?" "Where do you see a district of sixty or seventy, or of fifty or sixty li that is not a state?" was the answer. "And Ch'ih,--was it not a state that he wanted?" "In the ancestral temple and at the prince's audience, who but a prince takes a part?" was the reply. "Yet if Ch'ih were to act a minor part who could act the major?"
Volume 6 Book 12
1. When Yen Yuan asked the meaning of virtue, the Master replied: "Virtue is the denial of self and response to what is right and proper. Deny yourself for one day and respond to the right and proper, and everybody will accord you virtuous. For has virtue its source in oneself, or is it forsooth derived from others?" "May I beg for the main features?" asked Yen Yuan. The Master answered: "If not right and proper do not look, if not right and proper do not listen, if not right and proper do not speak, if not right and proper do not move." "Though I am not clever," said Yen Yuan, "permit me to carry out these precepts."
2. When Chung Kung asked the meaning of virtue the Master said: "When abroad behave as if interviewing an honoured guest; in directing the people act as if officiating at a great sacrifice; do not do to others what you would not like yourself; then your public life will arouse no ill-will nor your private life any resentment." "Though I am not clever," replied Chung Kung, "permit me to carry out these precepts."
3. When Ssu-ma Niu asked for a definition of virtue, the Master said: "The man of virtue,--he is chary of speech." "He is chary of speech! Is this the meaning of virtue?" demanded Niu. "When the doing of it is difficult," responded Confucius, "can one be other than chary of talking about it."
4. When Ssu-ma Niu asked for a definition of the man of noble mind, the Master said: "The man of noble mind has neither anxiety nor fear." "Neither anxiety nor fear!" he rejoined. "Is this the definition of a noble man?" "On searching within," replied the Master, "he finds no chronic ill, so why should he be anxious or why should he be afraid?"
5. Once when Ssu-ma Niu sorrowfully remarked: "Other men all have their brothers, I alone am without." Tzu Hsia responded: "I have heard it said: "Death and life are divine dispensations, and wealth and honours are with heaven.' When the man of noble mind unfailingly conducts himself with self respect, and is courteous and well behaved with others, then all within the four seas are his brothers. How, then, can a chun-tzu grieve that he is without a brother!"
6. When Tzu Chang asked what was meant by insight, the Master replied: "He who is unmoved by the insidious soaking in of slander, or by urgent representation of direct personal injury, may truly be called a man of insight. Indeed, he who is unmoved by the insidious soaking in of slander or by urgent representations of direct personal injury, may also indeed be called far-sighted."
7. When Tzu Kung asked what were the essentials of government, the Master replied: "Sufficient food, sufficient forces, and the confidence of the people." "Suppose," rejoined Tzu Kung, "I were compelled to dispense with one, which of these three should I forego first?" "Forego the forces," was the reply. "Suppose," said Tzu Kung, "I were compelled to eliminate another, which of the other two should I forego?" "The food," was the reply, "for from of old death has been the lot of all men, but a people without faith cannot stand."
8. Chi Tzu Ch'eng remarked: "For a man of high character to be natural is quite sufficient; what need is there of art to make him such?" "Alas!" said Tzu Kung, "Your excellency's words are those of a chun-tzu, but a team of four horses cannot overtake the tongue. Art, as it were, is nature, as nature, so to speak, is art. The hairless hide of a tiger or a leopard is about the same as the hide of a dog or a sheep."
9. Duke Ai enquired of Yu Jo saying: "It is a year of dearth, and we have not revenue enough for our needs; what is to be done?" "Why not simply tithe the land?" replied Yu Jo. "Why, with two-tenths," said the Duke, "I have still not enough, how could I manage with that one-tenth system?" "If the people enjoy plenty," was the rejoinder, "with whom will the prince share want? But if the people are in want, with whom will the prince share plenty?"
10. When Tzu Chang asked the best way to improve his character and to discriminate in what was irrational, the Master said: "Take conscientiousness and sincerity as your ruling principles, transfer also your mind to right (righteousness) conditions, and your character will improve. When you love a man you want him to live, when you hate him you wish he were dead; but you have already wanted him to live and yet again you wish he were dead. This is an instance of the irrational. Not indeed because of wealth but solely because exceptional."
11. When Duke Ching of Ch'i enquired of Confucius the principles of government, Confucius answered saying: "Let the prince be prince, the minister minister, the father father, and the son son." "Excellent!" said the Duke, "Truly, if the prince be not prince, the minister not minister, the father not father, and the son not son, however much grain I may have, shall I be allowed to eat it?"
12. The Master said: "Yu was the one,--he could decide a dispute with half a word." Tzu Lu never slept over a promise.
13. The Master said: "I can try a lawsuit as well as other men, but surely the great thing is to bring about that there be no going to law."
14. When Tzu Chang asked about the art of government, the Master replied: "Ponder untiringly over your plans, and then conscientiously (loyalty) carry them into execution."
15. The Master said: "The scholar who becomes widely versed in letters, and who restrains his learning within the bounds of good taste, is not likely to get off the track."
16. The Master said: "The man of noble mind seeks to perfect the good in others and not their evil. The little minded man is the reverse of this."
17. When Chi K'ang Tzu asked Confucius for a definition of government, Confucius replied: "To govern means to guide aright. If you, Sir, will lead the way aright, who will dare to deviate from the right?"
18. Chi K'ang Tzu, being plagued with robbers, consulted Confucius, who answered him saying: "If you, Sir, be free from the love of wealth, although you pay them they will not steal."
19. Chi K'ang Tzu asked the opinion of Confucius on government and said: "How would it do to execute the lawless for the good of the law-abiding?" "What need, Sir, is there of capital punishment in your administration?" responded Confucius. "If your aspirations are for good, Sir, the people will be good. The moral character of those in high position is the breeze, the character of those below is the grass. When the grass has the breeze upon it, it assuredly bends."
20. Tzu Chang asked what a man must be like in order to gain general estimation. "What is it that you mean by general estimation?" enquired the Master. "To ensure popularity abroad and to ensure it at home." replied Tzu Chang. "That," said the Master, "is popularity, not esteem. As for the man who meets with general esteem, he is natural, upright, and a lover of justice; he weighs what men say and observes their expression, and his anxiety is to be more lowly than others; and so he ensures esteem abroad, as he ensures it also at home. As to the seeker of popularity, he assumes an air of magnanimity which his actions belie, while his self-assurance knows never a misgiving, and so he ensures popularity abroad, as he also ensures it at home."
21. Once when Fan Ch'ih was rambling along with the Master under the trees at the Rain altars, he remarked: "May I venture to ask how one may improve one's character, correct one's personal faults and discriminate in what is irrational?" "An excellent question," rejoined the Master. "If a man put duty first and success after, will not that improve his character? If he attack his own failings instead of those of others, will he not remedy his personal faults? For a morning's anger to forget his own safety and involve that of his relatives, is not this irrational?"
22. Once when Fan Ch'ih asked the meaning of virtue, the Master replied: "Love your fellow-men." On his asking the meaning of knowledge, the Master said: "Know your fellow-men." Fan Ch'ih not having comprehended. The Master added: "By promoting the straight and degrading the crooked you can make even the crooked straight." Fan Ch'ih withdrew and afterwards meeting Tzu Hsia said to him: "A little while ago, when I had an interview with the Master, and asked for a definition of knowledge, he replied: 'By promoting the straight and degrading the crooked you can make even the crooked straight,'--what can he have meant?" "What a rich maxim that is!" replied Tzu Hsia. "When Shun had the empire, he chose from amongst the multitude and promoted Kao Yao, whereupon all who were devoid of virtue disappeared. And when T'ang had the empire, he too chose from amongst the multitude and promote I Yin, whereupon all who were devoid of virtue disappeared."
23. On Tzu Kung enquiring the duties of friendship the Master replied: "Advise him conscientiously and guide him discreetly. If he be unwilling, then cease; do not court humiliation."
24. The philosopher Tseng said: "The wise man by his culture gathers his friends, and by his friends develops his goodness of character."
Volume 7 Book 13
1. When Tzu Lu asked about the art of government the Master replied: "Be in advance of them, show them how to work." On his asking for something more, the Master added: "Untiringly."
2. When Chung Kung was minister for the House of Chi he asked for advice on the art of government, whereupon the Master said: "Utilize first and foremost your subordinate officers, overlook their minor errors, and promote those who are worthy and capable." "How may I recognize those who are worthy and capable?" he asked. "Promote those you recognize;" was the reply, "as to those whom you may fail to recognize, is it likely that others will neglect them?"
3. "The prince of Wei," said Tzu Lu, "is awaiting you, Sir, to take control of his administration,--what will you undertake first, Sir?" "The one thing needed," replied the Master, "is the correction of terms." "Are you as wide of the mark as that, Sir!" said Tzu Lu, "Why this correcting?" "How uncultivated you are, Yu!" responded the Master. "A wise man, in regard to what he does not understand, maintains an attitude of reserve. If terms be incorrect, then statements do not accord with facts; and when statements and facts do not accord, then business is not properly executed; when business is not properly executed, order and harmony do not flourish; when order and harmony do not flourish, then justice becomes arbitrary; and when justice becomes arbitrary the people do not know how to move hand or foot. Hence whatever a wise man denominates he can always definitely state, and what he so states he can always carry into practice, for the wise man will on no account have anything remiss in his definitions."
4. On Fan Ch'ih requesting to be taught agriculture, the Master replied: "I am not as good as an old farmer for that." When he asked to be taught gardening the Master answered: "I am not as good as an old gardener for that." On Fan Ch'ih withdrawing the Master said: "What a little minded man is Fan Hsu! When a ruler loves good manners his people will not let themselves be disrespectful; when a ruler loves justice his people will not let themselves be un-submissive; when a ruler loves good faith his people will not venture to be insincere;--and if he be like this, then people will come from every quarter carrying their children strapped on their backs;--what does he want with learning agriculture?"
5. The Master said: "A man may be able to recite the three hundred Odes, but if, when given a post in the administration, he proves to be without practical ability, or when sent anywhere on a mission, he is unable of himself to answer a question, although his knowledge is extensive, of what use is it?"
6. The Master said: "If a ruler is himself upright his people will do their duty without orders; but if he himself be not upright, although he may order they will not obey."
7. The Master said: "Lu and Wei are brothers (even) in their government."
8. The Master said of Ching, a scion of the ducal House of Wei, that he dwelt well content in his house. When first he began to possess property he called it 'A passable accumulation;' when he had prospered somewhat he called it 'Passably complete;' and when he had amassed plenty he called it 'Passably fine.'
9. When the Master was traveling to Wei, Jan Yu drove him. "What a numerous population!" remarked the Master. "The people having grown so numerous what next should be done for them?" asked Jan Yu. "Enrich them," was the reply. "And when you have enriched them, what next should be done?" he asked. "Educate them," was the answer.
10. The Master said: "Were any prince to employ me, in a twelve month something could have been done, but in three years the work could be completed."
11. The Master remarked: "How true is the saying: 'If good men ruled the country for a hundred years, they could even tame the brutal and abolish capital punishment!"
12. The Master said: "If a kingly ruler was to arise it would take a generation before virtue prevailed." (Arising of a sage means punishment period before world peace and harmony.)
13. The Master said: "If a man put himself aright what difficulty will he have in the public service; but if he cannot put himself aright how is he going to put others right?"
14. Once when Jan Tzu came from court the Master asked: "Why are you so late?" "We had affairs of state," was the reply. "They must have been family affairs then," said the Master. "If there had been affairs of state, although they do not engage me in office, yet I should have been consulted about them."
15. Duke Ting enquired whether there were any one phrase by the adoption of which a country could be made prosperous. "No phrase can be expected to have such force as that," replied Confucius. "But there is the popular saying: 'It is hard to be a prince, and not easy to be a minister.' If a prince perceive the difficulty of being a prince, may he not expect through that one phrase to prosper his country?" "Is there any one phrase," he asked, "through which a country may be ruined?" "No phrase can be expected to have such force as that," replied Confucius. "But there is the popular saying: 'I should have no gratification in being a prince, unless none opposed my commands.' If those are good, and no one opposes them, that surely is well. But if they are not good, and no one opposes them, may he not expect in that one phrase to ruin his country?"
16. When the duke of She asked the meaning of good government, the Master answered: "The near are happy and the distant attracted."
17. When Tzu Hsia was magistrate of Chu-fu he asked what should be his policy, whereupon the Master said: "Do not be in a hurry, do not be intent on minor advantages. When in a hurry nothing is thorough, and when intent on minor advantages nothing great is accomplished."
18. The Duke of She observed to Confucius: "In my part of the country there is a man so honest that when his father appropriated a sheep he bore witness to it." "The honest in my part of the country," replied Confucius, "are different from that, for a father will screen his son, and a son his father,--and there is honesty in that."
19. Once when Fan Ch'ih asked about virtue the Master said: "In private life be courteous, in handling public business be serious, with all men be conscientious. Even though you go among barbarians you may not relinquish these."
20. Tzu Kung asked: "What must an officer be like to merit his name?" "If in his personal conduct," replied the Master, "he has a sensibility to dishonour, and wheresoever he be sent will not disgrace his prince's commission, he may be said to merit his title." "I would venture to ask who may be ranked next," said Tzu Kung. "He whom his relatives commend as filial and whose neighbours commend as brotherly," was the answer. "I would venture to ask the next," said Tzu Kung. "He is one who always stands by his word," was the answer, "and who persists in all he undertakes; he is a man of grit, though of narrow outlook; yet perhaps he may be taken as of the third class." "What would you say of the present day government officials?" asked Tzu Kung. "Faugh!" said the Master. "A set of pecks and hampers, unworthy to be taken into account!"
21. The Master said: "If I cannot obtain men of the via media to teach, those whom I must have, let them be the ambitious and the discreet; for the ambitious do make progress and get a hold, and, as to the discreet, there are things that they will not do."
22. The Master said: "The men of the South have a saying: 'A man without constancy will make neither a soothsayer nor a doctor.' How well put! (The I-Ching says:) 'If he be inconstant in his moral character, someone will bring disgrace upon him.'" The Master remarked: "All because he did not calculate beforehand."
23. The Master said: "The true gentleman is friendly but not familiar; the inferior man is familiar but not friendly."
24. Tzu Kung asked: "What would you say of the man who is liked by all his fellow-townsmen?" "That is not sufficient," was the reply. "Then what would you say of him who is hated by all his fellow-townsmen?" "Nor is that sufficient," was the reply. "What is better is that the good among his fellow-townsmen like him, and the bad hate him."
25. The Master said: "The true gentleman is easy to serve yet difficult to please. If you attempt to please him in any improper way he will be displeased, but when it comes to appointing men in their work, he has regard to their capacity. The inferior man is hard to serve yet easy to please. If you attempt to please, even in an improper way, he will be pleased, but in appointing men their work, he expects them to be fit for everything."
26. The Master said: "The well bred are dignified but not pompous. The ill bred are pompous, but not dignified."
27. The Master said: "The firm of spirit, the resolute in character, the simple in manner, and the slow of speech are not far from virtue."
28. Tzu Lu asked: "What qualities must one possess to be entitled to be called an educated man?" "He who is earnest in spirit, persuasive in speech, and withal of gracious bearing," said the Master, "may be called an educated man. Earnest in spirit and persuasive of speech with his friends, and of gracious bearing towards his brothers."
29. The Master said: "When a good man has trained the people for seven years, they might then be fit to bear arms."
30. The Master said: "To lead an untrained people to war may be called throwing them away."
Volume 7 Book 14
1. When Hsien asked the meaning of dishonour, the Master said: "When his country is well governed to be thinking only of pay, and when his country is ill governed to be thinking only of pay,--that is dishonour."
2. (Hsien again asked): "If a man refrain from ambition, boasting, resentment and selfish desire, it may, I suppose, be counted to him for virtue." "It may be counted for difficult," said the Master, "but whether for virtue, I do not know."
3. The Master said: "The scholar whose regard is his comfort is unworthy to be deemed a scholar."
4. The Master said: "When law and order prevail in the land, a man may be bold in speech and bold in action; but when the land lacks law and order, through he may take bold action, he should lay restraint on his speech."
5. The Master said: "A man of principles is sure to have something good to say, but he who has something good to say is not necessarily a man of principle. A virtuous man is sure to be courageous, but a courageous man is not necessarily a man of virtue."
6. Nan Kung Kua remarked to Confucius by way of enquiry: "(Is it not a fact that though) I excelled as an archer, and Ao could propel a boat on dry land, neither of them died a natural death; while Yu and Chi, who took a personal interest in agriculture, became possessed of the empire?" The Master made no reply, but when Nan Kung Kua had withdrawn, he observed: "A scholar indeed is such a man! A true estimation of virtue has such a man!"
7. "There may perhaps be men of the higher type who fail in virtue, but there has never been one of the lower type who possessed virtue." (This statement is wrong. Hui Neng was uneducated but became the sixth patriarch of Chinese Buddhism.)
8. The Master said: "Can love be other than exacting, or loyalty refrain from admonition?"
9. The Master said: "In preparing a state document (in Cheng), P'i Shen drafted it, Shih Shu revised it, the foreign minister Tzu Yu amended it and Tzu Chan of Tung Li embellished it."
10. Somebody asked the Master what he though about Tzu Ch'an. "He is a kindly man," was the reply. Asked about Tzu Hsi, he said: "That man! That man!" Asked about Kuan Chung he said: "There was a man! The head of the Po family was despoiled for him of his town of P'ien with its three hundred families, yet never even complained, though he had to live on coarse food to the end of his days."
11. The Master said: "To be poor and not complain is difficult to be rich and not arrogant is easy."
12. The Master said: "Meng Kung Ch'o would excel as comptroller of the Chao or Wei families, but is not fit to be minister in the states of T'eng or Hsieh."
13. When Tzu Lu asked what constituted the character of the perfect man the Master replied: "If he have the wisdom of Tsang Wu Chung, the purity of Kung Ch'o, the courage of Chuang Tzu of P'ien and the skill of Jan Ch'iu, and if he refine these with the arts of courtesy and harmony, then indeed he may be deemed a perfect man." "But what need is there," he added, "for the perfect man of the present day to be like this? Let him when he sees anything to his advantage think whether it be right; when he meets with danger be ready to lay down his life; and however long standing the undertaking let him not forget the tenour of his everyday profession, then he too may be deemed a perfect man."
14. The Master put a question to Kung-ming Chia about Kung-shu Wen-tzu, and said: "Is it really true that your Master neither talks, nor laughs, nor accepts anything?" "That arises from the exaggeration of reporters," answered Kung-ming Chia. "Our Master talks only at the right time, hence people do not tire of his talk; he only laughs when he is really pleased, hence people do not tire of his laughter; he only accepts things when it is right to do so, hence men do not tire of his accepting." "Is that so!" said the Master. "Can that indeed be so!"
15. The Master said: "Tsang Wu Chung held on to the fief of Fang while he begged the Duke of Lu to appoint (his brother as) his successor. Although they say he did not coerce his prince I do not believe it."
16. The Master said: "Duke Wen of Chin was double-dealing and dishonourable. Duke Huan of Ch'i was honourable and not double-dealing."
17. "When Duke Huan put to death his brother, prince Chiu," observed Tzu Lu, "Shao Hu died for him, but Kuan Chung did not. Was he not lacking in virtue?" "Duke Huan," answered the Master, "brought the Barons together without resorting to chariots of war, and all through the power of Kuan Chung. Whose virtue was like his! Whose virtue was like his!"
18. Tzu Kung asked: "Was not Kuan Chung deficient in virtue? When Duke Huan had his brother prince Chiu put to death, Kuan Chung was incapable of dying, and even became his minister?" "After Kuan Chung became minister to Duke Huan," replied the Master, "he made the Duke leader of the Barons, and entirely reduced the empire to order, so that people down to the present day are recipients of his benefactions. But for Kuan Chung we should be wearing our hair loose and folding our clothes to the left. Would you require from him that which is deemed fidelity by common men and women, who (show it by) committing suicide in some ditch, nobody being the wiser?"
19. The minister Chuan, formerly a retainer of Kung-shu Wen-tzu, afterwards went up to court in company with Wen-tzu. The Master on hearing of it observed: "Wen well deserves to be considered 'a promoter of culture.'"
20. When the Master was speaking of the unprincipled character of Duke Ling of Wei, K'ang-tzu observed: "Such being the case, how is it he does not lose his throne?" "Chung-shu Yu," answered Confucius, "has charge of the envoys; the reader To has charge of the ancestral temple; Wang-sun Chia commands the forces;--and, such being the case, how should he lose his throne?"
21. The Master said: "He who speaks without modesty will perform with difficulty."
22. When Ch'en Ch'eng-tzu slew Duke Chien, Confucius bathed himself and went to court, where he petitioned Duke Ai, saying: "Ch'en Heng has slain his prince, I beg you to take vengeance on him." "Lay the information before the three nobles," replied the Duke. "Seeing that I follow behind the ministers," soliloquized Confucius (as he withdrew), "I dare not do other than petition, and the prince says: 'Inform the three nobles'!" He went to the three nobles and petitioned them, but they declined action; whereupon Confucius remarked: "Seeing that I follow behind the ministers I dare not do other than make my petition."
23. When Tzu Lu asked what constituted a man's duty to his prince the Master said: "Never deceive him and then you may stand boldly up to him."
24. The Master said: "The progress of the nobler-minded man is upwards, the progress of the inferior man is downwards."
25. The Master said: "The men of old studied for the sake of self improvement; the men of the present day study for the approbation of others."
26. Chu Po Yu having sent a messenger (to convoy his respects) to Confucius, the latter made him sit down along with him and questioned him, asking: "What is your master doing now?" The messenger replied: "My master is seeking to make his faults fewer, but has not yet succeeded." When the messenger had withdrawn, the Master observed: "What a messenger! What a messenger!"
27. The Master said: "He who does not occupy the office does not discuss its policy."
28. The philosopher Tseng said: "A wise man, even in his thoughts, does not stray from his own duty."
29. The Master said: "The higher type of man is modest in what he says, but surpasses in what he does."
30. The Master said: "There are three characteristics of the noble man's life, to which I cannot lay claim:--being virtuous he is free from care; possessing knowledge he is free from doubts; being courageous he is free from fear." "That is what you yourself say," said Tzu Kung.
31. Tzu Kung being in the habit of making comparison, the Master observed: "How worthy T'zu must be! As for me, I have not the time to spare."
32. The Master said: "(A wise man) is not distressed that people do not know him, he is distressed at his own lack of ability."
33. The Master said: "Is not he a man of real worth who does not anticipate deceit, nor imagine that people will doubt his word, and yet who has immediate perception thereof when present?"
34. Wei-sheng Mou addressing Confucius said: "Ch'iu, what are you doing with this perching here and perching there? Is it not that you are making yourself an ad captandum talker?" "An ad captandum talker I would not dare to be," replied Confucius, "and I should hate to be obstinately immoveable."
35. The Master said: "A good horse is not praised for its strength but for its character."
36. Someone asked: "What do you think about the principle of rewarding enmity with kindness?" "With what, then, would you reward kindness?" asked the Master. "Reward enmity with just treatment, and kindness with kindness."
37. "No one knows me, alas!" exclaimed the Master. "Why do you say that, Sir, that no one knows you?" said Tzu Kung. "I make no complain against heaven," replied the Master, "nor blame men, for though my studies are lowly my mind soars aloft, and--does not heaven know me!"
38. Kung-po Liao having spoken against Tzu Lu to Chi-sun, Tzu-fu Ching-po informed Confucius thereof, and said: "Our Master's mind is undoubtedly being disturbed by Kung-po Liao, but I am still strong enough to have his carcass exposed in the market-place." The Master replied: "If my principles are going to prevail it is so fated; if they are going to fail it is so fated; what can Kung-po Liao do with fate?"
39. The Master said: "Some good men withdraw from the world; the next in order is withdrawal from fatherland, the next from uncongenial looks, and the next from uncongenial language."
40. The Master said: "There are seven men who have done this."
41. On one occasion when Tzu Lu happened to spend the night at Stone Gate, the gate opener asked him: "Where are you from?" "From Mr. K'ung's," replied Tzu Lu. "Is not he the one who knows he cannot succeed and keeps on trying to do so?" was the response.
42. The Master was playing on a stone chime one day in Wei, when a man carrying a basket passed the door of the K'ung abode and remarked: "With what feeling he is playing the chimes!" Presently he added: "How contemptible is this petrified ting-tinging! Seeing that everybody ignores him let him stop and have done with it. 'If the water is deep you strip up to the waist; if shallow you tuck up your skirt!'" "How stoical he is!" observed the Master. "But his way is not difficult."
43. Tzu Chang said: "The Book of History says that when Kao Tsung observed the imperial mourning he did not speak for three years. What may be the meaning of that?" "Why need you specialize Kao Tsung? All the men of old did the same," answered Confucius. "When a prince died, all his officers attended to their several duties in obedience to the prime minister for three years."
44. The Master said: "When those in high position are fond of orderly behaviour, service from the people is easily commanded."
45. When Tzu Lu asked what should be the character of a man of the nobler order the Master replied: "He should cultivate himself to be unfailingly respectful." "Will it suffice to be like this?" asked Tzu Lu. "He should cultivate himself so as to ease the lot of others," was the reply. "And is this sufficient?" asked Tzu Lu. "He should cultivate himself so as to ease the lot of the people. He should cultivate himself so as to ease the lot of the people:--even Yao and Shun still remained anxious about this!"
46. Yuan Rang sat squatting and waiting as the Master approached, who said to him: "When young without respect, when grown up doing nothing worthy of mention, when old not dying,--this is being a rogue!" And with this he hit him on the shank with his staff.
47. A youth from the village of Ch'ueh was acting as messenger for Confucius, so some one interrogated about him: "He has made good progress, I suppose?" "I notice," replied the Master, "that he occupies the seat of adult age, and I notice that he walks on a level with his seniors. It is not that he seeks to progress, he wants speedy arrival."
Volume 8 Book 15
1. When Duke Ling of Wei asked Confucius about military tactics, Confucius replied: "With the appurtenances of worship I have indeed an acquaintance, but as to military matters I have never studied them." Next day he straightway took his departure. (On the way) in Ch'en their supplies failed, and his followers were so ill that they could not stand. Tzu Lu with some irritation sought an interview and said: "Does also a man of the higher order have to suffer want?" "The superior man bears want unshaken," replied the Master, "the inferior man in want becomes demoralized."
2. "T'zu," said the Master, "you regard me as a man of multifarious study who retains all in mind, eh?" "Yes," answered he. "But may be it is not so?" "No," was the reply, "I have one principle connecting all."
3. "Yu," said the Master, "there are few who understand virtue." (Should be the Truth)
4. The Master said: "May not Shun be instanced as one who made no effort, yet the empire was well governed? For what effort did he make? Ordering himself in all seriousness, he did nothing but maintain the correct imperial attitude." (Here it shows, as head of state, one has to do nothing, so the country is at peace.)
5. When Tzu Chang asked how to get on with others, the Master made answer: "If you are sincere and truthful in what you say, and trustworthy and circumspect in what you do, then although you be in the land of the barbarians you will get on with them. But if you are not sincere and truthful in what you say, and untrustworthy and not circumspect in what you do, are you likely to get on even in your own country! When standing see these principles there in front of you. When in your carriage see them resting on the yoke. Then you will get on everywhere." Tzu Chang inscribed these counsels on his sash.
6. The Master said: "What a straight man was the recorder Yu! When the country was well governed (when Truth prevails) he was like an arrow, and when the country was ill governed (when Truth dissipated) he was still like an arrow. What a noble man is Chu Po Yu! When the country is well governed he holds office, but when the country is ill governed he can roll up (his portfolio) and keep it in his bosom."
7. "Not to enlighten one who can be enlightened is to waste a man; to enlighten one who cannot be enlightened is to waste words. The intelligent man neither wastes his man not his words."
8. The Master said: "The resolute scholar, and the virtuous man will not seek life at the expense of virtue. Some even sacrifice their lives to crown their virtue."
9. When Tzu Kung asked about the practice of virtue the Master replied: "A workman who wants to do his work well must first sharpen his tools. In whatever state you dwell, take service with the worthiest of its ministers, and make friends of the most virtuous of its scholars." (Misinterpretation of cultured looking down on uncultured)
10. Yen Yuan once asked about the administration of a state. The Master replied: "Adopt the calendar of Hsia; ride in the state carriage of Yin; wear the cap of Chou; in music adopt the Shao dances; banish the songs of Cheng, and avoid specious men; for the songs of Cheng are licentious, and specious men dangerous." (If you don't understand the cause of specious men, can you be a wise man?)
11. The Master said: "Who heeds not the future will find sorrow at hand."
12. "It is all in vain!" said the Master. "I have never yet seen a man as fond of virtue as of beauty."
13. "Was not Tsang Wen Chung like one who had stolen his office?" remarked the Master. "He knew the superiority of Hui of Liu-hsia yet did not appoint him as a colleague."
14. The Master said: "He who demands much from himself and little from others will avoid resentment."
15. The Master said: "If a man does not ask himself, 'What am I to make of this?' "What am I to make of this?'--there is nothing whatever I can make of him."
16. The Master said: "Men who associate together the livelong day and whose conversation never rises to what is just and right, but whose delight is in deeds of petty shrewdness,--how hard is their case!"
17. The Master said: "The noble man takes the righteousness as his foundation principles, reduces it to practice with all courtesy, carries it out with modesty, and renders it perfect with sincerity,--such is the noble man." (Righteousness rules the world.)
18. The Master remarked: "The noble man is pained over his own incompetence, he is not pained that others ignore him."
19. The Master said: "The nobler man hates to end his days and leave his name undistinguished." (This is a wrong statement.)
20. The Master said: "The noble man seeks what he wants in himself; the inferior man seeks it from others." (Seeking self is to meditate, but so far no indication of meditation in the Analects.)
21. The Master said: "The noble man upholds his dignity without striving (for it); he is sociable without entering any clique."
22. The Master said: "The wise man does not appreciate a man because of what he says, nor does he depreciate what he says because of the man."
23. "Is there any one word," asked Tzu Kung, "which could be adopted as a lifelong rule of conduct?" The Master replied: "Is not sympathy the word? Do not do to others what you would not like yourself."
24. The Master said: "In my treatment of men, whom have I unduly disparaged or whom have I unduly extolled? If there be one whom I have so extolled, there is that by which he has been tested. For these are the people whereby the three dynasty (generations) have pursued their straight course."
25. The Master said: "I can still go back to the days when a recorder left a temporary blank in his records, and when a man who had a horse would lend it to another to ride. Now, alas! such things are no more."
26. The Master said: "Plausible words confound morals, and a trifling impatience may confound a great project."
27. The Master said: "Though all hate a man, one must investigate the cause; and though all like him, one must also investigate the cause."
28. The Master said: "A man can enlarge his principles (Truth); it is not his principles that enlarge the man." (By meditating, you increase your spiritual power. The Truth cannot increase your virtue or spiritual power.)
29. The Master said: "To err and not reform may indeed be called error."
30. The Master said: "I have spent the whole day without food and the whole night without sleep in order to think. It was of no use. It is better to learn."
31. The Master said: "The wise man makes duty, not a living, his aim; for there is hunger even in farming, while there is emolument in scholarship; but the wise man is anxious about his duty, not about poverty."
32. The Master said: "If a man intellectually attains to a given principle, but his moral character does not enable him to live up to it, even though he has obtained it he will certainly lose it. Though intellectually he has attained to it, and his moral character enables him to live up to it, if he does not control (them) with dignity, (the) people will not respect him. And though he has intellectually attained to it, his moral character enables him to live up to it, and he controls with dignity, if he moves (the people) to action in an irregular manner, he is still lacking in excellence."
33. The Master said: "A man of the higher type may not be distinguishable in minor responsibilities, but he can undertake great ones. An inferior man cannot undertake great responsibilities, but may be distinguished in minor ones."
34. The Master said: "Virtue is more to man than either water or fire. I have seen men die through walking into water or fire, but I have never seen a man die through walking the path of virtue."
35. The Master said: "He upon whom a moral duty devolves should not give way even to his master."
36. The Master said: "The wise man is intelligently not blindly loyal."
37. The Master said: "In serving one's prince one should give careful attention to his business, and make his pay a secondary consideration."
38. The Master said: "In teaching there should be no class distinctions."
39. The Master said: "Those whose ways are different do not make plans together."
40. The Master said: "In language perspicuity is everything."
41. The state bandmaster Mien once called to see him. On arriving at the steps the Master said: "Here are the steps," On coming to the mat, he said: "Here is your mat." When all were seated the Master informed him: "So and so is here, so and so is here." When the bandmaster had gone, Tzu Chang enquired: "Is it the proper thing to tell a bandmaster those things?" "Yes," answered the Master, "undoubtedly it is the proper thing for a blind bandmaster's guide to do so."
Edited on 10th June 2008