《论语》英文版（二）

松烟

CONFUCIAN ANALECTS

    Confucius

     11
     The Master said, "The men of former times in the matters of ceremonies and
music were rustics, it is said, while the men of these latter times, in
ceremonies and music, are accomplished gentlemen.
    "If I have occasion to use those things, I follow the men of former times."
    The Master said, "Of those who were with me in Ch'an and Ts'ai, there are
none to be found to enter my door."
    Distinguished for their virtuous principles and practice, there were Yen
Yuan, Min Tsze-ch'ien, Zan Po-niu, and Chung-kung; for their ability in speech,
Tsai Wo and Tsze-kung; for their administrative talents, Zan Yu and Chi Lu; for
their literary acquirements, Tsze-yu and Tsze-hsia.
    The Master said, "Hui gives me no assistance. There is nothing that I say in
which he does not delight."
    The Master said, "Filial indeed is Min Tsze-ch'ien! Other people say nothing
of him different from the report of his parents and brothers."
    Nan Yung was frequently repeating the lines about a white scepter stone.
Confucius gave him the daughter of his elder brother to wife.
    Chi K'ang asked which of the disciples loved to learn. Confucius replied to
him, "There was Yen Hui; he loved to learn. Unfortunately his appointed time was
short, and he died. Now there is no one who loves to learn, as he did."
    When Yen Yuan died, Yen Lu begged the carriage of the Master to sell and get
an outer shell for his son's coffin.
    The Master said, "Every one calls his son his son, whether he has talents or
has not talents. There was Li; when he died, he had a coffin but no outer shell.
I would not walk on foot to get a shell for him, because, having followed in the
rear of the great officers, it was not proper that I should walk on foot."
    When Yen Yuan died, the Master said, "Alas! Heaven is destroying me! Heaven
is destroying me!"
    When Yen Yuan died, the Master bewailed him exceedingly, and the disciples
who were with him said, "Master, your grief is excessive!"
    "Is it excessive?" said he. "If I am not to mourn bitterly for this man, for
whom should I mourn?"
    When Yen Yuan died, the disciples wished to give him a great funeral, and
the Master said, "You may not do so."
    The disciples did bury him in great style.
    The Master said, "Hui behaved towards me as his father. I have not been able
to treat him as my son. The fault is not mine; it belongs to you, O disciples."
    Chi Lu asked about serving the spirits of the dead. The Master said, "While
you are not able to serve men, how can you serve their spirits?" Chi Lu added,
"I venture to ask about death?" He was answered, "While you do not know life,
how can you know about death?"
    The disciple Min was standing by his side, looking bland and precise; Tsze-
lu, looking bold and soldierly; Zan Yu and Tsze-kung, with a free and
straightforward manner. The Master was pleased.
    He said, "Yu, there!-he will not die a natural death."
    Some parties in Lu were going to take down and rebuild the Long Treasury.
    Min Tsze-ch'ien said, "Suppose it were to be repaired after its old style;-
why must it be altered and made anew?"
    The Master said, "This man seldom speaks; when he does, he is sure to hit
the point."
    The Master said, "What has the lute of Yu to do in my door?"
    The other disciples began not to respect Tszelu. The Master said, "Yu has
ascended to the hall, though he has not yet passed into the inner apartments."
    Tsze-kung asked which of the two, Shih or Shang, was the superior. The
Master said, "Shih goes beyond the due mean, and Shang does not come up to it."
    "Then," said Tsze-kung, "the superiority is with Shih, I suppose."
    The Master said, "To go beyond is as wrong as to fall short."
    The head of the Chi family was richer than the duke of Chau had been, and
yet Ch'iu collected his imposts for him, and increased his wealth.
    The Master said, "He is no disciple of mine. My little children, beat the
drum and assail him."
    Ch'ai is simple. Shan is dull. Shih is specious. Yu is coarse.
    The Master said, "There is Hui! He has nearly attained to perfect virtue. He
is often in want.
    "Ts'ze does not acquiesce in the appointments of Heaven, and his goods are
increased by him. Yet his judgments are often correct."
    Tsze-chang asked what were the characteristics of the good man. The Master
said, "He does not tread in the footsteps of others, but moreover, he does not
enter the chamber of the sage."
    The Master said, "If, because a man's discourse appears solid and sincere,
we allow him to be a good man, is he really a superior man? or is his gravity
only in appearance?"
    Tsze-lu asked whether he should immediately carry into practice what he
heard. The Master said, "There are your father and elder brothers to be
consulted;-why should you act on that principle of immediately carrying into
practice what you hear?" Zan Yu asked the same, whether he should immediately
carry into practice what he heard, and the Master answered, "Immediately carry
into practice what you hear." Kung-hsi Hwa said, "Yu asked whether he should
carry immediately into practice what he heard, and you said, 'There are your
father and elder brothers to be consulted.' Ch'iu asked whether he should
immediately carry into practice what he heard, and you said, 'Carry it
immediately into practice.' I, Ch'ih, am perplexed, and venture to ask you for
an explanation." The Master said, "Ch'iu is retiring and slow; therefore I urged
him forward. Yu has more than his own share of energy; therefore I kept him
back."
    The Master was put in fear in K'wang and Yen Yuan fell behind. The Master,
on his rejoining him, said, "I thought you had died." Hui replied, "While you
were alive, how should I presume to die?"
    Chi Tsze-zan asked whether Chung Yu and Zan Ch'iu could be called great
ministers.
    The Master said, "I thought you would ask about some extraordinary
individuals, and you only ask about Yu and Ch'iu!
    "What is called a great minister, is one who serves his prince according to
what is right, and when he finds he cannot do so, retires.
    "Now, as to Yu and Ch'iu, they may be called ordinary ministers."
    Tsze-zan said, "Then they will always follow their chief;-win they?"
    The Master said, "In an act of parricide or regicide, they would not follow
him."
    Tsze-lu got Tsze-kao appointed governor of Pi.
    The Master said, "You are injuring a man's son."
    Tsze-lu said, "There are, there, common people and officers; there are the
altars of the spirits of the land and grain. Why must one read books before he
can be considered to have learned?"
    The Master said, "It is on this account that I hate your glib-tongued
people."
    Tsze-lu, Tsang Hsi, Zan Yu, and Kunghsi Hwa were sitting by the Master.
    He said to them, "Though I am a day or so older than you, do not think of
that.
    "From day to day you are saying, 'We are not known.' If some ruler were to
know you, what would you like to do?"
    Tsze-lu hastily and lightly replied, "Suppose the case of a state of ten
thousand chariots; let it be straitened between other large cities; let it be
suffering from invading armies; and to this let there be added a famine in corn
and in all vegetables:-if I were intrusted with the government of it, in three
years' time I could make the people to be bold, and to recognize the rules of
righteous conduct." The Master smiled at him.
    Turning to Yen Yu, he said, "Ch'iu, what are your wishes?" Ch'iu replied,
"Suppose a state of sixty or seventy li square, or one of fifty or sixty, and
let me have the government of it;-in three years' time, I could make plenty to
abound among the people. As to teaching them the principles of propriety, and
music, I must wait for the rise of a superior man to do that."
    "What are your wishes, Ch'ih," said the Master next to Kung-hsi Hwa. Ch'ih
replied, "I do not say that my ability extends to these things, but I should
wish to learn them. At the services of the ancestral temple, and at the
audiences of the princes with the sovereign, I should like, dressed in the dark
square-made robe and the black linen cap, to act as a small assistant."
    Last of all, the Master asked Tsang Hsi, "Tien, what are your wishes?" Tien,
pausing as he was playing on his lute, while it was yet twanging, laid the
instrument aside, and "My wishes," he said, "are different from the cherished
purposes of these three gentlemen." "What harm is there in that?" said the
Master; "do you also, as well as they, speak out your wishes." Tien then said,
"In this, the last month of spring, with the dress of the season all complete,
along with five or six young men who have assumed the cap, and six or seven boys,
I would wash in the I, enjoy the breeze among the rain altars, and return home
singing." The Master heaved a sigh and said, "I give my approval to Tien."
    The three others having gone out, Tsang Hsi remained behind, and said, "What
do you think of the words of these three friends?" The Master replied, "They
simply told each one his wishes."
    Hsi pursued, "Master, why did you smile at Yu?"
    He was answered, "The management of a state demands the rules of propriety.
His words were not humble; therefore I smiled at him."
    Hsi again said, "But was it not a state which Ch'iu proposed for himself?"
The reply was, "Yes; did you ever see a territory of sixty or seventy li or one
of fifty or sixty, which was not a state?"
    Once more, Hsi inquired, "And was it not a state which Ch'ih proposed for
himself?" The Master again replied, "Yes; who but princes have to do with
ancestral temples, and with audiences but the sovereign? If Ch'ih were to be a
small assistant in these services, who could be a great one?


     12
     Yen Yuan asked about perfect virtue. The Master said, "To subdue one's self
and return to propriety, is perfect virtue. If a man can for one day subdue
himself and return to propriety, an under heaven will ascribe perfect virtue to
him. Is the practice of perfect virtue from a man himself, or is it from
others?"
    Yen Yuan said, "I beg to ask the steps of that process." The Master replied,
"Look not at what is contrary to propriety; listen not to what is contrary to
propriety; speak not what is contrary to propriety; make no movement which is
contrary to propriety." Yen Yuan then said, "Though I am deficient in
intelligence and vigor, I will make it my business to practice this lesson."
    Chung-kung asked about perfect virtue. The Master said, "It is, when you go
abroad, to behave to every one as if you were receiving a great guest; to employ
the people as if you were assisting at a great sacrifice; not to do to others as
you would not wish done to yourself; to have no murmuring against you in the
country, and none in the family." Chung-kung said, "Though I am deficient in
intelligence and vigor, I will make it my business to practice this lesson."
    Sze-ma Niu asked about perfect virtue.
    The Master said, "The man of perfect virtue is cautious and slow in his
speech."
    "Cautious and slow in his speech!" said Niu;-"is this what is meant by
perfect virtue?" The Master said, "When a man feels the difficulty of doing, can
he be other than cautious and slow in speaking?"
    Sze-ma Niu asked about the superior man. The Master said, "The superior man
has neither anxiety nor fear."
    "Being without anxiety or fear!" said Nui;"does this constitute what we call
the superior man?"
    The Master said, "When internal examination discovers nothing wrong, what is
there to be anxious about, what is there to fear?"
    Sze-ma Niu, full of anxiety, said, "Other men all have their brothers, I
only have not."
    Tsze-hsia said to him, "There is the following saying which I have heard-
'Death and life have their determined appointment; riches and honors depend upon
Heaven.'
    "Let the superior man never fail reverentially to order his own conduct, and
let him be respectful to others and observant of propriety:-then all within the
four seas will be his brothers. What has the superior man to do with being
distressed because he has no brothers?"
    Tsze-chang asked what constituted intelligence. The Master said, "He with
whom neither slander that gradually soaks into the mind, nor statements that
startle like a wound in the flesh, are successful may be called intelligent
indeed. Yea, he with whom neither soaking slander, nor startling statements, are
successful, may be called farseeing."
    Tsze-kung asked about government. The Master said, "The requisites of
government are that there be sufficiency of food, sufficiency of military
equipment, and the confidence of the people in their ruler."
    Tsze-kung said, "If it cannot be helped, and one of these must be dispensed
with, which of the three should be foregone first?" "The military equipment,"
said the Master.
    Tsze-kung again asked, "If it cannot be helped, and one of the remaining two
must be dispensed with, which of them should be foregone?" The Master answered,
"Part with the food. From of old, death has been the lot of an men; but if the
people have no faith in their rulers, there is no standing for the state."
    Chi Tsze-ch'ang said, "In a superior man it is only the substantial
qualities which are wanted;-why should we seek for ornamental accomplishments?"
    Tsze-kung said, "Alas! Your words, sir, show you to be a superior man, but
four horses cannot overtake the tongue. Ornament is as substance; substance is
as ornament. The hide of a tiger or a leopard stripped of its hair, is like the
hide of a dog or a goat stripped of its hair."
    The Duke Ai inquired of Yu Zo, saying, "The year is one of scarcity, and the
returns for expenditure are not sufficient;-what is to be done?"
    Yu Zo replied to him, "Why not simply tithe the people?"
    "With two tenths, said the duke, "I find it not enough;-how could I do with
that system of one tenth?"
    Yu Zo answered, "If the people have plenty, their prince will not be left to
want alone. If the people are in want, their prince cannot enjoy plenty alone."
    Tsze-chang having asked how virtue was to be exalted, and delusions to be
discovered, the Master said, "Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first
principles, and be moving continually to what is right,-this is the way to exalt
one's virtue.
    "You love a man and wish him to live; you hate him and wish him to die.
Having wished him to live, you also wish him to die. This is a case of delusion.
'It may not be on account of her being rich, yet you come to make a
difference.'"
    The Duke Ching, of Ch'i, asked Confucius about government. Confucius replied,
"There is government, when the prince is prince, and the minister is minister;
when the father is father, and the son is son."
    "Good!" said the duke; "if, indeed, the prince be not prince, the not
minister, the father not father, and the son not son, although I have my revenue,
can I enjoy it?"
    The Master said, "Ah! it is Yu, who could with half a word settle
litigations!"
    Tsze-lu never slept over a promise.
    The Master said, "In hearing litigations, I am like any other body. What is
necessary, however, is to cause the people to have no litigations."
    Tsze-chang asked about government. The Master said, "The art of governing is
to keep its affairs before the mind without weariness, and to practice them with
undeviating consistency."
    The Master said, "By extensively studying all learning, and keeping himself
under the restraint of the rules of propriety, one may thus likewise not err
from what is right."
    The Master said, "The superior man seeks to perfect the admirable qualities
of men, and does not seek to perfect their bad qualities. The mean man does the
opposite of this."
    Chi K'ang asked Confucius about government. Confucius replied, "To govern
means to rectify. If you lead on the people with correctness, who will dare not
to be correct?"
    Chi K'ang, distressed about the number of thieves in the state, inquired of
Confucius how to do away with them. Confucius said, "If you, sir, were not
covetous, although you should reward them to do it, they would not steal."
    Chi K'ang asked Confucius about government, saying, "What do you say to
killing the unprincipled for the good of the principled?" Confucius replied,
"Sir, in carrying on your government, why should you use killing at all? Let
your evinced desires be for what is good, and the people will be good. The
relation between superiors and inferiors is like that between the wind and the
grass. The grass must bend, when the wind blows across it."
    Tsze-chang asked, "What must the officer be, who may be said to be
distinguished?"
    The Master said, "What is it you call being distinguished?"
    Tsze-chang replied, "It is to be heard of through the state, to be heard of
throughout his clan."
    The Master said, "That is notoriety, not distinction.
    "Now the man of distinction is solid and straightforward, and loves
righteousness. He examines people's words, and looks at their countenances. He
is anxious to humble himself to others. Such a man will be distinguished in the
country; he will be distinguished in his clan.
    "As to the man of notoriety, he assumes the appearance of virtue, but his
actions are opposed to it, and he rests in this character without any doubts
about himself. Such a man will be heard of in the country; he will be heard of
in the clan."
    Fan Ch'ih rambling with the Master under the trees about the rain altars,
said, "I venture to ask how to exalt virtue, to correct cherished evil, and to
discover delusions."
    The Master said, "Truly a good question!
    "If doing what is to be done be made the first business, and success a
secondary consideration:-is not this the way to exalt virtue? To assail one's
own wickedness and not assail that of others;-is not this the way to correct
cherished evil? For a morning's anger to disregard one's own life, and involve
that of his parents;-is not this a case of delusion?"
    Fan Ch'ih asked about benevolence. The Master said, "It is to love all men."
He asked about knowledge. The Master said, "It is to know all men."
    Fan Ch'ih did not immediately understand these answers.
    The Master said, "Employ the upright and put aside all the crooked; in this
way the crooked can be made to be upright."
    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?"
    Tsze-hsia said, "Truly rich is his saying!
    "Shun, being in possession of the kingdom, selected from among all the
people, and employed Kai-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 an who were devoid of virtue disappeared."
    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."
    The philosopher Tsang said, "The superior man on grounds of culture meets
with his friends, and by friendship helps his virtue."


     13
     Tsze-lu asked about government. The Master said, "Go before the people with
your example, and be laborious in their affairs."
    He requested further instruction, and was answered, "Be not weary in these
things."
    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."
    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?"
    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?"
    The Master replied, "What is necessary is to rectify names."
    "So! indeed!" said Tsze-lu. "You are wide of the mark! Why must there be
such rectification?"
    The Master said, "How uncultivated you are, Yu! A superior man, in regard to
what he does not know, shows a cautious reserve.
    "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.
    "When affairs cannot be carried on to success, proprieties and music do 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.
    "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."
    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."
    Fan Ch'ih having gone out, the Master said, "A small man, indeed, is Fan Hsu!
If a superior man 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?"
    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?"
    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."
    The Master said, "The governments of Lu and Wei are brothers."
    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!"
    When the Master went to Weil Zan Yu acted as driver of his carriage.
    The Master observed, "How numerous are the people!"
    Yu said, "Since they are thus numerous, what more shall be done for them?"
"Enrich them, was the reply.
    "And when they have been enriched, what more shall be done?" The Master said,
"Teach them."
    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."
    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!"
    The Master said, "If a truly royal ruler were to arise, it would stir
require a generation, and then virtue would prevail."
    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?"
    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."
    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.
    "There is a saying, however, which people have -'To be a prince is difficult;
to be a minister is not easy.'
    "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?"
    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!'
    "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?"
    The Duke of Sheh asked about government.
    The Master said, "Good government obtains when those who are near are made
happy, and those who are far off are attracted."
    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."
    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."
    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."
    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."
    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."
    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 neighbors pronounce to be fraternal."
    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."
    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."
    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."
    The Master said, "The people of the south have a saying -'A man without
constancy cannot be either a wizard or a doctor.' Good!
    "Inconstant in his virtue, he will be visited with disgrace."
    The Master said, "This arises simply from not attending to the
prognostication."
    The Master said, "The superior man is affable, but not adulatory; the mean
man is adulatory, but not affable."
    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."
    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."
    The Master said, "The superior man has a dignified ease without pride. The
mean man has pride without a dignified ease."
    The Master said, "The firm, the enduring, the simple, and the modest are
near to virtue."
    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."
    The Master said, "Let a good man teach the people seven years, and they may
then likewise be employed in war."
    The Master said, "To lead an uninstructed people to war, is to throw them
away."


     14
     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."
    "When the love of superiority, boasting, resentments, and covetousness are
repressed, this may be deemed perfect virtue."
    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."
    The Master said, "The scholar who cherishes the love of comfort is not fit
to be deemed a scholar."
    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."
    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."
    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!"
    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."
    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?"
    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."
    Some one asked about Tsze-ch'an. The Master said, "He was a kind man."
    He asked about Tsze-hsi. The Master said, "That man! That man!"
    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."
    The Master said, "To be poor without murmuring is difficult. To be rich
without being proud is easy."
    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."
    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."
    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."
    The Master asked Kung-ming Chia about Kung-shu Wan, saying, "Is it true that
your master speaks not, laughs not, and takes not?"
    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?"
    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."
    The Master said, "The duke Wan of Tsin was crafty and not upright. The duke
Hwan of Ch'i was upright and not crafty."
    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?"
    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?"
    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."
    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.
    "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?"
    The great officer, Hsien, who had been family minister to Kung-shu Wan,
ascended to the prince's court in company with Wan.
    The Master, having heard of it, said, "He deserved to be considered WAN (the
accomplished)."
    The Master was speaking about the unprincipled course of the duke Ling of
Weil when Ch'i K'ang said, "Since he is of such a character, how is it he does
not lose his state?"
    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?"
    The Master said, "He who speaks without modesty will find it difficult to
make his words good."
    Chan Ch'ang murdered the Duke Chien of Ch'i.
    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."
    The duke said, "Inform the chiefs of the three families of it."
    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."
    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."
    Tsze-lu asked how a ruler should be served. The Master said, "Do not impose
on him, and, moreover, withstand him to his face."
    The Master said, "The progress of the superior man is upwards; the progress
of the mean man is downwards."
    The Master said, "In ancient times, men learned with a view to their own
improvement. Nowadays, men learn with a view to the approbation of others."
    Chu Po-yu sent a messenger with friendly inquiries to Confucius.
    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!"
    The Master said, "He who is not in any particular office has nothing to do
with plans for the administration of its duties."
    The philosopher Tsang said, "The superior man, in his thoughts, does not go
out of his place."
    The Master said, "The superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in
his actions."
    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.
    Tsze-kung said, "Master, that is what you yourself say."
    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."
    The Master said, "I will not be concerned at men's not knowing me; I will be
concerned at my own want of ability."
    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?"
    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?
    Confucius said, "I do not dare to play the part of such a talker, but I hate
obstinacy."
    The Master said, "A horse is called a ch'i, not because of its strength, but
because of its other good qualities."
    Some one said, "What do you say concerning the principle that injury should
be recompensed with kindness?"
    The Master said, "With what then will you recompense kindness?"
    "Recompense, injury with justice, and recompense kindness with kindness."
    The Master said, "Alas! there is no one that knows me."
    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!"
    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."
    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?"
    The Master said, "Some men of worth retire from the world. Some retire from
particular states. Some retire because of disrespectful looks. Some retire
because of contradictory language."
    The Master said, "Those who have done this are seven men."
    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."
    The Master was playing, one day, on a musical stone in Weil when a man
carrying a straw basket passed door of the house where Confucius was, and said,
"His heart is full who so beats the musical stone."
    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.'"
    The Master said, "How determined is he in his purpose! But this is not
difficult!"
    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?"
    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."
    The Master said, "When rulers love to observe the rules of propriety, the
people respond readily to the calls on them for service."
    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."
    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.
    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."
    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."


     15
     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.
    When he was in Chan, their provisions were exhausted, and his followers
became so in that they were unable to rise.
    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."
    The Master said, "Ts'ze, you think, I suppose, that I am one who learns many
things and keeps them in memory?"
    Tsze-kung replied, "Yes,-but perhaps it is not so?"
    "No," was the answer; "I seek a unity all pervading."
    The Master said, "Yu I those who know virtue are few."
    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."
    Tsze-chang asked how a man should conduct himself, so as to be everywhere
appreciated.
    The Master said, "Let his words be sincere and truthful and his actions
honorable and careful;-such conduct may be practiced among the rude tribes of
the South or the North. If his words be not sincere and truthful and his actions
not honorable and carefull will he, with such conduct, be appreciated, even in
his neighborhood?
    "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."
    Tsze-chang wrote these counsels on the end of his sash.
    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. 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."
    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."
    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."
    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."
    Yen Yuan asked how the government of a country should be administered.
    The Master said, "Follow the seasons of Hsia.
    "Ride in the state carriage of Yin.
    "Wear the ceremonial cap of Chau.
    "Let the music be the Shao with its pantomimes. Banish the songs of Chang,
and keep far from specious talkers. The songs of Chang are licentious; specious
talkers are dangerous."
    The Master said, "If a man take no thought about what is distant, he will
find sorrow near at hand."
    The Master said, "It is all over! I have not seen one who loves virtue as he
loves beauty."
    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."
    The Master said, "He who requires much from himself and little from others,
will keep himself from being the object of resentment."
    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!"
    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."
    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."
    The Master said, "The superior man is distressed by his want of ability. He
is not distressed by men's not knowing him."
    The Master said, "The superior man dislikes the thought of his name not
being mentioned after his death."
    The Master said, "What the superior man seeks, is in himself. What the mean
man seeks, is in others."
    The Master said, "The superior man is dignified, but does not wrangle. He is
sociable, but not a partisan."
    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."
    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."
    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.
    "This people supplied the ground why the three dynasties pursued the path of
straightforwardness."
    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."
    The Master said, "Specious words confound virtue. Want of forbearance in
small matters confounds great plans."
    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."
    The Master said, "A man can enlarge the principles which he follows; those
principles do not enlarge the man."
    The Master said, "To have faults and not to reform them,-this, indeed,
should be pronounced having faults."
    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. better plan is
to learn."
    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."
    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.
    "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.
    "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."
    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."
    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."
    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."
    The Master said, "The superior man is correctly firm, and not firm merely."
    The Master said, "A minister, in serving his prince, reverently discharges
his duties, and makes his emolument a secondary consideration."
    The Master said, "In teaching there should be no distinction of classes."
    The Master said, "Those whose courses are different cannot lay plans for one
another."
    The Master said, "In language it is simply required that it convey the
meaning."
    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 said, "Here is the mat." When all were seated, the Master
informed him, saying, "So and so is here; so and so is here."
    The music master, Mien, having gone out, Tsze-chang asked, saying. "Is it
the rule to tell those things to the music master?"
    The Master said, "Yes. This is certainly the rule for those who lead the
blind."


     16
     The head of the Chi family was going to attack Chwan-yu.
    Zan Yu and Chi-lu had an interview with Confucius, and said, "Our chief,
Chil is going to commence operations against Chwan-yu."
    Confucius said, "Ch'iu, is it not you who are in fault here?
    "Now, in regard to Chwan-yu, long ago, a former king appointed its ruler to
preside over the sacrifices to the eastern Mang; moreover, it is in the midst of
the territory of our state; and its ruler is a minister in direct connection
with the sovereign: What has your chief to do with attacking it?"
    Zan Yu said, "Our master wishes the thing; neither of us two ministers
wishes it."
    Confucius said, "Ch'iu, there are the words of Chau Zan, -'When he can put
forth his ability, he takes his place in the ranks of office; when he finds
himself unable to do so, he retires from it. How can he be used as a guide to a
blind man, who does not support him when tottering, nor raise him up when
fallen?'
    "And further, you speak wrongly. When a tiger or rhinoceros escapes from his
cage; when a tortoise or piece of jade is injured in its repository:-whose is
the fault?"
    Zan Yu said, "But at present, Chwan-yu is strong and near to Pi; if our
chief do not now take it, it will hereafter be a sorrow to his descendants."
    Confucius said. "Ch'iu, the superior man hates those declining to say-'I
want such and such a thing,' and framing explanations for their conduct.
    "I have heard that rulers of states and chiefs of families are not troubled
lest their people should be few, but are troubled lest they should not keep
their several places; that they are not troubled with fears of poverty, but are
troubled with fears of a want of contented repose among the people in their
several places. For when the people keep their several places, there will be no
poverty; when harmony prevails, there will be no scarcity of people; and when
there is such a contented repose, there will be no rebellious upsettings.
    "So it is.-Therefore, if remoter people are not submissive, all the
influences of civil culture and virtue are to be cultivated to attract them to
be so; and when they have been so attracted, they must be made contented and
tranquil.
    "Now, here are you, Yu and Ch'iu, assisting your chief. Remoter people are
not submissive, and, with your help, he cannot attract them to him. In his own
territory there are divisions and downfalls, leavings and separations, and, with
your help, he cannot preserve it.
    "And yet he is planning these hostile movements within the state.-I am
afraid that the sorrow of the Chi-sun family will not be on account of Chwan-yu,
but will be found within the screen of their own court."
    Confucius said, "When good government prevails in the empire, ceremonies,
music, and punitive military expeditions proceed from the son of Heaven. When
bad government prevails in the empire, ceremonies, music, and punitive military
expeditions proceed from the princes. When these things proceed from the princes,
as a rule, the cases will be few in which they do not lose their power in ten
generations. When they proceed from the great officers of the princes, as a rule,
the case will be few in which they do not lose their power in five generations.
When the subsidiary ministers of the great officers hold in their grasp the
orders of the state, as a rule the cases will be few in which they do not lose
their power in three generations.
    "When right principles prevail in the kingdom, government will not be in the
hands of the great officers.
    "When right principles prevail in the kingdom, there will be no discussions
among the common people."
    Confucius said, "The revenue of the state has left the ducal house now for
five generations. The government has been in the hands of the great officers for
four generations. On this account, the descendants of the three Hwan are much
reduced."
    Confucius said, "There are three friendships which are advantageous, and
three which are injurious. Friendship with the uplight; friendship with the
sincere; and friendship with the man of much observation:-these are advantageous.
Friendship with the man of specious airs; friendship with the insinuatingly soft;
and friendship with the glib-tongued:-these are injurious."
    Confucius said, "There are three things men find enjoyment in which are
advantageous, and three things they find enjoyment in which are injurious. To
find enjoyment in the discriminating study of ceremonies and music; to find
enjoyment in speaking of the goodness of others; to find enjoyment in having
many worthy friends:-these are advantageous. To find enjoyment in extravagant
pleasures; to find enjoyment in idleness and sauntering; to find enjoyment in
the pleasures of feasting:-these are injurious."
    Confucius said, "There are three errors to which they who stand in the
presence of a man of virtue and station are liable. They may speak when it does
not come to them to speak;-this is called rashness. They may not speak when it
comes to them to speak;-this is called concealment. They may speak without
looking at the countenance of their superior;-this is called blindness."
    Confucius said, "There are three things which the superior man guards
against. In youth, when the physical powers are not yet settled, he guards
against lust. When he is strong and the physical powers are full of vigor, he
guards against quarrelsomeness. When he is old, and the animal powers are
decayed, he guards against covetousness."
    Confucius said, "There are three things of which the superior man stands in
awe. He stands in awe of the ordinances of Heaven. He stands in awe of great men.
He stands in awe of the words of sages.
    "The mean man does not know the ordinances of Heaven, and consequently does
not stand in awe of them. He is disrespectful to great men. He makes sport of
the words of sages."
    Confucius said, "Those who are born with the possession of knowledge are the
highest class of men. Those who learn, and so readily get possession of
knowledge, are the next. Those who are dull and stupid, and yet compass the
learning, are another class next to these. As to those who are dull and stupid
and yet do not learn;-they are the lowest of the people."
    Confucius said, "The superior man has nine things which are subjects with
him of thoughtful consideration. In regard to the use of his eyes, he is anxious
to see clearly. In regard to the use of his ears, he is anxious to hear
distinctly. In regard to his countenance, he is anxious that it should be benign.
In regard to his demeanor, he is anxious that it should be respectful. In regard
to his speech, he is anxious that it should be sincere. In regard to his doing