{"collection":"cfu","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/browse/cfu/conf1.htm","path":"cfu/conf1.htm","source_url":"https://sacred-texts.com/cfu/conf1.htm","text":"500 BC\nCONFUCIAN ANALECTS\nConfucius\ntranslated by James Legge [1893]\n1\nThe Master \"Is it not pleasant to learn with a constant perseverance\nand application?\n\"Is it not delightful to have friends coming from distant quarters?\n\"Is he not a man of complete virtue, who feels no discomposure\nthough men may take no note of him?\"\nThe philosopher Yu said, \"They are few who, being filial and\nfraternal, are fond of offending against their superiors. There have\nbeen none, who, not liking to offend against their superiors, have\nbeen fond of stirring up confusion.\n\"The superior man bends his attention to what is radical. That being\nestablished, all practical courses naturally grow up. Filial piety and\nfraternal submission,-are they not the root of all benevolent\nactions?\"\nThe Master said, \"Fine words and an insinuating appearance are\nseldom associated with true virtue.\"\nThe philosopher Tsang said, \"I daily examine myself on three\npoints:-whether, in transacting business for others, I may have been\nnot faithful;-whether, in intercourse with friends, I may have been\nnot sincere;-whether I may have not mastered and practiced the\ninstructions of my teacher.\"\nThe Master said, \"To rule a country of a thousand chariots, there\nmust be reverent attention to business, and sincerity; economy in\nexpenditure, and love for men; and the employment of the people at the\nproper seasons.\"\nThe Master said, \"A youth, when at home, should be filial, and,\nabroad, respectful to his elders. He should be earnest and truthful.\nHe should overflow in love to all, and cultivate the friendship of the\ngood. When he has time and opportunity, after the performance of these\nthings, he should employ them in polite studies.\"\nTsze-hsia said, \"If a man withdraws his mind from the love of\nbeauty, and applies it as sincerely to the love of the virtuous; if,\nin serving his parents, he can exert his utmost strength; if, in\nserving his prince, he can devote his life; if, in his intercourse\nwith his friends, his words are sincere:-although men say that he\nhas not learned, I will certainly say that he has.\nThe Master said, \"If the scholar be not grave, he will not call\nforth any veneration, and his learning will not be solid.\n\"Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first principles.\n\"Have no friends not equal to yourself.\n\"When you have faults, do not fear to abandon them.\"\nThe philosopher Tsang said, \"Let there be a careful attention to\nperform the funeral rites to parents, and let them be followed when\nlong gone with the ceremonies of sacrifice;-then the virtue of the\npeople will resume its proper excellence.\"\nTsze-ch'in asked Tsze-kung saying, \"When our master comes to any\ncountry, he does not fail to learn all about its government. Does he\nask his information? or is it given to him?\"\nTsze-kung said, \"Our master is benign, upright, courteous,\ntemperate, and complaisant and thus he gets his information. The\nmaster's mode of asking information,-is it not different from that\nof other men?\"\nThe Master said, \"While a man's father is alive, look at the bent of\nhis will; when his father is dead, look at his conduct. If for three\nyears he does not alter from the way of his father, he may be called\nfilial.\"\nThe philosopher Yu said, \"In practicing the rules of propriety, a\nnatural ease is to be prized. In the ways prescribed by the ancient\nkings, this is the excellent quality, and in things small and great we\nfollow them.\n\"Yet it is not to be observed in all cases. If one, knowing how such\nease should be prized, manifests it, without regulating it by the\nrules of propriety, this likewise is not to be done.\"\nThe philosopher Yu said, \"When agreements are made according to what\nis right, what is spoken can be made good. When respect is shown\naccording to what is proper, one keeps far from shame and disgrace.\nWhen the parties upon whom a man leans are proper persons to be\nintimate with, he can make them his guides and masters.\"\nThe Master said, \"He who aims to be a man of complete virtue in\nhis food does not seek to gratify his appetite, nor in his dwelling\nplace does he seek the appliances of ease; he is earnest in what he is\ndoing, and careful in his speech; he frequents the company of men of\nprinciple that he may be rectified:-such a person may be said indeed\nto love to learn.\"\nTsze-kung said, \"What do you pronounce concerning the poor man who\nyet does not flatter, and the rich man who is not proud?\" The Master\nreplied, \"They will do; but they are not equal to him, who, though\npoor, is yet cheerful, and to him, who, though rich, loves the rules\nof propriety.\"\nTsze-kung replied, \"It is said in the Book of Poetry, 'As you cut\nand then file, as you carve and then polish.'-The meaning is the same,\nI apprehend, as that which you have just expressed.\"\nThe Master said, \"With one like Ts'ze, I can begin to talk about the\nodes. I told him one point, and he knew its proper sequence.\"\nThe Master said, \"I will not be afflicted at men's not knowing me; I\nwill be afflicted that I do not know men.\"\n2\nThe Master said, \"He who exercises government by means of his virtue\nmay be compared to the north polar star, which keeps its place and all\nthe stars turn towards it.\"\nThe Master said, \"In the Book of Poetry are three hundred pieces,\nbut the design of them all may be embraced in one sentence 'Having\nno depraved thoughts.'\"\nThe Master said, \"If the people be led by laws, and uniformity\nsought to be given them by punishments, they will try to avoid the\npunishment, but have no sense of shame.\n\"If they be led by virtue, and uniformity sought to be given them by\nthe rules of propriety, they will have the sense of shame, and\nmoreover will become good.\"\nThe Master said, \"At fifteen, I had my mind bent on learning.\n\"At thirty, I stood firm.\n\"At forty, I had no doubts.\n\"At fifty, I knew the decrees of Heaven.\n\"At sixty, my ear was an obedient organ for the reception of truth.\n\"At seventy, I could follow what my heart desired, without\ntransgressing what was right.\"\nMang I asked what filial piety was. The Master said, \"It is not\nbeing disobedient.\"\nSoon after, as Fan Ch'ih was driving him, the Master told him,\nsaying, \"Mang-sun asked me what filial piety was, and I answered\nhim,-'not being disobedient.'\"\nFan Ch'ih said, \"What did you mean?\" The Master replied, \"That\nparents, when alive, be served according to propriety; that, when\ndead, they should be buried according to propriety; and that they\nshould be sacrificed to according to propriety.\"\nMang Wu asked what filial piety was. The Master said, \"Parents are\nanxious lest their children should be sick.\"\nTsze-yu asked what filial piety was. The Master said, \"The filial\npiety nowadays means the support of one's parents. But dogs and horses\nlikewise are able to do something in the way of support;-without\nreverence, what is there to distinguish the one support given from the\nother?\"\nTsze-hsia asked what filial piety was. The Master said, \"The\ndifficulty is with the countenance. If, when their elders have any\ntroublesome affairs, the young take the toil of them, and if, when the\nyoung have wine and food, they set them before their elders, is THIS\nto be considered filial piety?\"\nThe Master said, \"I have talked with Hui for a whole day, and he has\nnot made any objection to anything I said;-as if he were stupid. He\nhas retired, and I have examined his conduct when away from me, and\nfound him able to illustrate my teachings. Hui!-He is not stupid.\"\nThe Master said, \"See what a man does.\n\"Mark his motives.\n\"Examine in what things he rests.\n\"How can a man conceal his character? How can a man conceal his\ncharacter?\"\nThe Master said, \"If a man keeps cherishing his old knowledge, so as\ncontinually to be acquiring new, he may be a teacher of others.\"\nThe Master said, \"The accomplished scholar is not a utensil.\"\nTsze-kung asked what constituted the superior man. The Master\nsaid, \"He acts before he speaks, and afterwards speaks according to\nhis actions.\"\nThe Master said, \"The superior man is catholic and not partisan. The\nmean man is partisan and not catholic.\"\nThe Master said, \"Learning without thought is labor lost; thought\nwithout learning is perilous.\"\nThe Master said, \"The study of strange doctrines is injurious\nindeed!\"\nThe Master said, \"Yu, shall I teach you what knowledge is? When\nyou know a thing, to hold that you know it; and when you do not know a\nthing, to allow that you do not know it;-this is knowledge.\"\nTsze-chang was learning with a view to official emolument.\nThe Master said, \"Hear much and put aside the points of which you\nstand in doubt, while you speak cautiously at the same time of the\nothers:-then you will afford few occasions for blame. See much and put\naside the things which seem perilous, while you are cautious at the\nsame time in carrying the others into practice: then you will have few\noccasions for repentance. When one gives few occasions for blame in\nhis words, and few occasions for repentance in his conduct, he is in\nthe way to get emolument.\"\nThe Duke Ai asked, saying, \"What should be done in order to secure\nthe submission of the people?\" Confucius replied, \"Advance the upright\nand set aside the crooked, then the people will submit. Advance the\ncrooked and set aside the upright, then the people will not submit.\"\nChi K'ang asked how to cause the people to reverence their ruler, to\nbe faithful to him, and to go on to nerve themselves to virtue. The\nMaster said, \"Let him preside over them with gravity;-then they will\nreverence him. Let him be final and kind to all;-then they will be\nfaithful to him. Let him advance the good and teach the\nincompetent;-then they will eagerly seek to be virtuous.\"\nSome one addressed Confucius, saying, \"Sir, why are you not\nengaged in the government?\"\nThe Master said, \"What does the Shu-ching say of filial\npiety?-'You are final, you discharge your brotherly duties. These\nqualities are displayed in government.' This then also constitutes the\nexercise of government. Why must there be THAT-making one be in the\ngovernment?\"\nThe Master said, \"I do not know how a man without truthfulness is to\nget on. How can a large carriage be made to go without the crossbar\nfor yoking the oxen to, or a small carriage without the arrangement\nfor yoking the horses?\"\nTsze-chang asked whether the affairs of ten ages after could be\nknown.\nConfucius said, \"The Yin dynasty followed the regulations of the\nHsia: wherein it took from or added to them may be known. The Chau\ndynasty has followed the regulations of Yin: wherein it took from or\nadded to them may be known. Some other may follow the Chau, but though\nit should be at the distance of a hundred ages, its affairs may be\nknown.\"\nThe Master said, \"For a man to sacrifice to a spirit which does\nnot belong to him is flattery.\n\"To see what is right and not to do it is want of courage.\"\n3\nConfucius said of the head of the Chi family, who had eight rows\nof pantomimes in his area, \"If he can bear to do this, what may he not\nbear to do?\"\nThe three families used the Yungode, while the vessels were being\nremoved, at the conclusion of the sacrifice. The Master said,\n\"'Assisting are the princes;-the son of heaven looks profound and\ngrave';-what application can these words have in the hall of the three\nfamilies?\"\nThe Master said, \"If a man be without the virtues proper to\nhumanity, what has he to do with the rites of propriety? If a man be\nwithout the virtues proper to humanity, what has he to do with music?\"\nLin Fang asked what was the first thing to be attended to in\nceremonies.\nThe Master said, \"A great question indeed!\n\"In festive ceremonies, it is better to be sparing than extravagant.\nIn the ceremonies of mourning, it is better that there be deep\nsorrow than in minute attention to observances.\"\nThe Master said, \"The rude tribes of the east and north have their\nprinces, and are not like the States of our great land which are\nwithout them.\"\nThe chief of the Chi family was about to sacrifice to the T'ai\nmountain. The Master said to Zan Yu, \"Can you not save him from this?\"\nHe answered, \"I cannot.\" Confucius said, \"Alas! will you say that\nthe T'ai mountain is not so discerning as Lin Fang?\"\nThe Master said, \"The student of virtue has no contentions. If it be\nsaid he cannot avoid them, shall this be in archery? But he bows\ncomplaisantly to his competitors; thus he ascends the hall,\ndescends, and exacts the forfeit of drinking. In his contention, he is\nstill the Chun-tsze.\"\nTsze-hsia asked, saying, \"What is the meaning of the passage-'The\npretty dimples of her artful smile! The well-defined black and white\nof her eye! The plain ground for the colors?'\"\nThe Master said, \"The business of laying on the colors follows the\npreparation of the plain ground.\"\n\"Ceremonies then are a subsequent thing?\" The Master said, \"It is\nShang who can bring out my meaning. Now I can begin to talk about\nthe odes with him.\"\nThe Master said, \"I could describe the ceremonies of the Hsia\ndynasty, but Chi cannot sufficiently attest my words. I could describe\nthe ceremonies of the Yin dynasty, but Sung cannot sufficiently attest\nmy words. They cannot do so because of the insufficiency of their\nrecords and wise men. If those were sufficient, I could adduce them in\nsupport of my words.\"\nThe Master said, \"At the great sacrifice, after the pouring out of\nthe libation, I have no wish to look on.\"\nSome one asked the meaning of the great sacrifice. The Master\nsaid, \"I do not know. He who knew its meaning would find it as easy to\ngovern the kingdom as to look on this\"-pointing to his palm.\nHe sacrificed to the dead, as if they were present. He sacrificed to\nthe spirits, as if the spirits were present.\nThe Master said, \"I consider my not being present at the\nsacrifice, as if I did not sacrifice.\"\nWang-sun Chia asked, saying, \"What is the meaning of the saying, 'It\nis better to pay court to the furnace then to the southwest corner?'\"\nThe Master said, \"Not so. He who offends against Heaven has none\nto whom he can pray.\"\nThe Master said, \"Chau had the advantage of viewing the two past\ndynasties. How complete and elegant are its regulations! I follow\nChau.\"\nThe Master, when he entered the grand temple, asked about\neverything. Some one said, \"Who say that the son of the man of Tsau\nknows the rules of propriety! He has entered the grand temple and asks\nabout everything.\" The Master heard the remark, and said, \"This is a\nrule of propriety.\"\nThe Master said, \"In archery it is not going through the leather\nwhich is the principal thing;-because people's strength is not\nequal. This was the old way.\"\nTsze-kung wished to do away with the offering of a sheep connected\nwith the inauguration of the first day of each month.\nThe Master said, \"Ts'ze, you love the sheep; I love the ceremony.\"\nThe Master said, \"The full observance of the rules of propriety in\nserving one's prince is accounted by people to be flattery.\"\nThe Duke Ting asked how a prince should employ his ministers, and\nhow ministers should serve their prince. Confucius replied, \"A\nprince should employ his minister according to according to the\nrules of propriety; ministers should serve their prince with\nfaithfulness.\"\nThe Master said, \"The Kwan Tsu is expressive of enjoyment without\nbeing licentious, and of grief without being hurtfully excessive.\"\nThe Duke Ai asked Tsai Wo about the altars of the spirits of the\nland. Tsai Wo replied, \"The Hsia sovereign planted the pine tree about\nthem; the men of the Yin planted the cypress; and the men of the\nChau planted the chestnut tree, meaning thereby to cause the people to\nbe in awe.\"\nWhen the Master heard it, he said, \"Things that are done, it is\nneedless to speak about; things that have had their course, it is\nneedless to remonstrate about; things that are past, it is needless to\nblame.\"\nThe Master said, \"Small indeed was the capacity of Kwan Chung!\"\nSome one said, \"Was Kwan Chung parsimonious?\" \"Kwan,\" was the reply,\n\"had the San Kwei, and his officers performed no double duties; how\ncan he be considered parsimonious?\"\n\"Then, did Kwan Chung know the rules of propriety?\" The Master said,\n\"The princes of States have a screen intercepting the view at their\ngates. Kwan had likewise a screen at his gate. The princes of States\non any friendly meeting between two of them, had a stand on which to\nplace their inverted cups. Kwan had also such a stand. If Kwan knew\nthe rules of propriety, who does not know them?\"\nThe Master instructing the grand music master of Lu said, \"How to\nplay music may be known. At the commencement of the piece, all the\nparts should sound together. As it proceeds, they should be in harmony\nwhile severally distinct and flowing without break, and thus on to the\nconclusion.\"\nThe border warden at Yi requested to be introduced to the Master,\nsaying, \"When men of superior virtue have come to this, I have never\nbeen denied the privilege of seeing them.\" The followers of the sage\nintroduced him, and when he came out from the interview, he said,\n\"My friends, why are you distressed by your master's loss of office?\nThe kingdom has long been without the principles of truth and right;\nHeaven is going to use your master as a bell with its wooden tongue.\"\nThe Master said of the Shao that it was perfectly beautiful and also\nperfectly good. He said of the Wu that it was perfectly beautiful\nbut not perfectly good.\nThe Master said, \"High station filled without indulgent\ngenerosity; ceremonies performed without reverence; mourning conducted\nwithout sorrow;-wherewith should I contemplate such ways?\"\n4\nThe Master said, \"It is virtuous manners which constitute the\nexcellence of a neighborhood. If a man in selecting a residence do not\nfix on one where such prevail, how can he be wise?\"\nThe Master said, \"Those who are without virtue cannot abide long\neither in a condition of poverty and hardship, or in a condition of\nenjoyment. The virtuous rest in virtue; the wise desire virtue.\"\nThe Master said, \"It is only the truly virtuous man, who can love,\nor who can hate, others.\"\nThe Master said, \"If the will be set on virtue, there will be no\npractice of wickedness.\"\nThe Master said, \"Riches and honors are what men desire. If they\ncannot be obtained in the proper way, they should not be held. Poverty\nand meanness are what men dislike. If they cannot be avoided in the\nproper way, they should not be avoided.\n\"If a superior man abandon virtue, how can he fulfill the\nrequirements of that name?\n\"The superior man does not, even for the space of a single meal, act\ncontrary to virtue. In moments of haste, he cleaves to it. In\nseasons of danger, he cleaves to it.\"\nThe Master said, \"I have not seen a person who loved virtue, or\none who hated what was not virtuous. He who loved virtue, would esteem\nnothing above it. He who hated what is not virtuous, would practice\nvirtue in such a way that he would not allow anything that is not\nvirtuous to approach his person.\n\"Is any one able for one day to apply his strength to virtue? I have\nnot seen the case in which his strength would be insufficient.\n\"Should there possibly be any such case, I have not seen it.\"\nThe Master said, \"The faults of men are characteristic of the\nclass to which they belong. By observing a man's faults, it may be\nknown that he is virtuous.\"\nThe Master said, \"If a man in the morning hear the right way, he may\ndie in the evening hear regret.\"\nThe Master said, \"A scholar, whose mind is set on truth, and who\nis ashamed of bad clothes and bad food, is not fit to be discoursed\nwith.\"\nThe Master said, \"The superior man, in the world, does not set his\nmind either for anything, or against anything; what is right he will\nfollow.\"\nThe Master said, \"The superior man thinks of virtue; the small man\nthinks of comfort. The superior man thinks of the sanctions of law;\nthe small man thinks of favors which he may receive.\"\nThe Master said: \"He who acts with a constant view to his own\nadvantage will be much murmured against.\"\nThe Master said, \"If a prince is able to govern his kingdom with the\ncomplaisance proper to the rules of propriety, what difficulty will he\nhave? If he cannot govern it with that complaisance, what has he to do\nwith the rules of propriety?\"\nThe Master said, \"A man should say, I am not concerned that I have\nno place, I am concerned how I may fit myself for one. I am not\nconcerned that I am not known, I seek to be worthy to be known.\"\nThe Master said, \"Shan, my doctrine is that of an all-pervading\nunity.\" The disciple Tsang replied, \"Yes.\"\nThe Master went out, and the other disciples asked, saying, \"What do\nhis words mean?\" Tsang said, \"The doctrine of our master is to be true\nto the principles-of our nature and the benevolent exercise of them to\nothers,-this and nothing more.\"\nThe Master said, \"The mind of the superior man is conversant with\nrighteousness; the mind of the mean man is conversant with gain.\"\nThe Master said, \"When we see men of worth, we should think of\nequaling them; when we see men of a contrary character, we should turn\ninwards and examine ourselves.\"\nThe Master said, \"In serving his parents, a son may remonstrate with\nthem, but gently; when he sees that they do not incline to follow\nhis advice, he shows an increased degree of reverence, but does not\nabandon his purpose; and should they punish him, he does not allow\nhimself to murmur.\"\nThe Master said, \"While his parents are alive, the son may not go\nabroad to a distance. If he does go abroad, he must have a fixed place\nto which he goes.\"\nThe Master said, \"If the son for three years does not alter from the\nway of his father, he may be called filial.\"\nThe Master said, \"The years of parents may by no means not be kept\nin the memory, as an occasion at once for joy and for fear.\"\nThe Master said, \"The reason why the ancients did not readily give\nutterance to their words, was that they feared lest their actions\nshould not come up to them.\"\nThe Master said, \"The cautious seldom err.\"\nThe Master said, \"The superior man wishes to be slow in his speech\nand earnest in his conduct.\"\nThe Master said, \"Virtue is not left to stand alone. He who\npractices it will have neighbors.\"\nTsze-yu said, \"In serving a prince, frequent remonstrances lead to\ndisgrace. Between friends, frequent reproofs make the friendship\ndistant.\"\n5\nThe Master said of Kung-ye Ch'ang that he might be wived; although\nhe was put in bonds, he had not been guilty of any crime. Accordingly,\nhe gave him his own daughter to wife.\nOf Nan Yung he said that if the country were well governed he\nwould not be out of office, and if it were in governed, he would\nescape punishment and disgrace. He gave him the daughter of his own\nelder brother to wife.\nThe Master said of Tsze-chien, \"Of superior virtue indeed is such\na man! If there were not virtuous men in Lu, how could this man have\nacquired this character?\"\nTsze-kung asked, \"What do you say of me, Ts'ze!\" The Master said,\n\"You are a utensil.\" \"What utensil?\" \"A gemmed sacrificial utensil.\"\nSome one said, \"Yung is truly virtuous, but he is not ready with his\ntongue.\"\nThe Master said, \"What is the good of being ready with the tongue?\nThey who encounter men with smartness of speech for the most part\nprocure themselves hatred. I know not whether he be truly virtuous,\nbut why should he show readiness of the tongue?\"\nThe Master was wishing Ch'i-tiao K'ai to enter an official\nemployment. He replied, \"I am not yet able to rest in the assurance of\nthis.\" The Master was pleased.\nThe Master said, \"My doctrines make no way. I will get upon a\nraft, and float about on the sea. He that will accompany me will be\nYu, I dare say.\" Tsze-lu hearing this was glad, upon which the\nMaster said, \"Yu is fonder of daring than I am. He does not exercise\nhis judgment upon matters.\"\nMang Wu asked about Tsze-lu, whether he was perfectly virtuous.\nThe Master said, \"I do not know.\"\nHe asked again, when the Master replied, \"In a kingdom of a thousand\nchariots, Yu might be employed to manage the military levies, but I do\nnot know whether he be perfectly virtuous.\"\n\"And what do you say of Ch'iu?\" The Master replied, \"In a city of\na thousand families, or a clan of a hundred chariots, Ch'iu might be\nemployed as governor, but I do not know whether he is perfectly\nvirtuous.\"\n\"What do you say of Ch'ih?\" The Master replied, \"With his sash\ngirt and standing in a court, Ch'ih might be employed to converse with\nthe visitors and guests, but I do not know whether he is perfectly\nvirtuous.\"\nThe Master said to Tsze-kung, \"Which do you consider superior,\nyourself or Hui?\"\nTsze-kung replied, \"How dare I compare myself with Hui? Hui hears\none point and knows all about a subject; I hear one point, and know\na second.\"\nThe Master said, \"You are not equal to him. I grant you, you are not\nequal to him.\"\nTsai Yu being asleep during the daytime, the Master said, \"Rotten\nwood cannot be carved; a wall of dirty earth will not receive the\ntrowel. This Yu,-what is the use of my reproving him?\"\nThe Master said, \"At first, my way with men was to hear their words,\nand give them credit for their conduct. Now my way is to hear their\nwords, and look at their conduct. It is from Yu that I have learned to\nmake this change.\"\nThe Master said, \"I have not seen a firm and unbending man.\" Some\none replied, \"There is Shan Ch'ang.\" \"Ch'ang,\" said the Master, \"is\nunder the influence of his passions; how can he be pronounced firm and\nunbending?\"\nTsze-kung said, \"What I do not wish men to do to me, I also wish not\nto do to men.\" The Master said, \"Ts'ze, you have not attained to\nthat.\"\nTsze-kung said, \"The Master's personal displays of his principles\nand ordinary descriptions of them may be heard. His discourses about\nman's nature, and the way of Heaven, cannot be heard.\"\nWhen Tsze-lu heard anything, if he had not yet succeeded in carrying\nit into practice, he was only afraid lest he should hear something\nelse.\nTsze-kung asked, saying, \"On what ground did Kung-wan get that title\nof Wan?\"\nThe Master said, \"He was of an active nature and yet fond of\nlearning, and he was not ashamed to ask and learn of his inferiors!-On\nthese grounds he has been styled Wan.\"\nThe Master said of Tsze-ch'an that he had four of the\ncharacteristics of a superior man-in his conduct of himself, he was\nhumble; in serving his superior, he was respectful; in nourishing\nthe people, he was kind; in ordering the people, he was just.\"\nThe Master said, \"Yen P'ing knew well how to maintain friendly\nintercourse. The acquaintance might be long, but he showed the same\nrespect as at first.\"\nThe Master said, \"Tsang Wan kept a large tortoise in a house, on the\ncapitals of the pillars of which he had hills made, and with\nrepresentations of duckweed on the small pillars above the beams\nsupporting the rafters.-Of what sort was his wisdom?\"\nTsze-chang asked, saying, \"The minister Tsze-wan thrice took office,\nand manifested no joy in his countenance. Thrice he retired from\noffice, and manifested no displeasure. He made it a point to inform\nthe new minister of the way in which he had conducted the\ngovernment; what do you say of him?\" The Master replied. \"He was\nloyal.\" \"Was he perfectly virtuous?\" \"I do not know. How can he be\npronounced perfectly virtuous?\"\nTsze-chang proceeded, \"When the officer Ch'ui killed the prince of\nCh'i, Ch'an Wan, though he was the owner of forty horses, abandoned\nthem and left the country. Coming to another state, he said, 'They are\nhere like our great officer, Ch'ui,' and left it. He came to a\nsecond state, and with the same observation left it also;-what do\nyou say of him?\" The Master replied, \"He was pure.\" \"Was he\nperfectly virtuous?\" \"I do not know. How can he be pronounced\nperfectly virtuous?\"\nChi Wan thought thrice, and then acted. When the Master was informed\nof it, he said, \"Twice may do.\"\nThe Master said, \"When good order prevailed in his country, Ning\nWu acted the part of a wise man. When his country was in disorder,\nhe acted the part of a stupid man. Others may equal his wisdom, but\nthey cannot equal his stupidity.\"\nWhen the Master was in Ch'an, he said, \"Let me return! Let me\nreturn! The little children of my school are ambitious and too\nhasty. They are accomplished and complete so far, but they do not know\nhow to restrict and shape themselves.\"\nThe Master said, \"Po-i and Shu-ch'i did not keep the former\nwickednesses of men in mind, and hence the resentments directed\ntowards them were few.\"\nThe Master said, \"Who says of Weishang Kao that he is upright? One\nbegged some vinegar of him, and he begged it of a neighbor and gave it\nto the man.\"\nThe Master said, \"Fine words, an insinuating appearance, and\nexcessive respect;-Tso Ch'iu-ming was ashamed of them. I also am\nashamed of them. To conceal resentment against a person, and appear\nfriendly with him;-Tso Ch'iu-ming was ashamed of such conduct. I\nalso am ashamed of it.\"\nYen Yuan and Chi Lu being by his side, the Master said to them,\n\"Come, let each of you tell his wishes.\"\nTsze-lu said, \"I should like, having chariots and horses, and\nlight fur clothes, to share them with my friends, and though they\nshould spoil them, I would not be displeased.\"\nYen Yuan said, \"I should like not to boast of my excellence, nor\nto make a display of my meritorious deeds.\"\nTsze-lu then said, \"I should like, sir, to hear your wishes.\" The\nMaster said, \"They are, in regard to the aged, to give them rest; in\nregard to friends, to show them sincerity; in regard to the young,\nto treat them tenderly.\"\nThe Master said, \"It is all over. I have not yet seen one who\ncould perceive his faults, and inwardly accuse himself.\"\nThe Master said, \"In a hamlet of ten families, there may be found\none honorable and sincere as I am, but not so fond of learning.\"\n6\nThe Master said, \"There is Yung!-He might occupy the place of a\nprince.\"\nChung-kung asked about Tsze-sang Po-tsze. The Master said, \"He may\npass. He does not mind small matters.\"\nChung-kung said, \"If a man cherish in himself a reverential\nfeeling of the necessity of attention to business, though he may be\neasy in small matters in his government of the people, that may be\nallowed. But if he cherish in himself that easy feeling, and also\ncarry it out in his practice, is not such an easymode of procedure\nexcessive?\"\nThe Master said, \"Yung's words are right.\"\nThe Duke Ai asked which of the disciples loved to learn.\nConfucius replied to him, \"There was Yen Hui; he loved to learn.\nHe did not transfer his anger; he did not repeat a fault.\nUnfortunately, his appointed time was short and he died; and now there\nis not such another. I have not yet heard of any one who loves to\nlearn as he did.\"\nTsze-hwa being employed on a mission to Ch'i, the disciple Zan\nrequested grain for his mother. The Master said, \"Give her a fu.\"\nYen requested more. \"Give her a yi,\" said the Master. Yen gave her\nfive ping.\nThe Master said, \"When Ch'ih was proceeding to Ch'i, he had fat\nhorses to his carriage, and wore light furs. I have heard that a\nsuperior man helps the distressed, but does not add to the wealth of\nthe rich.\"\nYuan Sze being made governor of his town by the Master, he gave\nhim nine hundred measures of grain, but Sze declined them.\nThe Master said, \"Do not decline them. May you not give them away in\nthe neighborhoods, hamlets, towns, and villages?\"\nThe Master, speaking of Chung-kung, said, \"If the calf of a brindled\ncow be red and homed, although men may not wish to use it, would the\nspirits of the mountains and rivers put it aside?\"\nThe Master said, \"Such was Hui that for three months there would\nbe nothing in his mind contrary to perfect virtue. The others may\nattain to this on some days or in some months, but nothing more.\"\nChi K'ang asked about Chung-yu, whether he was fit to be employed as\nan officer of government. The Master said, \"Yu is a man of decision;\nwhat difficulty would he find in being an officer of government?\"\nK'ang asked, \"Is Ts'ze fit to be employed as an officer of\ngovernment?\" and was answered, \"Ts'ze is a man of intelligence; what\ndifficulty would he find in being an officer of government?\" And to\nthe same question about Ch'iu the Master gave the same reply,\nsaying, \"Ch'iu is a man of various ability.\"\nThe chief of the Chi family sent to ask Min Tsze-ch'ien to be\ngovernor of Pi. Min Tszech'ien said, \"Decline the offer for me\npolitely. If any one come again to me with a second invitation, I\nshall be obliged to go and live on the banks of the Wan.\"\nPo-niu being ill, the Master went to ask for him. He took hold of\nhis hand through the window, and said, \"It is killing him. It is the\nappointment of Heaven, alas! That such a man should have such a\nsickness! That such a man should have such a sickness!\"\nThe Master said, \"Admirable indeed was the virtue of Hui! With a\nsingle bamboo dish of rice, a single gourd dish of drink, and living\nin his mean narrow lane, while others could not have endured the\ndistress, he did not allow his joy to be affected by it. Admirable\nindeed was the virtue of Hui!\"\nYen Ch'iu said, \"It is not that I do not delight in your\ndoctrines, but my strength is insufficient.\" The Master said, \"Those\nwhose strength is insufficient give over in the middle of the way\nbut now you limit yourself.\"\nThe Master said to Tsze-hsia, \"Do you be a scholar after the style\nof the superior man, and not after that of the mean man.\"\nTsze-yu being governor of Wu-ch'ang, the Master said to him, \"Have\nyou got good men there?\" He answered, \"There is Tan-t'ai Miehming, who\nnever in walking takes a short cut, and never comes to my office,\nexcepting on public business.\"\nThe Master said, \"Mang Chih-fan does not boast of his merit. Being\nin the rear on an occasion of flight, when they were about to enter\nthe gate, he whipped up his horse, saying, \"It is not that I dare to\nbe last. My horse would not advance.\"\nThe Master said, \"Without the specious speech of the litanist T'o\nand the beauty of the prince Chao of Sung, it is difficult to escape\nin the present age.\"\nThe Master said, \"Who can go out but by the door? How is it that men\nwill not walk according to these ways?\"\nThe Master said, \"Where the solid qualities are in excess of\naccomplishments, we have rusticity; where the accomplishments are in\nexcess of the solid qualities, we have the manners of a clerk. When\nthe accomplishments and solid qualities are equally blended, we then\nhave the man of virtue.\"\nThe Master said, \"Man is born for uprightness. If a man lose his\nuprightness, and yet live, his escape from death is the effect of mere\ngood fortune.\"\nThe Master said, \"They who know the truth are not equal to those who\nlove it, and they who love it are not equal to those who delight in\nit.\"\nThe Master said, \"To those whose talents are above mediocrity, the\nhighest subjects may be announced. To those who are below\nmediocrity, the highest subjects may not be announced.\"\nFan Ch'ih asked what constituted wisdom. The Master said, \"To give\none's self earnestly to the duties due to men, and, while respecting\nspiritual beings, to keep aloof from them, may be called wisdom.\" He\nasked about perfect virtue. The Master said, \"The man of virtue\nmakes the difficulty to be overcome his first business, and success\nonly a subsequent consideration;-this may be called perfect virtue.\"\nThe Master said, \"The wise find pleasure in water; the virtuous find\npleasure in hills. The wise are active; the virtuous are tranquil. The\nwise are joyful; the virtuous are long-lived.\"\nThe Master said, \"Ch'i, by one change, would come to the State of\nLu. Lu, by one change, would come to a State where true principles\npredominated.\"\nThe Master said, \"A cornered vessel without corners-a strange\ncornered vessel! A strange cornered vessel!\"\nTsai Wo asked, saying, \"A benevolent man, though it be told\nhim,-'There is a man in the well\" will go in after him, I suppose.\"\nConfucius said, \"Why should he do so?\" A superior man may be made to\ngo to the well, but he cannot be made to go down into it. He may be\nimposed upon, but he cannot be fooled.\"\nThe Master said, \"The superior man, extensively studying all\nlearning, and keeping himself under the restraint of the rules of\npropriety, may thus likewise not overstep what is right.\"\nThe Master having visited Nan-tsze, Tsze-lu was displeased, on which\nthe Master swore, saying, \"Wherein I have done improperly, may\nHeaven reject me, may Heaven reject me!\"\nThe Master said, \"Perfect is the virtue which is according to the\nConstant Mean! Rare for a long time has been its practice among the\npeople.\"\nTsze-kung said, \"Suppose the case of a man extensively conferring\nbenefits on the people, and able to assist all, what would you say\nof him? Might he be called perfectly virtuous?\" The Master said,\n\"Why speak only of virtue in connection with him? Must he not have the\nqualities of a sage? Even Yao and Shun were still solicitous about\nthis.\n\"Now the man of perfect virtue, wishing to be established himself,\nseeks also to establish others; wishing to be enlarged himself, he\nseeks also to enlarge others.\n\"To be able to judge of others by what is nigh in ourselves;-this\nmay be called the art of virtue.\"\n7\nThe Master said, \"A transmitter and not a maker, believing in and\nloving the ancients, I venture to compare myself with our old P'ang.\"\nThe Master said, \"The silent treasuring up of knowledge; learning\nwithout satiety; and instructing others without being wearied:-which\none of these things belongs to me?\"\nThe Master said, \"The leaving virtue without proper cultivation; the\nnot thoroughly discussing what is learned; not being able to move\ntowards righteousness of which a knowledge is gained; and not being\nable to change what is not good:-these are the things which occasion\nme solicitude.\"\nWhen the Master was unoccupied with business, his manner was easy,\nand he looked pleased.\nThe Master said, \"Extreme is my decay. For a long time, I have not\ndreamed, as I was wont to do, that I saw the duke of Chau.\"\nThe Master said, \"Let the will be set on the path of duty.\n\"Let every attainment in what is good be firmly grasped.\n\"Let perfect virtue be accorded with.\n\"Let relaxation and enjoyment be found in the polite arts.\"\nThe Master said, \"From the man bringing his bundle of dried flesh\nfor my teaching upwards, I have never refused instruction to any one.\"\nThe Master said, \"I do not open up the truth to one who is not eager\nto get knowledge, nor help out any one who is not anxious to explain\nhimself. When I have presented one corner of a subject to any one, and\nhe cannot from it learn the other three, I do not repeat my lesson.\"\nWhen the Master was eating by the side of a mourner, he never ate to\nthe full.\nHe did not sing on the same day in which he had been weeping.\nThe Master said to Yen Yuan, \"When called to office, to undertake\nits duties; when not so called, to he retired;-it is only I and you\nwho have attained to this.\"\nTsze-lu said, \"If you had the conduct of the armies of a great\nstate, whom would you have to act with you?\"\nThe Master said, \"I would not have him to act with me, who will\nunarmed attack a tiger, or cross a river without a boat, dying without\nany regret. My associate must be the man who proceeds to action full\nof solicitude, who is fond of adjusting his plans, and then carries\nthem into execution.\"\nThe Master said, \"If the search for riches is sure to be successful,\nthough I should become a groom with whip in hand to get them, I will\ndo so. As the search may not be successful, I will follow after that\nwhich I love.\"\nThe things in reference to which the Master exercised the greatest\ncaution were-fasting, war, and sickness.\nWhen the Master was in Ch'i, he heard the Shao, and for three months\ndid not know the taste of flesh. \"I did not think'\" he said, \"that\nmusic could have been made so excellent as this.\"\nYen Yu said, \"Is our Master for the ruler of Wei?\" Tsze-kung said,\n\"Oh! I will ask him.\"\nHe went in accordingly, and said, \"What sort of men were Po-i and\nShu-ch'i?\" \"They were ancient worthies,\" said the Master. \"Did they\nhave any repinings because of their course?\" The Master again replied,\n\"They sought to act virtuously, and they did so; what was there for\nthem to repine about?\" On this, Tsze-kung went out and said, \"Our\nMaster is not for him.\"\nThe Master said, \"With coarse rice to eat, with water to drink,\nand my bended arm for a pillow;-I have still joy in the midst of these\nthings. Riches and honors acquired by unrighteousness, are to me as\na floating cloud.\"\nThe Master said, \"If some years were added to my life, I would\ngive fifty to the study of the Yi, and then I might come to be without\ngreat faults.\"\nThe Master's frequent themes of discourse were-the Odes, the\nHistory, and the maintenance of the Rules of Propriety. On all these\nhe frequently discoursed.\nThe Duke of Sheh asked Tsze-lu about Confucius, and Tsze-lu did\nnot answer him.\nThe Master said, \"Why did you not say to him,-He is simply a man,\nwho in his eager pursuit of knowledge forgets his food, who in the joy\nof its attainment forgets his sorrows, and who does not perceive\nthat old age is coming on?\"\nThe Master said, \"I am not one who was born in the possession of\nknowledge; I am one who is fond of antiquity, and earnest in seeking\nit there.\"\nThe subjects on which the Master did not talk, were-extraordinary\nthings, feats of strength, disorder, and spiritual beings.\nThe Master said, \"When I walk along with two others, they may\nserve me as my teachers. I will select their good qualities and follow\nthem, their bad qualities and avoid them.\"\nThe Master said, \"Heaven produced the virtue that is in me. Hwan\nT'ui-what can he do to me?\"\nThe Master said, \"Do you think, my disciples, that I have any\nconcealments? I conceal nothing from you. There is nothing which I\ndo that is not shown to you, my disciples; that is my way.\"\nThere were four things which the Master taught,-letters, ethics,\ndevotion of soul, and truthfulness.\nThe Master said, \"A sage it is not mine to see; could I see a man of\nreal talent and virtue, that would satisfy me.\"\nThe Master said, \"A good man it is not mine to see; could I see a\nman possessed of constancy, that would satisfy me.\n\"Having not and yet affecting to have, empty and yet affecting to be\nfull, straitened and yet affecting to be at ease:-it is difficult with\nsuch characteristics to have constancy.\"\nThe Master angled,-but did not use a net. He shot,-but not at\nbirds perching.\nThe Master said, \"There may be those who act without knowing why.\nI do not do so. Hearing much and selecting what is good and\nfollowing it; seeing much and keeping it in memory: this is the second\nstyle of knowledge.\"\nIt was difficult to talk profitably and reputably with the people of\nHu-hsiang, and a lad of that place having had an interview with the\nMaster, the disciples doubted.\nThe Master said, \"I admit people's approach to me without committing\nmyself as to what they may do when they have retired. Why must one\nbe so severe? If a man purify himself to wait upon me, I receive him\nso purified, without guaranteeing his past conduct.\"\nThe Master said, \"Is virtue a thing remote? I wish to be virtuous,\nand lo! virtue is at hand.\"\nThe minister of crime of Ch'an asked whether the duke Chao knew\npropriety, and Confucius said, \"He knew propriety.\"\nConfucius having retired, the minister bowed to Wu-ma Ch'i to come\nforward, and said, \"I have heard that the superior man is not a\npartisan. May the superior man be a partisan also? The prince\nmarried a daughter of the house of WU, of the same surname with\nhimself, and called her,-'The elder Tsze of Wu.' If the prince knew\npropriety, who does not know it?\"\nWu-ma Ch'i reported these remarks, and the Master said, \"I am\nfortunate! If I have any errors, people are sure to know them.\"\nWhen the Master was in company with a person who was singing, if\nhe sang well, he would make him repeat the song, while he\naccompanied it with his own voice.\nThe Master said, \"In letters I am perhaps equal to other men, but\nthe character of the superior man, carrying out in his conduct what he\nprofesses, is what I have not yet attained to.\"\nThe Master said, \"The sage and the man of perfect virtue;-how dare I\nrank myself with them? It may simply be said of me, that I strive to\nbecome such without satiety, and teach others without weariness.\"\nKung-hsi Hwa said, \"This is just what we, the disciples, cannot\nimitate you in.\"\nThe Master being very sick, Tsze-lu asked leave to pray for him.\nHe said, \"May such a thing be done?\" Tsze-lu replied, \"It may. In\nthe Eulogies it is said, 'Prayer has been made for thee to the spirits\nof the upper and lower worlds.'\" The Master said, \"My praying has been\nfor a long time.\"\nThe Master said, \"Extravagance leads to insubordination, and\nparsimony to meanness. It is better to be mean than to be\ninsubordinate.\"\nThe Master said, \"The superior man is satisfied and composed; the\nmean man is always full of distress.\"\nThe Master was mild, and yet dignified; majestic, and yet not\nfierce; respectful, and yet easy.\n8\nThe Master said, \"T'ai-po may be said to have reached the highest\npoint of virtuous action. Thrice he declined the kingdom, and the\npeople in ignorance of his motives could not express their approbation\nof his conduct.\"\nThe Master said, \"Respectfulness, without the rules of propriety,\nbecomes laborious bustle; carefulness, without the rules of propriety,\nbecomes timidity; boldness, without the rules of propriety, becomes\ninsubordination; straightforwardness, without the rules of\npropriety, becomes rudeness.\n\"When those who are in high stations perform well all their duties\nto their relations, the people are aroused to virtue. When old friends\nare not neglected by them, the people are preserved from meanness.\"\nThe philosopher Tsang being ill, he cared to him the disciples of\nhis school, and said, \"Uncover my feet, uncover my hands. It is said\nin the Book of Poetry, 'We should be apprehensive and cautious, as\nif on the brink of a deep gulf, as if treading on thin ice, I and so\nhave I been. Now and hereafter, I know my escape from all injury to my\nperson. O ye, my little children.\"\nThe philosopher Tsang being ill, Meng Chang went to ask how he was.\nTsang said to him, \"When a bird is about to die, its notes are\nmournful; when a man is about to die, his words are good.\n\"There are three principles of conduct which the man of high rank\nshould consider specially important:-that in his deportment and manner\nhe keep from violence and heedlessness; that in regulating his\ncountenance he keep near to sincerity; and that in his words and tones\nhe keep far from lowness and impropriety. As to such matters as\nattending to the sacrificial vessels, there are the proper officers\nfor them.\"\nThe philosopher Tsang said, \"Gifted with ability, and yet putting\nquestions to those who were not so; possessed of much, and yet putting\nquestions to those possessed of little; having, as though he had\nnot; full, and yet counting himself as empty; offended against, and\nyet entering into no altercation; formerly I had a friend who\npursued this style of conduct.\"\nThe philosopher Tsang said, \"Suppose that there is an individual who\ncan be entrusted with the charge of a young orphan prince, and can\nbe commissioned with authority over a state of a hundred li, and\nwhom no emergency however great can drive from his principles:-is such\na man a superior man? He is a superior man indeed.\"\nThe philosopher Tsang said, \"The officer may not be without\nbreadth of mind and vigorous endurance. His burden is heavy and his\ncourse is long.\n\"Perfect virtue is the burden which he considers it is his to\nsustain;-is it not heavy? Only with death does his course stop;-is\nit not long?\nThe Master said, \"It is by the Odes that the mind is aroused.\n\"It is by the Rules of Propriety that the character is established.\n\"It is from Music that the finish is received.\"\nThe Master said, \"The people may be made to follow a path of action,\nbut they may not be made to understand it.\"\nThe Master said, \"The man who is fond of daring and is\ndissatisfied with poverty, will proceed to insubordination. So will\nthe man who is not virtuous, when you carry your dislike of him to\nan extreme.\"\nThe Master said, \"Though a man have abilities as admirable as\nthose of the Duke of Chau, yet if he be proud and niggardly, those\nother things are really not worth being looked at.\"\nThe Master said, \"It is not easy to find a man who has learned for\nthree years without coming to be good.\"\nThe Master said, \"With sincere faith he unites the love of learning;\nholding firm to death, he is perfecting the excellence of his course.\n\"Such an one will not enter a tottering state, nor dwell in a\ndisorganized one. When right principles of government prevail in the\nkingdom, he will show himself; when they are prostrated, he will\nkeep concealed.\n\"When a country is well governed, poverty and a mean condition are\nthings to be ashamed of. When a country is ill governed, riches and\nhonor are things to be ashamed of.\"\nThe Master said, \"He who is not in any particular office has nothing\nto do with plans for the administration of its duties.\"\nThe Master said, \"When the music master Chih first entered on his\noffice, the finish of the Kwan Tsu was magnificent;-how it filled\nthe ears!\"\nThe Master said, \"Ardent and yet not upright, stupid and yet not\nattentive; simple and yet not sincere:-such persons I do not\nunderstand.\"\nThe Master said, \"Learn as if you could not reach your object, and\nwere always fearing also lest you should lose it.\"\nThe Master said, \"How majestic was the manner in which Shun and Yu\nheld possession of the empire, as if it were nothing to them!\nThe Master said, \"Great indeed was Yao as a sovereign! How\nmajestic was he! It is only Heaven that is grand, and only Yao\ncorresponded to it. How vast was his virtue! The people could find\nno name for it.\n\"How majestic was he in the works which he accomplished! How\nglorious in the elegant regulations which he instituted!\"\nShun had five ministers, and the empire was well governed.\nKing Wu said, \"I have ten able ministers.\"\nConfucius said, \"Is not the saying that talents are difficult to\nfind, true? Only when the dynasties of T'ang and Yu met, were they\nmore abundant than in this of Chau, yet there was a woman among\nthem. The able ministers were no more than nine men.\n\"King Wan possessed two of the three parts of the empire, and with\nthose he served the dynasty of Yin. The virtue of the house of Chau\nmay be said to have reached the highest point indeed.\"\nThe Master said, \"I can find no flaw in the character of Yu. He used\nhimself coarse food and drink, but displayed the utmost filial piety\ntowards the spirits. His ordinary garments were poor, but he displayed\nthe utmost elegance in his sacrificial cap and apron. He lived in a\nlow, mean house, but expended all his strength on the ditches and\nwater channels. I can find nothing like a flaw in Yu.\"\n9\nThe subjects of which the Master seldom spoke were-profitableness,\nand also the appointments of Heaven, and perfect virtue.\nA man of the village of Ta-hsiang said, \"Great indeed is the\nphilosopher K'ung! His learning is extensive, and yet he does not\nrender his name famous by any particular thing.\"\nThe Master heard the observation, and said to his disciples, \"What\nshall I practice? Shall I practice charioteering, or shall I\npractice archery? I will practice charioteering.\"\nThe Master said, \"The linen cap is that prescribed by the rules of\nceremony, but now a silk one is worn. It is economical, and I follow\nthe common practice.\n\"The rules of ceremony prescribe the bowing below the hall, but\nnow the practice is to bow only after ascending it. That is\narrogant. I continue to bow below the hall, though I oppose the common\npractice.\"\nThere were four things from which the Master was entirely free. He\nhad no foregone conclusions, no arbitrary predeterminations, no\nobstinacy, and no egoism.\nThe Master was put in fear in K'wang.\nHe said, \"After the death of King Wan, was not the cause of truth\nlodged here in me?\n\"If Heaven had wished to let this cause of truth perish, then I, a\nfuture mortal! should not have got such a relation to that cause.\nWhile Heaven does not let the cause of truth perish, what can the\npeople of K'wang do to me?\"\nA high officer asked Tsze-kung, saying, \"May we not say that your\nMaster is a sage? How various is his ability!\"\nTsze-kung said, \"Certainly Heaven has endowed him unlimitedly. He is\nabout a sage. And, moreover, his ability is various.\"\nThe Master heard of the conversation and said, \"Does the high\nofficer know me? When I was young, my condition was low, and I\nacquired my ability in many things, but they were mean matters. Must\nthe superior man have such variety of ability? He does not need\nvariety of ability. Lao said, \"The Master said, 'Having no official\nemployment, I acquired many arts.'\"\nThe Master said, \"Am I indeed possessed of knowledge? I am not\nknowing. But if a mean person, who appears quite empty-like, ask\nanything of me, I set it forth from one end to the other, and\nexhaust it.\"\nThe Master said, \"The Fang bird does not come; the river sends forth\nno map:-it is all over with me!\"\nWhen the Master saw a person in a mourning dress, or any one with\nthe cap and upper and lower garments of full dress, or a blind person,\non observing them approaching, though they were younger than\nhimself, he would rise up, and if he had to pass by them, he would\ndo so hastily.\nYen Yuan, in admiration of the Master's doctrines, sighed and\nsaid, \"I looked up to them, and they seemed to become more high; I\ntried to penetrate them, and they seemed to become more firm; I looked\nat them before me, and suddenly they seemed to be behind.\n\"The Master, by orderly method, skillfully leads men on. He enlarged\nmy mind with learning, and taught me the restraints of propriety.\n\"When I wish to give over the study of his doctrines, I cannot do\nso, and having exerted all my ability, there seems something to\nstand right up before me; but though I wish to follow and lay hold\nof it, I really find no way to do so.\"\nThe Master being very ill, Tsze-lu wished the disciples to act as\nministers to him.\nDuring a remission of his illness, he said, \"Long has the conduct of\nYu been deceitful! By pretending to have ministers when I have them\nnot, whom should I impose upon? Should I impose upon Heaven?\n\"Moreover, than that I should die in the hands of ministers, is it\nnot better that I should die in the hands of you, my disciples? And\nthough I may not get a great burial, shall I die upon the road?\"\nTsze-kung said, \"There is a beautiful gem here. Should I lay it up\nin a case and keep it? or should I seek for a good price and sell it?\"\nThe Master said, \"Sell it! Sell it! But I would wait for one to\noffer the price.\"\nThe Master was wishing to go and live among the nine wild tribes\nof the east.\nSome one said, \"They are rude. How can you do such a thing?\" The\nMaster said, \"If a superior man dwelt among them, what rudeness\nwould there be?\"\nThe Master said, \"I returned from Wei to Lu, and then the music\nwas reformed, and the pieces in the Royal songs and Praise songs all\nfound their proper places.\"\nThe Master said, \"Abroad, to serve the high ministers and nobles; at\nhome, to serve one's father and elder brothers; in all duties to the\ndead, not to dare not to exert one's self; and not to be overcome of\nwine:-which one of these things do I attain to?\"\nThe Master standing by a stream, said, \"It passes on just like this,\nnot ceasing day or night!\"\nThe Master said, \"I have not seen one who loves virtue as he loves\nbeauty.\"\nThe Master said, \"The prosecution of learning may be compared to\nwhat may happen in raising a mound. If there want but one basket of\nearth to complete the work, and I stop, the stopping is my own work.\nIt may be compared to throwing down the earth on the level ground.\nThough but one basketful is thrown at a time, the advancing with it my\nown going forward.\"\nThe Master said, \"Never flagging when I set forth anything to\nhim;-ah! that is Hui.\" The Master said of Yen Yuan, \"Alas! I saw his\nconstant advance. I never saw him stop in his progress.\"\nThe Master said, \"There are cases in which the blade springs, but\nthe plant does not go on to flower! There are cases where it flowers\nbut fruit is not subsequently produced!\"\nThe Master said, \"A youth is to be regarded with respect. How do\nwe know that his future will not be equal to our present? If he\nreach the age of forty or fifty, and has not made himself heard of,\nthen indeed he will not be worth being regarded with respect.\"\nThe Master said, \"Can men refuse to assent to the words of strict\nadmonition? But it is reforming the conduct because of them which is\nvaluable. Can men refuse to be pleased with words of gentle advice?\nBut it is unfolding their aim which is valuable. If a man be pleased\nwith these words, but does not unfold their aim, and assents to those,\nbut does not reform his conduct, I can really do nothing with him.\"\nThe Master said, \"Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first\nprinciples. Have no friends not equal to yourself. When you have\nfaults, do not fear to abandon them.\"\nThe Master said, \"The commander of the forces of a large state may\nbe carried off, but the will of even a common man cannot be taken from\nhim.\"\nThe Master said, \"Dressed himself in a tattered robe quilted with\nhemp, yet standing by the side of men dressed in furs, and not\nashamed;-ah! it is Yu who is equal to this!\n\"He dislikes none, he covets nothing;-what can he do but what is\ngood!\"\nTsze-lu kept continually repeating these words of the ode, when\nthe Master said, \"Those things are by no means sufficient to\nconstitute perfect excellence.\"\nThe Master said, \"When the year becomes cold, then we know how the\npine and the cypress are the last to lose their leaves.\"\nThe Master said, \"The wise are free from perplexities; the\nvirtuous from anxiety; and the bold from fear.\"\nThe Master said, \"There are some with whom we may study in common,\nbut we shall find them unable to go along with us to principles.\nPerhaps we may go on with them to principles, but we shall find them\nunable to get established in those along with us. Or if we may get\nso established along with them, we shall find them unable to weigh\noccurring events along with us.\"\n\"How the flowers of the aspen-plum flutter and turn! Do I not\nthink of you? But your house is distant.\"\nThe Master said, \"It is the want of thought about it. How is it\ndistant?\"\n10\nConfucius, in his village, looked simple and sincere, and as if he\nwere not able to speak.\nWhen he was in the prince's ancestral temple, or in the court, he\nspoke minutely on every point, but cautiously.\nWhen he was waiting at court, in speaking with the great officers of\nthe lower grade, he spoke freely, but in a straightforward manner;\nin speaking with those of the higher grade, he did so blandly, but\nprecisely.\nWhen the ruler was present, his manner displayed respectful\nuneasiness; it was grave, but self-possessed.\nWhen the prince called him to employ him in the reception of a\nvisitor, his countenance appeared to change, and his legs to move\nforward with difficulty.\nHe inclined himself to the other officers among whom he stood,\nmoving his left or right arm, as their position required, but\nkeeping the skirts of his robe before and behind evenly adjusted.\nHe hastened forward, with his arms like the wings of a bird.\nWhen the guest had retired, he would report to the prince, \"The\nvisitor is not turning round any more.\"\nWhen he entered the palace gate, he seemed to bend his body, as if\nit were not sufficient to admit him.\nWhen he was standing, he did not occupy the middle of the gateway;\nwhen he passed in or out, he did not tread upon the threshold.\nWhen he was passing the vacant place of the prince, his\ncountenance appeared to change, and his legs to bend under him, and\nhis words came as if he hardly had breath to utter them.\nHe ascended the reception hall, holding up his robe with both his\nhands, and his body bent; holding in his breath also, as if he dared\nnot breathe.\nWhen he came out from the audience, as soon as he had descended\none step, he began to relax his countenance, and had a satisfied look.\nWhen he had got the bottom of the steps, he advanced rapidly to his\nplace, with his arms like wings, and on occupying it, his manner still\nshowed respectful uneasiness.\nWhen he was carrying the scepter of his ruler, he seemed to bend his\nbody, as if he were not able to bear its weight. He did not hold it\nhigher than the position of the hands in making a bow, nor lower\nthan their position in giving anything to another. His countenance\nseemed to change, and look apprehensive, and he dragged his feet along\nas if they were held by something to the ground.\nIn presenting the presents with which he was charged, he wore a\nplacid appearance.\nAt his private audience, he looked highly pleased.\nThe superior man did not use a deep purple, or a puce color, in\nthe ornaments of his dress.\nEven in his undress, he did not wear anything of a red or reddish\ncolor.\nIn warm weather, he had a single garment either of coarse or fine\ntexture, but he wore it displayed over an inner garment.\nOver lamb's fur he wore a garment of black; over fawn's fur one of\nwhite; and over fox's fur one of yellow.\nThe fur robe of his undress was long, with the right sleeve short.\nHe required his sleeping dress to be half as long again as his body.\nWhen staying at home, he used thick furs of the fox or the badger.\nWhen he put off mourning, he wore all the appendages of the girdle.\nHis undergarment, except when it was required to be of the curtain\nshape, was made of silk cut narrow above and wide below.\nHe did not wear lamb's fur or a black cap on a visit of condolence.\nOn the first day of the month he put on his court robes, and\npresented himself at court.\nWhen fasting, he thought it necessary to have his clothes brightly\nclean and made of linen cloth.\nWhen fasting, he thought it necessary to change his food, and also\nto change the place where he commonly sat in the apartment.\nHe did not dislike to have his rice finely cleaned, nor to have\nhis mince meat cut quite small.\nHe did not eat rice which had been injured by heat or damp and\nturned sour, nor fish or flesh which was gone. He did not eat what was\ndiscolored, or what was of a bad flavor, nor anything which was\nill-cooked, or was not in season.\nHe did not eat meat which was not cut properly, nor what was\nserved without its proper sauce.\nThough there might be a large quantity of meat, he would not allow\nwhat he took to exceed the due proportion for the rice. It was only in\nwine that he laid down no limit for himself, but he did not allow\nhimself to be confused by it.\nHe did not partake of wine and dried meat bought in the market.\nHe was never without ginger when he ate. He did not eat much.\nWhen he had been assisting at the prince's sacrifice, he did not\nkeep the flesh which he received overnight. The flesh of his family\nsacrifice he did not keep over three days. If kept over three days,\npeople could not eat it.\nWhen eating, he did not converse. When in bed, he did not speak.\nAlthough his food might be coarse rice and vegetable soup, he\nwould offer a little of it in sacrifice with a grave, respectful air.\nIf his mat was not straight, he did not sit on it.\nWhen the villagers were drinking together, upon those who carried\nstaffs going out, he also went out immediately after.\nWhen the villagers were going through their ceremonies to drive away\npestilential influences, he put on his court robes and stood on the\neastern steps.\nWhen he was sending complimentary inquiries to any one in another\nstate, he bowed twice as he escorted the messenger away.\nChi K'ang having sent him a present of physic, he bowed and received\nit, saying, \"I do not know it. I dare not taste it.\"\nThe stable being burned down, when he was at court, on his return he\nsaid, \"Has any man been hurt?\" He did not ask about the horses.\nWhen the he would adjust his mat, first taste it, and then give it\naway to others. When the prince sent him a gift of undressed meat,\nhe would have it cooked, and offer it to the spirits of his ancestors.\nWhen the prince sent him a gift of a living animal, he would keep it\nalive.\nWhen he was in attendance on the prince and joining in the\nentertainment, the prince only sacrificed. He first tasted everything.\nWhen he was ill and the prince came to visit him, he had his head to\nthe east, made his court robes be spread over him, and drew his girdle\nacross them.\nWhen the prince's order called him, without waiting for his carriage\nto be yoked, he went at once.\nWhen he entered the ancestral temple of the state, he asked about\neverything.\nWhen any of his friends died, if he had no relations offices, he\nwould say, \"I will bury him.\"\nWhen a friend sent him a present, though it might be a carriage\nand horses, he did not bow.\nThe only present for which he bowed was that of the flesh of\nsacrifice.\nIn bed, he did not lie like a corpse. At home, he did not put on any\nformal deportment.\nWhen he saw any one in a mourning dress, though it might be an\nacquaintance, he would change countenance; when he saw any one wearing\nthe cap of full dress, or a blind person, though he might be in his\nundress, he would salute him in a ceremonious manner.\nTo any person in mourning he bowed forward to the crossbar of his\ncarriage; he bowed in the same way to any one bearing the tables of\npopulation.\nWhen he was at an entertainment where there was an abundance of\nprovisions set before him, he would change countenance and rise up.\nOn a sudden clap of thunder, or a violent wind, he would change\ncountenance.\nWhen he was about to mount his carriage, he would stand straight,\nholding the cord.\nWhen he was in the carriage, he did not turn his head quite round,\nhe did not talk hastily, he did not point with his hands.\nSeeing the countenance, it instantly rises. It flies round, and by\nand by settles.\nThe Master said, \"There is the hen-pheasant on the hill bridge. At\nits season! At its season!\" Tsze-lu made a motion to it. Thrice it\nsmelt him and then rose.\n11\nThe Master said, \"The men of former times in the matters of\nceremonies and music were rustics, it is said, while the men of\nthese latter times, in ceremonies and music, are accomplished\ngentlemen.\n\"If I have occasion to use those things, I follow the men of\nformer times.\"\nThe Master said, \"Of those who were with me in Ch'an and Ts'ai,\nthere are none to be found to enter my door.\"\nDistinguished for their virtuous principles and practice, there were\nYen Yuan, Min Tsze-ch'ien, Zan Po-niu, and Chung-kung; for their\nability in speech, Tsai Wo and Tsze-kung; for their administrative\ntalents, Zan Yu and Chi Lu; for their literary acquirements, Tsze-yu\nand Tsze-hsia.\nThe Master said, \"Hui gives me no assistance. There is nothing\nthat I say in which he does not delight.\"\nThe Master said, \"Filial indeed is Min Tsze-ch'ien! Other people say\nnothing of him different from the report of his parents and brothers.\"\nNan Yung was frequently repeating the lines about a white scepter\nstone. Confucius gave him the daughter of his elder brother to wife.\nChi K'ang asked which of the disciples loved to learn. Confucius\nreplied to him, \"There was Yen Hui; he loved to learn. Unfortunately\nhis appointed time was short, and he died. Now there is no one who\nloves to learn, as he did.\"\nWhen Yen Yuan died, Yen Lu begged the carriage of the Master to sell\nand get an outer shell for his son's coffin.\nThe Master said, \"Every one calls his son his son, whether he has\ntalents or has not talents. There was Li; when he died, he had a\ncoffin but no outer shell. I would not walk on foot to get a shell for\nhim, because, having followed in the rear of the great officers, it\nwas not proper that I should walk on foot.\"\nWhen Yen Yuan died, the Master said, \"Alas! Heaven is destroying me!\nHeaven is destroying me!\"\nWhen Yen Yuan died, the Master bewailed him exceedingly, and the\ndisciples who were with him said, \"Master, your grief is excessive!\"\n\"Is it excessive?\" said he. \"If I am not to mourn bitterly for\nthis man, for whom should I mourn?\"\nWhen Yen Yuan died, the disciples wished to give him a great\nfuneral, and the Master said, \"You may not do so.\"\nThe disciples did bury him in great style.\nThe Master said, \"Hui behaved towards me as his father. I have not\nbeen able to treat him as my son. The fault is not mine; it belongs to\nyou, O disciples.\"\nChi Lu asked about serving the spirits of the dead. The Master said,\n\"While you are not able to serve men, how can you serve their\nspirits?\" Chi Lu added, \"I venture to ask about death?\" He was\nanswered, \"While you do not know life, how can you know about death?\"\nThe disciple Min was standing by his side, looking bland and\nprecise; Tsze-lu, looking bold and soldierly; Zan Yu and Tsze-kung,\nwith a free and straightforward manner. The Master was pleased.\nHe said, \"Yu, there!-he will not die a natural death.\"\nSome parties in Lu were going to take down and rebuild the Long\nTreasury.\nMin Tsze-ch'ien said, \"Suppose it were to be repaired after its\nold style;-why must it be altered and made anew?\"\nThe Master said, \"This man seldom speaks; when he does, he is sure\nto hit the point.\"\nThe Master said, \"What has the lute of Yu to do in my door?\"\nThe other disciples began not to respect Tszelu. The Master said,\n\"Yu has ascended to the hall, though he has not yet passed into the\ninner apartments.\"\nTsze-kung asked which of the two, Shih or Shang, was the superior.\nThe Master said, \"Shih goes beyond the due mean, and Shang does not\ncome up to it.\"\n\"Then,\" said Tsze-kung, \"the superiority is with Shih, I suppose.\"\nThe Master said, \"To go beyond is as wrong as to fall short.\"\nThe head of the Chi family was richer than the duke of Chau had\nbeen, and yet Ch'iu collected his imposts for him, and increased his\nwealth.\nThe Master said, \"He is no disciple of mine. My little children,\nbeat the drum and assail him.\"\nCh'ai is simple. Shan is dull. Shih is specious. Yu is coarse.\nThe Master said, \"There is Hui! He has nearly attained to perfect\nvirtue. He is often in want.\n\"Ts'ze does not acquiesce in the appointments of Heaven, and his\ngoods are increased by him. Yet his judgments are often correct.\"\nTsze-chang asked what were the characteristics of the good man.\nThe Master said, \"He does not tread in the footsteps of others, but\nmoreover, he does not enter the chamber of the sage.\"\nThe Master said, \"If, because a man's discourse appears solid and\nsincere, we allow him to be a good man, is he really a superior man?\nor is his gravity only in appearance?\"\nTsze-lu asked whether he should immediately carry into practice what\nhe heard. The Master said, \"There are your father and elder brothers\nto be consulted;-why should you act on that principle of immediately\ncarrying into practice what you hear?\" Zan Yu asked the same,\nwhether he should immediately carry into practice what he heard, and\nthe Master answered, \"Immediately carry into practice what you\nhear.\" Kung-hsi Hwa said, \"Yu asked whether he should carry\nimmediately into practice what he heard, and you said, 'There are your\nfather and elder brothers to be consulted.' Ch'iu asked whether he\nshould immediately carry into practice what he heard, and you said,\n'Carry it immediately into practice.' I, Ch'ih, am perplexed, and\nventure to ask you for an explanation.\" The Master said, \"Ch'iu is\nretiring and slow; therefore I urged him forward. Yu has more than his\nown share of energy; therefore I kept him back.\"\nThe Master was put in fear in K'wang and Yen Yuan fell behind. The\nMaster, on his rejoining him, said, \"I thought you had died.\" Hui\nreplied, \"While you were alive, how should I presume to die?\"\nChi Tsze-zan asked whether Chung Yu and Zan Ch'iu could be called\ngreat ministers.\nThe Master said, \"I thought you would ask about some extraordinary\nindividuals, and you only ask about Yu and Ch'iu!\n\"What is called a great minister, is one who serves his prince\naccording to what is right, and when he finds he cannot do so,\nretires.\n\"Now, as to Yu and Ch'iu, they may be called ordinary ministers.\"\nTsze-zan said, \"Then they will always follow their chief;-win they?\"\nThe Master said, \"In an act of parricide or regicide, they would not\nfollow him.\"\nTsze-lu got Tsze-kao appointed governor of Pi.\nThe Master said, \"You are injuring a man's son.\"\nTsze-lu said, \"There are, there, common people and officers; there\nare the altars of the spirits of the land and grain. Why must one read\nbooks before he can be considered to have learned?\"\nThe Master said, \"It is on this account that I hate your\nglib-tongued people.\"\nTsze-lu, Tsang Hsi, Zan Yu, and Kunghsi Hwa were sitting by the\nMaster.\nHe said to them, \"Though I am a day or so older than you, do not\nthink of that.\n\"From day to day you are saying, 'We are not known.' If some ruler\nwere to know you, what would you like to do?\"\nTsze-lu hastily and lightly replied, \"Suppose the case of a state of\nten thousand chariots; let it be straitened between other large\ncities; let it be suffering from invading armies; and to this let\nthere be added a famine in corn and in all vegetables:-if I were\nintrusted with the government of it, in three years' time I could make\nthe people to be bold, and to recognize the rules of righteous\nconduct.\" The Master smiled at him.\nTurning to Yen Yu, he said, \"Ch'iu, what are your wishes?\" Ch'iu\nreplied, \"Suppose a state of sixty or seventy li square, or one of\nfifty or sixty, and let me have the government of it;-in three\nyears' time, I could make plenty to abound among the people. As to\nteaching them the principles of propriety, and music, I must wait\nfor the rise of a superior man to do that.\"\n\"What are your wishes, Ch'ih,\" said the Master next to Kung-hsi Hwa.\nCh'ih replied, \"I do not say that my ability extends to these\nthings, but I should wish to learn them. At the services of the\nancestral temple, and at the audiences of the princes with the\nsovereign, I should like, dressed in the dark square-made robe and the\nblack linen cap, to act as a small assistant.\"\nLast of all, the Master asked Tsang Hsi, \"Tien, what are your\nwishes?\" Tien, pausing as he was playing on his lute, while it was yet\ntwanging, laid the instrument aside, and \"My wishes,\" he said, \"are\ndifferent from the cherished purposes of these three gentlemen.\" \"What\nharm is there in that?\" said the Master; \"do you also, as well as\nthey, speak out your wishes.\" Tien then said, \"In this, the last month\nof spring, with the dress of the season all complete, along with\nfive or six young men who have assumed the cap, and six or seven boys,\nI would wash in the I, enjoy the breeze among the rain altars, and\nreturn home singing.\" The Master heaved a sigh and said, \"I give my\napproval to Tien.\"\nThe three others having gone out, Tsang Hsi remained behind, and\nsaid, \"What do you think of the words of these three friends?\" The\nMaster replied, \"They simply told each one his wishes.\"\nHsi pursued, \"Master, why did you smile at Yu?\"\nHe was answered, \"The management of a state demands the rules of\npropriety. His words were not humble; therefore I smiled at him.\"\nHsi again said, \"But was it not a state which Ch'iu proposed for\nhimself?\" The reply was, \"Yes; did you ever see a territory of sixty\nor seventy li or one of fifty or sixty, which was not a state?\"\nOnce more, Hsi inquired, \"And was it not a state which Ch'ih\nproposed for himself?\" The Master again replied, \"Yes; who but princes\nhave to do with ancestral temples, and with audiences but the\nsovereign? If Ch'ih were to be a small assistant in these services,\nwho could be a great one?\n12\nYen Yuan asked about perfect virtue. The Master said, \"To subdue\none's self and return to propriety, is perfect virtue. If a man can\nfor one day subdue himself and return to propriety, an under heaven\nwill ascribe perfect virtue to him. Is the practice of perfect\nvirtue from a man himself, or is it from others?\"\nYen Yuan said, \"I beg to ask the steps of that process.\" The\nMaster replied, \"Look not at what is contrary to propriety; listen not\nto what is contrary to propriety; speak not what is contrary to\npropriety; make no movement which is contrary to propriety.\" Yen\nYuan then said, \"Though I am deficient in intelligence and vigor, I\nwill make it my business to practice this lesson.\"\nChung-kung asked about perfect virtue. The Master said, \"It is, when\nyou go abroad, to behave to every one as if you were receiving a great\nguest; to employ the people as if you were assisting at a great\nsacrifice; not to do to others as you would not wish done to yourself;\nto have no murmuring against you in the country, and none in the\nfamily.\" Chung-kung said, \"Though I am deficient in intelligence and\nvigor, I will make it my business to practice this lesson.\"\nSze-ma Niu asked about perfect virtue.\nThe Master said, \"The man of perfect virtue is cautious and slow\nin his speech.\"\n\"Cautious and slow in his speech!\" said Niu;-\"is this what is\nmeant by perfect virtue?\" The Master said, \"When a man feels the\ndifficulty of doing, can he be other than cautious and slow in\nspeaking?\"\nSze-ma Niu asked about the superior man. The Master said, \"The\nsuperior man has neither anxiety nor fear.\"\n\"Being without anxiety or fear!\" said Nui;\"does this constitute what\nwe call the superior man?\"\nThe Master said, \"When internal examination discovers nothing wrong,\nwhat is there to be anxious about, what is there to fear?\"\nSze-ma Niu, full of anxiety, said, \"Other men all have their\nbrothers, I only have not.\"\nTsze-hsia said to him, \"There is the following saying which I have\nheard-'Death and life have their determined appointment; riches and\nhonors depend upon Heaven.'\n\"Let the superior man never fail reverentially to order his own\nconduct, and let him be respectful to others and observant of\npropriety:-then all within the four seas will be his brothers. What\nhas the superior man to do with being distressed because he has no\nbrothers?\"\nTsze-chang asked what constituted intelligence. The Master said, \"He\nwith whom neither slander that gradually soaks into the mind, nor\nstatements that startle like a wound in the flesh, are successful\nmay be called intelligent indeed. Yea, he with whom neither soaking\nslander, nor startling statements, are successful, may be called\nfarseeing.\"\nTsze-kung asked about government. The Master said, \"The requisites\nof government are that there be sufficiency of food, sufficiency of\nmilitary equipment, and the confidence of the people in their ruler.\"\nTsze-kung said, \"If it cannot be helped, and one of these must be\ndispensed with, which of the three should be foregone first?\" \"The\nmilitary equipment,\" said the Master.\nTsze-kung again asked, \"If it cannot be helped, and one of the\nremaining two must be dispensed with, which of them should be\nforegone?\" The Master answered, \"Part with the food. From of old,\ndeath has been the lot of an men; but if the people have no faith in\ntheir rulers, there is no standing for the state.\"\nChi Tsze-ch'ang said, \"In a superior man it is only the\nsubstantial qualities which are wanted;-why should we seek for\nornamental accomplishments?\"\nTsze-kung said, \"Alas! Your words, sir, show you to be a superior\nman, but four horses cannot overtake the tongue. Ornament is as\nsubstance; substance is as ornament. The hide of a tiger or a\nleopard stripped of its hair, is like the hide of a dog or a goat\nstripped of its hair.\"\nThe Duke Ai inquired of Yu Zo, saying, \"The year is one of scarcity,\nand the returns for expenditure are not sufficient;-what is to be\ndone?\"\nYu Zo replied to him, \"Why not simply tithe the people?\"\n\"With two tenths, said the duke, \"I find it not enough;-how could\nI do with that system of one tenth?\"\nYu Zo answered, \"If the people have plenty, their prince will not be\nleft to want alone. If the people are in want, their prince cannot\nenjoy plenty alone.\"\nTsze-chang having asked how virtue was to be exalted, and\ndelusions to be discovered, the Master said, \"Hold faithfulness and\nsincerity as first principles, and be moving continually to what is\nright,-this is the way to exalt one's virtue.\n\"You love a man and wish him to live; you hate him and wish him to\ndie. Having wished him to live, you also wish him to die. This is a\ncase of delusion. 'It may not be on account of her being rich, yet you\ncome to make a difference.'\"\nThe Duke Ching, of Ch'i, asked Confucius about government. Confucius\nreplied, \"There is government, when the prince is prince, and the\nminister is minister; when the father is father, and the son is son.\"\n\"Good!\" said the duke; \"if, indeed, the prince be not prince, the\nnot minister, the father not father, and the son not son, although I\nhave my revenue, can I enjoy it?\"\nThe Master said, \"Ah! it is Yu, who could with half a word settle\nlitigations!\"\nTsze-lu never slept over a promise.\nThe Master said, \"In hearing litigations, I am like any other\nbody. What is necessary, however, is to cause the people to have no\nlitigations.\"\nTsze-chang asked about government. The Master said, \"The art of\ngoverning is to keep its affairs before the mind without weariness,\nand to practice them with undeviating consistency.\"\nThe Master said, \"By extensively studying all learning, and\nkeeping himself under the restraint of the rules of propriety, one may\nthus likewise not err from what is right.\"\nThe Master said, \"The superior man seeks to perfect the admirable\nqualities of men, and does not seek to perfect their bad qualities.\nThe mean man does the opposite of this.\"\nChi K'ang asked Confucius about government. Confucius replied, \"To\ngovern means to rectify. If you lead on the people with correctness,\nwho will dare not to be correct?\"\nChi K'ang, distressed about the number of thieves in the state,\ninquired of Confucius how to do away with them. Confucius said, \"If\nyou, sir, were not covetous, although you should reward them to do it,\nthey would not steal.\"\nChi K'ang asked Confucius about government, saying, \"What do you say\nto killing the unprincipled for the good of the principled?\" Confucius\nreplied, \"Sir, in carrying on your government, why should you use\nkilling at all? Let your evinced desires be for what is good, and\nthe people will be good. The relation between superiors and\ninferiors is like that between the wind and the grass. The grass\nmust bend, when the wind blows across it.\"\nTsze-chang asked, \"What must the officer be, who may be said to be\ndistinguished?\"\nThe Master said, \"What is it you call being distinguished?\"\nTsze-chang replied, \"It is to be heard of through the state, to be\nheard of throughout his clan.\"\nThe Master said, \"That is notoriety, not distinction.\n\"Now the man of distinction is solid and straightforward, and\nloves righteousness. He examines people's words, and looks at their\ncountenances. He is anxious to humble himself to others. Such a man\nwill be distinguished in the country; he will be distinguished in\nhis clan.\n\"As to the man of notoriety, he assumes the appearance of virtue,\nbut his actions are opposed to it, and he rests in this character\nwithout any doubts about himself. Such a man will be heard of in the\ncountry; he will be heard of in the clan.\"\nFan Ch'ih rambling with the Master under the trees about the rain\naltars, said, \"I venture to ask how to exalt virtue, to correct\ncherished evil, and to discover delusions.\"\nThe Master said, \"Truly a good question!\n\"If doing what is to be done be made the first business, and success\na secondary consideration:-is not this the way to exalt virtue? To\nassail one's own wickedness and not assail that of others;-is not this\nthe way to correct cherished evil? For a morning's anger to\ndisregard one's own life, and involve that of his parents;-is not this\na case of delusion?\"\nFan Ch'ih asked about benevolence. The Master said, \"It is to love\nall men.\" He asked about knowledge. The Master said, \"It is to know\nall men.\"\nFan Ch'ih did not immediately understand these answers.\nThe Master said, \"Employ the upright and put aside all the\ncrooked; in this way the crooked can be made to be upright.\"\nFan Ch'ih retired, and, seeing Tsze-hsia, he said to him, \"A\nLittle while ago, I had an interview with our Master, and asked him\nabout knowledge. He said, 'Employ the upright, and put aside all the\ncrooked;-in this way, the crooked will be made to be upright.' What\ndid he mean?\"\nTsze-hsia said, \"Truly rich is his saying!\n\"Shun, being in possession of the kingdom, selected from among all\nthe people, and employed Kai-yao-on which all who were devoid of\nvirtue disappeared. T'ang, being in possession of the kingdom,\nselected from among all the people, and employed I Yin-and an who were\ndevoid of virtue disappeared.\"\nTsze-kung asked about friendship. The Master said, \"Faithfully\nadmonish your friend, and skillfully lead him on. If you find him\nimpracticable, stop. Do not disgrace yourself.\"\nThe philosopher Tsang said, \"The superior man on grounds of\nculture meets with his friends, and by friendship helps his virtue.\"\n13\nTsze-lu asked about government. The Master said, \"Go before the\npeople with your example, and be laborious in their affairs.\"\nHe requested further instruction, and was answered, \"Be not weary in\nthese things.\"\nChung-kung, being chief minister to the head of the Chi family,\nasked about government. The Master said, \"Employ first the services of\nyour various officers, pardon small faults, and raise to office men of\nvirtue and talents.\"\nChung-kung said, \"How shall I know the men of virtue and talent,\nso that I may raise them to office?\" He was answered, \"Raise to office\nthose whom you know. As to those whom you do not know, will others\nneglect them?\"\nTsze-lu said, \"The ruler of Wei has been waiting for you, in order\nwith you to administer the government. What will you consider the\nfirst thing to be done?\"\nThe Master replied, \"What is necessary is to rectify names.\"\n\"So! indeed!\" said Tsze-lu. \"You are wide of the mark! Why must\nthere be such rectification?\"\nThe Master said, \"How uncultivated you are, Yu! A superior man, in\nregard to what he does not know, shows a cautious reserve.\n\"If names be not correct, language is not in accordance with the\ntruth of things. If language be not in accordance with the truth of\nthings, affairs cannot be carried on to success.\n\"When affairs cannot be carried on to success, proprieties and music\ndo not flourish. When proprieties and music do not flourish,\npunishments will not be properly awarded. When punishments are not\nproperly awarded, the people do not know how to move hand or foot.\n\"Therefore a superior man considers it necessary that the names he\nuses may be spoken appropriately, and also that what he speaks may\nbe carried out appropriately. What the superior man requires is just\nthat in his words there may be nothing incorrect.\"\nFan Ch'ih requested to be taught husbandry. The Master said, \"I am\nnot so good for that as an old husbandman.\" He requested also to be\ntaught gardening, and was answered, \"I am not so good for that as an\nold gardener.\"\nFan Ch'ih having gone out, the Master said, \"A small man, indeed, is\nFan Hsu! If a superior man love propriety, the people will not dare\nnot to be reverent. If he love righteousness, the people will not dare\nnot to submit to his example. If he love good faith, the people will\nnot dare not to be sincere. Now, when these things obtain, the\npeople from all quarters will come to him, bearing their children on\ntheir backs; what need has he of a knowledge of husbandry?\"\nThe Master said, \"Though a man may be able to recite the three\nhundred odes, yet if, when intrusted with a governmental charge, he\nknows not how to act, or if, when sent to any quarter on a mission, he\ncannot give his replies unassisted, notwithstanding the extent of\nhis learning, of what practical use is it?\"\nThe Master said, \"When a prince's personal conduct is correct, his\ngovernment is effective without the issuing of orders. If his personal\nconduct is not correct, he may issue orders, but they will not be\nfollowed.\"\nThe Master said, \"The governments of Lu and Wei are brothers.\"\nThe Master said of Ching, a scion of the ducal family of Wei, that\nhe knew the economy of a family well. When he began to have means,\nhe said, \"Ha! here is a collection-!\" When they were a little\nincreased, he said, \"Ha! this is complete!\" When he had become rich,\nhe said, \"Ha! this is admirable!\"\nWhen the Master went to Weil Zan Yu acted as driver of his carriage.\nThe Master observed, \"How numerous are the people!\"\nYu said, \"Since they are thus numerous, what more shall be done\nfor them?\" \"Enrich them, was the reply.\n\"And when they have been enriched, what more shall be done?\" The\nMaster said, \"Teach them.\"\nThe Master said, \"If there were any of the princes who would\nemploy me, in the course of twelve months, I should have done\nsomething considerable. In three years, the government would be\nperfected.\"\nThe Master said, \"'If good men were to govern a country in\nsuccession for a hundred years, they would be able to transform the\nviolently bad, and dispense with capital punishments.' True indeed\nis this saying!\"\nThe Master said, \"If a truly royal ruler were to arise, it would\nstir require a generation, and then virtue would prevail.\"\nThe Master said, \"If a minister make his own conduct correct, what\ndifficulty will he have in assisting in government? If he cannot\nrectify himself, what has he to do with rectifying others?\"\nThe disciple Zan returning from the court, the Master said to him,\n\"How are you so late?\" He replied, \"We had government business.\" The\nMaster said, \"It must have been family affairs. If there had been\ngovernment business, though I am not now in office, I should have been\nconsulted about it.\"\nThe Duke Ting asked whether there was a single sentence which\ncould make a country prosperous. Confucius replied, \"Such an effect\ncannot be expected from one sentence.\n\"There is a saying, however, which people have -'To be a prince is\ndifficult; to be a minister is not easy.'\n\"If a ruler knows this,-the difficulty of being a prince,-may\nthere not be expected from this one sentence the prosperity of his\ncountry?\"\nThe duke then said, \"Is there a single sentence which can ruin a\ncountry?\" Confucius replied, \"Such an effect as that cannot be\nexpected from one sentence. There is, however, the saying which people\nhave-'I have no pleasure in being a prince, but only in that no one\ncan offer any opposition to what I say!'\n\"If a ruler's words be good, is it not also good that no one\noppose them? But if they are not good, and no one opposes them, may\nthere not be expected from this one sentence the ruin of his country?\"\nThe Duke of Sheh asked about government.\nThe Master said, \"Good government obtains when those who are near\nare made happy, and those who are far off are attracted.\"\nTsze-hsia! being governor of Chu-fu, asked about government. The\nMaster said, \"Do not be desirous to have things done quickly; do not\nlook at small advantages. Desire to have things done quickly\nprevents their being done thoroughly. Looking at small advantages\nprevents great affairs from being accomplished.\"\nThe Duke of Sheh informed Confucius, saying, \"Among us here there\nare those who may be styled upright in their conduct. If their\nfather have stolen a sheep, they will bear witness to the fact.\"\nConfucius said, \"Among us, in our part of the country, those who are\nupright are different from this. The father conceals the misconduct of\nthe son, and the son conceals the misconduct of the father.\nUprightness is to be found in this.\"\nFan Ch'ih asked about perfect virtue. The Master said, \"It is, in\nretirement, to be sedately grave; in the management of business, to be\nreverently attentive; in intercourse with others, to be strictly\nsincere. Though a man go among rude, uncultivated tribes, these\nqualities may not be neglected.\"\nTsze-kung asked, saying, \"What qualities must a man possess to\nentitle him to be called an officer? The Master said, \"He who in his\nconduct of himself maintains a sense of shame, and when sent to any\nquarter will not disgrace his prince's commission, deserves to be\ncalled an officer.\"\nTsze-kung pursued, \"I venture to ask who may be placed in the next\nlower rank?\" And he was told, \"He whom the circle of his relatives\npronounce to be filial, whom his fellow villagers and neighbors\npronounce to be fraternal.\"\nAgain the disciple asked, \"I venture to ask about the class still\nnext in order.\" The Master said, \"They are determined to be sincere in\nwhat they say, and to carry out what they do. They are obstinate\nlittle men. Yet perhaps they may make the next class.\"\nTsze-kung finally inquired, \"Of what sort are those of the present\nday, who engage in government?\" The Master said \"Pooh! they are so\nmany pecks and hampers, not worth being taken into account.\"\nThe Master said, \"Since I cannot get men pursuing the due medium, to\nwhom I might communicate my instructions, I must find the ardent and\nthe cautiously-decided. The ardent will advance and lay hold of truth;\nthe cautiously-decided will keep themselves from what is wrong.\"\nThe Master said, \"The people of the south have a saying -'A man\nwithout constancy cannot be either a wizard or a doctor.' Good!\n\"Inconstant in his virtue, he will be visited with disgrace.\"\nThe Master said, \"This arises simply from not attending to the\nprognostication.\"\nThe Master said, \"The superior man is affable, but not adulatory;\nthe mean man is adulatory, but not affable.\"\nTsze-kung asked, saying, \"What do you say of a man who is loved by\nall the people of his neighborhood?\" The Master replied, \"We may not\nfor that accord our approval of him.\" \"And what do you say of him\nwho is hated by all the people of his neighborhood?\" The Master\nsaid, \"We may not for that conclude that he is bad. It is better\nthan either of these cases that the good in the neighborhood love him,\nand the bad hate him.\"\nThe Master said, \"The superior man is easy to serve and difficult to\nplease. If you try to please him in any way which is not accordant\nwith right, he will not be pleased. But in his employment of men, he\nuses them according to their capacity. The mean man is difficult to\nserve, and easy to please. If you try to please him, though it be in a\nway which is not accordant with right, he may be pleased. But in his\nemployment of men, he wishes them to be equal to everything.\"\nThe Master said, \"The superior man has a dignified ease without\npride. The mean man has pride without a dignified ease.\"\nThe Master said, \"The firm, the enduring, the simple, and the modest\nare near to virtue.\"\nTsze-lu asked, saying, \"What qualities must a man possess to entitle\nhim to be called a scholar?\" The Master said, \"He must be\nthus,-earnest, urgent, and bland:-among his friends, earnest and\nurgent; among his brethren, bland.\"\nThe Master said, \"Let a good man teach the people seven years, and\nthey may then likewise be employed in war.\"\nThe Master said, \"To lead an uninstructed people to war, is to throw\nthem away.\"\n14\nHsien asked what was shameful. The Master said, \"When good\ngovernment prevails in a state, to be thinking only of salary; and,\nwhen bad government prevails, to be thinking, in the same way, only of\nsalary;-this is shameful.\"\n\"When the love of superiority, boasting, resentments, and\ncovetousness are repressed, this may be deemed perfect virtue.\"\nThe Master said, \"This may be regarded as the achievement of what is\ndifficult. But I do not know that it is to be deemed perfect virtue.\"\nThe Master said, \"The scholar who cherishes the love of comfort is\nnot fit to be deemed a scholar.\"\nThe Master said, \"When good government prevails in a state, language\nmay be lofty and bold, and actions the same. When bad government\nprevails, the actions may be lofty and bold, but the language may be\nwith some reserve.\"\nThe Master said, \"The virtuous will be sure to speak correctly,\nbut those whose speech is good may not always be virtuous. Men of\nprinciple are sure to be bold, but those who are bold may not always\nbe men of principle.\"\nNan-kung Kwo, submitting an inquiry to Confucius, said, \"I was\nskillful at archery, and Ao could move a boat along upon the land, but\nneither of them died a natural death. Yu and Chi personally wrought at\nthe toils of husbandry, and they became possessors of the kingdom.\"\nThe Master made no reply; but when Nan-kung Kwo went out, he said,\n\"A superior man indeed is this! An esteemer of virtue indeed is this!\"\nThe Master said, \"Superior men, and yet not always virtuous, there\nhave been, alas! But there never has been a mean man, and, at the same\ntime, virtuous.\"\nThe Master said, \"Can there be love which does not lead to\nstrictness with its object? Can there be loyalty which does not lead\nto the instruction of its object?\"\nThe Master said, \"In preparing the governmental notifications, P'i\nShan first made the rough draft; Shi-shu examined and discussed its\ncontents; Tsze-yu, the manager of foreign intercourse, then polished\nthe style; and, finally, Tsze-ch'an of Tung-li gave it the proper\nelegance and finish.\"\nSome one asked about Tsze-ch'an. The Master said, \"He was a kind\nman.\"\nHe asked about Tsze-hsi. The Master said, \"That man! That man!\"\nHe asked about Kwan Chung. \"For him,\" said the Master, \"the city\nof Pien, with three hundred families, was taken from the chief of\nthe Po family, who did not utter a murmuring word, though, to the\nend of his life, he had only coarse rice to eat.\"\nThe Master said, \"To be poor without murmuring is difficult. To be\nrich without being proud is easy.\"\nThe Master said, \"Mang Kung-ch'o is more than fit to be chief\nofficer in the families of Chao and Wei, but he is not fit to be great\nofficer to either of the states Tang or Hsieh.\"\nTsze-lu asked what constituted a COMPLETE man. The Master said,\n\"Suppose a man with the knowledge of Tsang Wu-chung, the freedom\nfrom covetousness of Kung-ch'o, the bravery of Chwang of Pien, and the\nvaried talents of Zan Ch'iu; add to these the accomplishments of the\nrules of propriety and music;-such a one might be reckoned a\nCOMPLETE man.\"\nHe then added, \"But what is the necessity for a complete man of\nthe present day to have all these things? The man, who in the view\nof gain, thinks of righteousness; who in the view of danger is\nprepared to give up his life; and who does not forget an old agreement\nhowever far back it extends:-such a man may be reckoned a COMPLETE\nman.\"\nThe Master asked Kung-ming Chia about Kung-shu Wan, saying, \"Is it\ntrue that your master speaks not, laughs not, and takes not?\"\nKung-ming Chia replied, \"This has arisen from the reporters going\nbeyond the truth.-My master speaks when it is the time to speak, and\nso men do not get tired of his speaking. He laughs when there is\noccasion to be joyful, and so men do not get tired of his laughing. He\ntakes when it is consistent with righteousness to do so, and so men do\nnot get tired of his taking.\" The Master said, \"So! But is it so\nwith him?\"\nThe Master said, \"Tsang Wu-chung, keeping possession of Fang,\nasked of the duke of Lu to appoint a successor to him in his family.\nAlthough it may be said that he was not using force with his\nsovereign, I believe he was.\"\nThe Master said, \"The duke Wan of Tsin was crafty and not upright.\nThe duke Hwan of Ch'i was upright and not crafty.\"\nTsze-lu said, \"The Duke Hwan caused his brother Chiu to be killed,\nwhen Shao Hu died, with his master, but Kwan Chung did not die. May\nnot I say that he was wanting in virtue?\"\nThe Master said, \"The Duke Hwan assembled all the princes\ntogether, and that not with weapons of war and chariots:-it was all\nthrough the influence of Kwan Chung. Whose beneficence was like his?\nWhose beneficence was like his?\"\nTsze-kung said, \"Kwan Chung, I apprehend was wanting in virtue. When\nthe Duke Hwan caused his brother Chiu to be killed, Kwan Chung was not\nable to die with him. Moreover, he became prime minister to Hwan.\"\nThe Master said, \"Kwan Chung acted as prime minister to the Duke\nHwan made him leader of all the princes, and united and rectified\nthe whole kingdom. Down to the present day, the people enjoy the gifts\nwhich he conferred. But for Kwan Chung, we should now be wearing our\nhair unbound, and the lappets of our coats buttoning on the left side.\n\"Will you require from him the small fidelity of common men and\ncommon women, who would commit suicide in a stream or ditch, no one\nknowing anything about them?\"\nThe great officer, Hsien, who had been family minister to Kung-shu\nWan, ascended to the prince's court in company with Wan.\nThe Master, having heard of it, said, \"He deserved to be\nconsidered WAN (the accomplished).\"\nThe Master was speaking about the unprincipled course of the duke\nLing of Weil when Ch'i K'ang said, \"Since he is of such a character,\nhow is it he does not lose his state?\"\nConfucius said, \"The Chung-shu Yu has the superintendence of his\nguests and of strangers; the litanist, T'o, has the management of\nhis ancestral temple; and Wang-sun Chia has the direction of the\narmy and forces:-with such officers as these, how should he lose his\nstate?\"\nThe Master said, \"He who speaks without modesty will find it\ndifficult to make his words good.\"\nChan Ch'ang murdered the Duke Chien of Ch'i.\nConfucius bathed, went to court and informed the Duke Ai, saying,\n\"Chan Hang has slain his sovereign. I beg that you will undertake to\npunish him.\"\nThe duke said, \"Inform the chiefs of the three families of it.\"\nConfucius retired, and said, \"Following in the rear of the great\nofficers, I did not dare not to represent such a matter, and my prince\nsays, \"Inform the chiefs of the three families of it.\"\nHe went to the chiefs, and informed them, but they would not act.\nConfucius then said, \"Following in the rear of the great officers, I\ndid not dare not to represent such a matter.\"\nTsze-lu asked how a ruler should be served. The Master said, \"Do not\nimpose on him, and, moreover, withstand him to his face.\"\nThe Master said, \"The progress of the superior man is upwards; the\nprogress of the mean man is downwards.\"\nThe Master said, \"In ancient times, men learned with a view to their\nown improvement. Nowadays, men learn with a view to the approbation of\nothers.\"\nChu Po-yu sent a messenger with friendly inquiries to Confucius.\nConfucius sat with him, and questioned him. \"What,\" said he! \"is\nyour master engaged in?\" The messenger replied, \"My master is\nanxious to make his faults few, but he has not yet succeeded.\" He then\nwent out, and the Master said, \"A messenger indeed! A messenger\nindeed!\"\nThe Master said, \"He who is not in any particular office has nothing\nto do with plans for the administration of its duties.\"\nThe philosopher Tsang said, \"The superior man, in his thoughts, does\nnot go out of his place.\"\nThe Master said, \"The superior man is modest in his speech, but\nexceeds in his actions.\"\nThe Master said, \"The way of the superior man is threefold, but I am\nnot equal to it. Virtuous, he is free from anxieties; wise, he is free\nfrom perplexities; bold, he is free from fear.\nTsze-kung said, \"Master, that is what you yourself say.\"\nTsze-kung was in the habit of comparing men together. The Master\nsaid, \"Tsze must have reached a high pitch of excellence! Now, I\nhave not leisure for this.\"\nThe Master said, \"I will not be concerned at men's not knowing me; I\nwill be concerned at my own want of ability.\"\nThe Master said, \"He who does not anticipate attempts to deceive\nhim, nor think beforehand of his not being believed, and yet\napprehends these things readily when they occur;-is he not a man of\nsuperior worth?\"\nWei-shang Mau said to Confucius, \"Ch'iu, how is it that you keep\nroosting about? Is it not that you are an insinuating talker?\nConfucius said, \"I do not dare to play the part of such a talker,\nbut I hate obstinacy.\"\nThe Master said, \"A horse is called a ch'i, not because of its\nstrength, but because of its other good qualities.\"\nSome one said, \"What do you say concerning the principle that injury\nshould be recompensed with kindness?\"\nThe Master said, \"With what then will you recompense kindness?\"\n\"Recompense injury with justice, and recompense kindness with\nkindness.\"\nThe Master said, \"Alas! there is no one that knows me.\"\nTsze-kung said, \"What do you mean by thus saying-that no one knows\nyou?\" The Master replied, \"I do not murmur against Heaven. I do not\ngrumble against men. My studies lie low, and my penetration rises\nhigh. But there is Heaven;-that knows me!\"\nThe Kung-po Liao, having slandered Tsze-lu to Chi-sun, Tsze-fu\nChing-po informed Confucius of it, saying, \"Our master is certainly\nbeing led astray by the Kung-po Liao, but I have still power enough\nleft to cut Liao off, and expose his corpse in the market and in the\ncourt.\"\nThe Master said, \"If my principles are to advance, it is so ordered.\nIf they are to fall to the ground, it is so ordered. What can the\nKung-po Liao do where such ordering is concerned?\"\nThe Master said, \"Some men of worth retire from the world. Some\nretire from particular states. Some retire because of disrespectful\nlooks. Some retire because of contradictory language.\"\nThe Master said, \"Those who have done this are seven men.\"\nTsze-lu happening to pass the night in Shih-man, the gatekeeper said\nto him, \"Whom do you come from?\" Tsze-lu said, \"From Mr. K'ung.\" \"It\nis he,-is it not?\"-said the other, \"who knows the impracticable nature\nof the times and yet will be doing in them.\"\nThe Master was playing, one day, on a musical stone in Weil when a\nman carrying a straw basket passed door of the house where Confucius\nwas, and said, \"His heart is full who so beats the musical stone.\"\nA little while after, he added, \"How contemptible is the\none-ideaed obstinacy those sounds display! When one is taken no notice\nof, he has simply at once to give over his wish for public employment.\n'Deep water must be crossed with the clothes on; shallow water may\nbe crossed with the clothes held up.'\"\nThe Master said, \"How determined is he in his purpose! But this is\nnot difficult!\"\nTsze-chang said, \"What is meant when the Shu says that Kao-tsung,\nwhile observing the usual imperial mourning, was for three years\nwithout speaking?\"\nThe Master said, \"Why must Kao-tsung be referred to as an example of\nthis? The ancients all did so. When the sovereign died, the officers\nall attended to their several duties, taking instructions from the\nprime minister for three years.\"\nThe Master said, \"When rulers love to observe the rules of\npropriety, the people respond readily to the calls on them for\nservice.\"\nTsze-lu asked what constituted the superior man. The Master said,\n\"The cultivation of himself in reverential carefulness.\" \"And is\nthis all?\" said Tsze-lu. \"He cultivates himself so as to give rest\nto others,\" was the reply. \"And is this all?\" again asked Tsze-lu. The\nMaster said, \"He cultivates himself so as to give rest to all the\npeople. He cultivates himself so as to give rest to all the\npeople:-even Yao and Shun were still solicitous about this.\"\nYuan Zang was squatting on his heels, and so waited the approach\nof the Master, who said to him, \"In youth not humble as befits a\njunior; in manhood, doing nothing worthy of being handed down; and\nliving on to old age:-this is to be a pest.\" With this he hit him on\nthe shank with his staff.\nA youth of the village of Ch'ueh was employed by Confucius to\ncarry the messages between him and his visitors. Some one asked\nabout him, saying, \"I suppose he has made great progress.\"\nThe Master said, \"I observe that he is fond of occupying the seat of\na full-grown man; I observe that he walks shoulder to shoulder with\nhis elders. He is not one who is seeking to make progress in learning.\nHe wishes quickly to become a man.\"\n15\nThe Duke Ling of Wei asked Confucius about tactics. Confucius\nreplied, \"I have heard all about sacrificial vessels, but I have not\nlearned military matters.\" On this, he took his departure the next\nday.\nWhen he was in Chan, their provisions were exhausted, and his\nfollowers became so in that they were unable to rise.\nTsze-lu, with evident dissatisfaction, said, \"Has the superior man\nlikewise to endure in this way?\" The Master said, \"The superior man\nmay indeed have to endure want, but the mean man, when he is in\nwant, gives way to unbridled license.\"\nThe Master said, \"Ts'ze, you think, I suppose, that I am one who\nlearns many things and keeps them in memory?\"\nTsze-kung replied, \"Yes,-but perhaps it is not so?\"\n\"No,\" was the answer; \"I seek a unity all pervading.\"\nThe Master said, \"Yu I those who know virtue are few.\"\nThe Master said, \"May not Shun be instanced as having governed\nefficiently without exertion? What did he do? He did nothing but\ngravely and reverently occupy his royal seat.\"\nTsze-chang asked how a man should conduct himself, so as to be\neverywhere appreciated.\nThe Master said, \"Let his words be sincere and truthful and his\nactions honorable and careful;-such conduct may be practiced among the\nrude tribes of the South or the North. If his words be not sincere and\ntruthful and his actions not honorable and carefull will he, with such\nconduct, be appreciated, even in his neighborhood?\n\"When he is standing, let him see those two things, as it were,\nfronting him. When he is in a carriage, let him see them attached to\nthe yoke. Then may he subsequently carry them into practice.\"\nTsze-chang wrote these counsels on the end of his sash.\nThe Master said, \"Truly straightforward was the historiographer\nYu. When good government prevailed in his state, he was like an arrow.\nWhen bad government prevailed, he was like an arrow. A superior man\nindeed is Chu Po-yu! When good government prevails in his state, he is\nto be found in office. When bad government prevails, he can roll his\nprinciples up, and keep them in his breast.\"\nThe Master said, \"When a man may be spoken with, not to speak to him\nis to err in reference to the man. When a man may not be spoken\nwith, to speak to him is to err in reference to our words. The wise\nerr neither in regard to their man nor to their words.\"\nThe Master said, \"The determined scholar and the man of virtue\nwill not seek to live at the expense of injuring their virtue. They\nwill even sacrifice their lives to preserve their virtue complete.\"\nTsze-kung asked about the practice of virtue. The Master said,\n\"The mechanic, who wishes to do his work well, must first sharpen\nhis tools. When you are living in any state, take service with the\nmost worthy among its great officers, and make friends of the most\nvirtuous among its scholars.\"\nYen Yuan asked how the government of a country should be\nadministered.\nThe Master said, \"Follow the seasons of Hsia.\n\"Ride in the state carriage of Yin.\n\"Wear the ceremonial cap of Chau.\n\"Let the music be the Shao with its pantomimes. Banish the songs\nof Chang, and keep far from specious talkers. The songs of Chang are\nlicentious; specious talkers are dangerous.\"\nThe Master said, \"If a man take no thought about what is distant, he\nwill find sorrow near at hand.\"\nThe Master said, \"It is all over! I have not seen one who loves\nvirtue as he loves beauty.\"\nThe Master said, \"Was not Tsang Wan like one who had stolen his\nsituation? He knew the virtue and the talents of Hui of Liu-hsia,\nand yet did not procure that he should stand with him in court.\"\nThe Master said, \"He who requires much from himself and little\nfrom others, will keep himself from being the object of resentment.\"\nThe Master said, \"When a man is not in the habit of saying-'What\nshall I think of this? What shall I think of this?' I can indeed do\nnothing with him!\"\nThe Master said, \"When a number of people are together, for a\nwhole day, without their conversation turning on righteousness, and\nwhen they are fond of carrying out the suggestions of a small\nshrewdness;-theirs is indeed a hard case.\"\nThe Master said, \"The superior man in everything considers\nrighteousness to be essential. He performs it according to the rules\nof propriety. He brings it forth in humility. He completes it with\nsincerity. This is indeed a superior man.\"\nThe Master said, \"The superior man is distressed by his want of\nability. He is not distressed by men's not knowing him.\"\nThe Master said, \"The superior man dislikes the thought of his\nname not being mentioned after his death.\"\nThe Master said, \"What the superior man seeks, is in himself. What\nthe mean man seeks, is in others.\"\nThe Master said, \"The superior man is dignified, but does not\nwrangle. He is sociable, but not a partisan.\"\nThe Master said, \"The superior man does not promote a man simply\non account of his words, nor does he put aside good words because of\nthe man.\"\nTsze-kung asked, saying, \"Is there one word which may serve as a\nrule of practice for all one's life?\" The Master said, \"Is not\nRECIPROCITY such a word? What you do not want done to yourself, do not\ndo to others.\"\nThe Master said, \"In my dealings with men, whose evil do I blame,\nwhose goodness do I praise, beyond what is proper? If I do sometimes\nexceed in praise, there must be ground for it in my examination of the\nindividual.\n\"This people supplied the ground why the three dynasties pursued the\npath of straightforwardness.\"\nThe Master said, \"Even in my early days, a historiographer would\nleave a blank in his text, and he who had a horse would lend him to\nanother to ride. Now, alas! there are no such things.\"\nThe Master said, \"Specious words confound virtue. Want of\nforbearance in small matters confounds great plans.\"\nThe Master said, \"When the multitude hate a man, it is necessary\nto examine into the case. When the multitude like a man, it is\nnecessary to examine into the case.\"\nThe Master said, \"A man can enlarge the principles which he follows;\nthose principles do not enlarge the man.\"\nThe Master said, \"To have faults and not to reform them,-this,\nindeed, should be pronounced having faults.\"\nThe Master said, \"I have been the whole day without eating, and\nthe whole night without sleeping:-occupied with thinking. It was of no\nuse. better plan is to learn.\"\nThe Master said, \"The object of the superior man is truth. Food is\nnot his object. There is plowing;-even in that there is sometimes\nwant. So with learning;-emolument may be found in it. The superior man\nis anxious lest he should not get truth; he is not anxious lest\npoverty should come upon him.\"\nThe Master said, \"When a man's knowledge is sufficient to attain,\nand his virtue is not sufficient to enable him to hold, whatever he\nmay have gained, he will lose again.\n\"When his knowledge is sufficient to attain, and he has virtue\nenough to hold fast, if he cannot govern with dignity, the people will\nnot respect him.\n\"When his knowledge is sufficient to attain, and he has virtue\nenough to hold fast; when he governs also with dignity, yet if he\ntry to move the people contrary to the rules of propriety:-full\nexcellence is not reached.\"\nThe Master said, \"The superior man cannot be known in little\nmatters; but he may be intrusted with great concerns. The small man\nmay not be intrusted with great concerns, but he may be known in\nlittle matters.\"\nThe Master said, \"Virtue is more to man than either water or fire. I\nhave seen men die from treading on water and fire, but I have never\nseen a man die from treading the course of virtue.\"\nThe Master said, \"Let every man consider virtue as what devolves\non himself. He may not yield the performance of it even to his\nteacher.\"\nThe Master said, \"The superior man is correctly firm, and not firm\nmerely.\"\nThe Master said, \"A minister, in serving his prince, reverently\ndischarges his duties, and makes his emolument a secondary\nconsideration.\"\nThe Master said, \"In teaching there should be no distinction of\nclasses.\"\nThe Master said, \"Those whose courses are different cannot lay plans\nfor one another.\"\nThe Master said, \"In language it is simply required that it convey\nthe meaning.\"\nThe music master, Mien, having called upon him, when they came to\nthe steps, the Master said, \"Here are the steps.\" When they came to\nthe mat for the guest to sit upon, he said, \"Here is the mat.\" When\nall were seated, the Master informed him, saying, \"So and so is\nhere; so and so is here.\"\nThe music master, Mien, having gone out, Tsze-chang asked, saying.\n\"Is it the rule to tell those things to the music master?\"\nThe Master said, \"Yes. This is certainly the rule for those who lead\nthe blind.\"\n16\nThe head of the Chi family was going to attack Chwan-yu.\nZan Yu and Chi-lu had an interview with Confucius, and said, \"Our\nchief, Chil is going to commence operations against Chwan-yu.\"\nConfucius said, \"Ch'iu, is it not you who are in fault here?\n\"Now, in regard to Chwan-yu, long ago, a former king appointed its\nruler to preside over the sacrifices to the eastern Mang; moreover, it\nis in the midst of the territory of our state; and its ruler is a\nminister in direct connection with the sovereign: What has your\nchief to do with attacking it?\"\nZan Yu said, \"Our master wishes the thing; neither of us two\nministers wishes it.\"\nConfucius said, \"Ch'iu, there are the words of Chau Zan, -'When he\ncan put forth his ability, he takes his place in the ranks of\noffice; when he finds himself unable to do so, he retires from it. How\ncan he be used as a guide to a blind man, who does not support him\nwhen tottering, nor raise him up when fallen?'\n\"And further, you speak wrongly. When a tiger or rhinoceros\nescapes from his cage; when a tortoise or piece of jade is injured\nin its repository:-whose is the fault?\"\nZan Yu said, \"But at present, Chwan-yu is strong and near to Pi;\nif our chief do not now take it, it will hereafter be a sorrow to\nhis descendants.\"\nConfucius said. \"Ch'iu, the superior man hates those declining to\nsay-'I want such and such a thing,' and framing explanations for their\nconduct.\n\"I have heard that rulers of states and chiefs of families are not\ntroubled lest their people should be few, but are troubled lest they\nshould not keep their several places; that they are not troubled\nwith fears of poverty, but are troubled with fears of a want of\ncontented repose among the people in their several places. For when\nthe people keep their several places, there will be no poverty; when\nharmony prevails, there will be no scarcity of people; and when\nthere is such a contented repose, there will be no rebellious\nupsettings.\n\"So it is.-Therefore, if remoter people are not submissive, all\nthe influences of civil culture and virtue are to be cultivated to\nattract them to be so; and when they have been so attracted, they must\nbe made contented and tranquil.\n\"Now, here are you, Yu and Ch'iu, assisting your chief. Remoter\npeople are not submissive, and, with your help, he cannot attract them\nto him. In his own territory there are divisions and downfalls,\nleavings and separations, and, with your help, he cannot preserve it.\n\"And yet he is planning these hostile movements within the\nstate.-I am afraid that the sorrow of the Chi-sun family will not be\non account of Chwan-yu, but will be found within the screen of their\nown court.\"\nConfucius said, \"When good government prevails in the empire,\nceremonies, music, and punitive military expeditions proceed from\nthe son of Heaven. When bad government prevails in the empire,\nceremonies, music, and punitive military expeditions proceed from\nthe princes. When these things proceed from the princes, as a rule,\nthe cases will be few in which they do not lose their power in ten\ngenerations. When they proceed from the great officers of the princes,\nas a rule, the case will be few in which they do not lose their\npower in five generations. When the subsidiary ministers of the\ngreat officers hold in their grasp the orders of the state, as a\nrule the cases will be few in which they do not lose their power in\nthree generations.\n\"When right principles prevail in the kingdom, government will not\nbe in the hands of the great officers.\n\"When right principles prevail in the kingdom, there will be no\ndiscussions among the common people.\"\nConfucius said, \"The revenue of the state has left the ducal house\nnow for five generations. The government has been in the hands of\nthe great officers for four generations. On this account, the\ndescendants of the three Hwan are much reduced.\"\nConfucius said, \"There are three friendships which are advantageous,\nand three which are injurious. Friendship with the uplight; friendship\nwith the sincere; and friendship with the man of much\nobservation:-these are advantageous. Friendship with the man of\nspecious airs; friendship with the insinuatingly soft; and\nfriendship with the glib-tongued:-these are injurious.\"\nConfucius said, \"There are three things men find enjoyment in\nwhich are advantageous, and three things they find enjoyment in\nwhich are injurious. To find enjoyment in the discriminating study\nof ceremonies and music; to find enjoyment in speaking of the goodness\nof others; to find enjoyment in having many worthy friends:-these\nare advantageous. To find enjoyment in extravagant pleasures; to\nfind enjoyment in idleness and sauntering; to find enjoyment in the\npleasures of feasting:-these are injurious.\"\nConfucius said, \"There are three errors to which they who stand in\nthe presence of a man of virtue and station are liable. They may speak\nwhen it does not come to them to speak;-this is called rashness.\nThey may not speak when it comes to them to speak;-this is called\nconcealment. They may speak without looking at the countenance of\ntheir superior;-this is called blindness.\"\nConfucius said, \"There are three things which the superior man\nguards against. In youth, when the physical powers are not yet\nsettled, he guards against lust. When he is strong and the physical\npowers are full of vigor, he guards against quarrelsomeness. When he\nis old, and the animal powers are decayed, he guards against\ncovetousness.\"\nConfucius said, \"There are three things of which the superior man\nstands in awe. He stands in awe of the ordinances of Heaven. He stands\nin awe of great men. He stands in awe of the words of sages.\n\"The mean man does not know the ordinances of Heaven, and\nconsequently does not stand in awe of them. He is disrespectful to\ngreat men. He makes sport of the words of sages.\"\nConfucius said, \"Those who are born with the possession of knowledge\nare the highest class of men. Those who learn, and so readily get\npossession of knowledge, are the next. Those who are dull and\nstupid, and yet compass the learning, are another class next to these.\nAs to those who are dull and stupid and yet do not learn;-they are the\nlowest of the people.\"\nConfucius said, \"The superior man has nine things which are subjects\nwith him of thoughtful consideration. In regard to the use of his\neyes, he is anxious to see clearly. In regard to the use of his\nears, he is anxious to hear distinctly. In regard to his\ncountenance, he is anxious that it should be benign. In regard to\nhis demeanor, he is anxious that it should be respectful. In regard to\nhis speech, he is anxious that it should be sincere. In regard to\nhis doing of business, he is anxious that it should be reverently\ncareful. In regard to what he doubts about, he is anxious to\nquestion others. When he is angry, he thinks of the difficulties his\nanger may involve him in. When he sees gain to be got, he thinks of\nrighteousness.\"\nConfucius said, \"Contemplating good, and pursuing it, as if they\ncould not reach it; contemplating evil! and shrinking from it, as they\nwould from thrusting the hand into boiling water:-I have seen such\nmen, as I have heard such words.\n\"Living in retirement to study their aims, and practicing\nrighteousness to carry out their principles:-I have heard these words,\nbut I have not seen such men.\"\nThe Duke Ching of Ch'i had a thousand teams, each of four horses,\nbut on the day of his death, the people did not praise him for a\nsingle virtue. Po-i and Shu-ch'i died of hunger at the foot of the\nShau-yang mountains, and the people, down to the present time,\npraise them.\n\"Is not that saying illustrated by this?\"\nCh'an K'ang asked Po-yu, saying, \"Have you heard any lessons from\nyour father different from what we have all heard?\"\nPo-yu replied, \"No. He was standing alone once, when I passed\nbelow the hall with hasty steps, and said to me, 'Have you learned the\nOdes?' On my replying 'Not yet,' he added, If you do not learn the\nOdes, you will not be fit to converse with.' I retired and studied the\nOdes.\n\"Another day, he was in the same way standing alone, when I passed\nby below the hall with hasty steps, and said to me, 'Have you\nlearned the rules of Propriety?' On my replying 'Not yet,' he added,\n'If you do not learn the rules of Propriety, your character cannot\nbe established.' I then retired, and learned the rules of Propriety.\n\"I have heard only these two things from him.\"\nCh'ang K'ang retired, and, quite delighted, said, \"I asked one\nthing, and I have got three things. I have heard about the Odes. I\nhave heard about the rules of Propriety. I have also heard that the\nsuperior man maintains a distant reserve towards his son.\"\nThe wife of the prince of a state is called by him Fu Zan. She calls\nherself Hsiao T'ung. The people of the state call her Chun Fu Zan,\nand, to the people of other states, they call her K'wa Hsiao Chun. The\npeople of other states also call her Chun Fu Zan.\n17\nYang Ho wished to see Confucius, but Confucius would not go to see\nhim. On this, he sent a present of a pig to Confucius, who, having\nchosen a time when Ho was not at home went to pay his respects for the\ngift. He met him, however, on the way.\nHo said to Confucius, \"Come, let me speak with you.\" He then\nasked, \"Can he be called benevolent who keeps his jewel in his\nbosom, and leaves his country to confusion?\" Confucius replied,\n\"No.\" \"Can he be called wise, who is anxious to be engaged in public\nemployment, and yet is constantly losing the opportunity of being so?\"\nConfucius again said, \"No.\" \"The days and months are passing away; the\nyears do not wait for us.\" Confucius said, \"Right; I will go into\noffice.\"\nThe Master said, \"By nature, men are nearly alike; by practice, they\nget to be wide apart.\"\nThe Master said, \"There are only the wise of the highest class,\nand the stupid of the lowest class, who cannot be changed.\"\nThe Master, having come to Wu-ch'ang, heard there the sound of\nstringed instruments and singing.\nWell pleased and smiling, he said, \"Why use an ox knife to kill a\nfowl?\"\nTsze-yu replied, \"Formerly, Master, I heard you say,-'When the man\nof high station is well instructed, he loves men; when the man of\nlow station is well instructed, he is easily ruled.'\"\nThe Master said, \"My disciples, Yen's words are right. What I said\nwas only in sport.\"\nKung-shan Fu-zao, when he was holding Pi, and in an attitude of\nrebellion, invited the Master to visit him, who was rather inclined to\ngo.\nTsze-lu was displeased. and said, \"Indeed, you cannot go! Why must\nyou think of going to see Kung-shan?\"\nThe Master said, \"Can it be without some reason that he has\ninvited ME? If any one employ me, may I not make an eastern Chau?\"\nTsze-chang asked Confucius about perfect virtue. Confucius said, \"To\nbe able to practice five things everywhere under heaven constitutes\nperfect virtue.\" He begged to ask what they were, and was told,\n\"Gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness, and kindness. If\nyou are grave, you will not be treated with disrespect. If you are\ngenerous, you will win all. If you are sincere, people will repose\ntrust in you. If you are earnest, you will accomplish much. If you are\nkind, this will enable you to employ the services of others.\nPi Hsi inviting him to visit him, the Master was inclined to go.\nTsze-lu said, \"Master, formerly I have heard you say, 'When a man in\nhis own person is guilty of doing evil, a superior man will not\nassociate with him.' Pi Hsi is in rebellion, holding possession of\nChung-mau; if you go to him, what shall be said?\"\nThe Master said, \"Yes, I did use these words. But is it not said,\nthat, if a thing be really hard, it may be ground without being made\nthin? Is it not said, that, if a thing be really white, it may be\nsteeped in a dark fluid without being made black?\n\"Am I a bitter gourd? How can I be hung up out of the way of being\neaten?\"\nThe Master said, \"Yu, have you heard the six words to which are\nattached six becloudings?\" Yu replied, \"I have not.\"\n\"Sit down, and I will tell them to you.\n\"There is the love of being benevolent without the love of\nlearning;-the beclouding here leads to a foolish simplicity. There\nis the love of knowing without the love of learning;-the beclouding\nhere leads to dissipation of mind. There is the love of being\nsincere without the love of learning;-the beclouding here leads to\nan injurious disregard of consequences. There is the love of\nstraightforwardness without the love of learning;-the beclouding\nhere leads to rudeness. There is the love of boldness without the love\nof learning;-the beclouding here leads to insubordination. There is\nthe love of firmness without the love of learning;-the beclouding here\nleads to extravagant conduct.\"\nThe Master said, \"My children, why do you not study the Book of\nPoetry?\n\"The Odes serve to stimulate the mind.\n\"They may be used for purposes of self-contemplation.\n\"They teach the art of sociability.\n\"They show how to regulate feelings of resentment.\n\"From them you learn the more immediate duty of serving one's\nfather, and the remoter one of serving one's prince.\n\"From them we become largely acquainted with the names of birds,\nbeasts, and plants.\"\nThe Master said to Po-yu, \"Do you give yourself to the Chau-nan\nand the Shao-nan. The man who has not studied the Chau-nan and the\nShao-nan is like one who stands with his face right against a wall. Is\nhe not so?\"\nThe Master said, \"'It is according to the rules of propriety,' they\nsay.-'It is according to the rules of propriety,' they say. Are gems\nand silk all that is meant by propriety? 'It is music,' they\nsay.-'It is music,' they say. Are hers and drums all that is meant\nby music?\"\nThe Master said, \"He who puts on an appearance of stern firmness,\nwhile inwardly he is weak, is like one of the small, mean people;-yea,\nis he not like the thief who breaks through, or climbs over, a wall?\"\nThe Master said, \"Your good, careful people of the villages are\nthe thieves of virtue.\"\nThe Master said, To tell, as we go along, what we have heard on\nthe way, is to cast away our virtue.\"\nThe Master said, \"There are those mean creatures! How impossible\nit is along with them to serve one's prince!\n\"While they have not got their aims, their anxiety is how to get\nthem. When they have got them, their anxiety is lest they should\nlose them.\n\"When they are anxious lest such things should be lost, there is\nnothing to which they will not proceed.\"\nThe Master said, \"Anciently, men had three failings, which now\nperhaps are not to be found.\n\"The high-mindedness of antiquity showed itself in a disregard of\nsmall things; the high-mindedness of the present day shows itself in\nwild license. The stern dignity of antiquity showed itself in grave\nreserve; the stern dignity of the present day shows itself in\nquarrelsome perverseness. The stupidity of antiquity showed itself\nin straightforwardness; the stupidity of the present day shows\nitself in sheer deceit.\"\nThe Master said, \"Fine words and an insinuating appearance are\nseldom associated with virtue.\"\nThe Master said, \"I hate the manner in which purple takes away the\nluster of vermilion. I hate the way in which the songs of Chang\nconfound the music of the Ya. I hate those who with their sharp mouths\noverthrow kingdoms and families.\"\nThe Master said, \"I would prefer not speaking.\"\nTsze-kung said, \"If you, Master, do not speak, what shall we, your\ndisciples, have to record?\"\nThe Master said, \"Does Heaven speak? The four seasons pursue their\ncourses, and all things are continually being produced, but does\nHeaven say anything?\"\nZu Pei wished to see Confucius, but Confucius declined, on the\nground of being sick, to see him. When the bearer of this message went\nout at the door, the Master took his lute and sang to it, in order\nthat Pei might hear him.\nTsai Wo asked about the three years' mourning for parents, saying\nthat one year was long enough.\n\"If the superior man,\" said he, \"abstains for three years from the\nobservances of propriety, those observances will be quite lost. If for\nthree years he abstains from music, music will be ruined. Within a\nyear the old grain is exhausted, and the new grain has sprung up, and,\nin procuring fire by friction, we go through all the changes of wood\nfor that purpose. After a complete year, the mourning may stop.\"\nThe Master said, \"If you were, after a year, to eat good rice, and\nwear embroidered clothes, would you feel at ease?\" \"I should,\" replied\nWo.\nThe Master said, \"If you can feel at ease, do it. But a superior\nman, during the whole period of mourning, does not enjoy pleasant food\nwhich he may eat, nor derive pleasure from music which he may hear. He\nalso does not feel at ease, if he is comfortably lodged. Therefore\nhe does not do what you propose. But now you feel at ease and may do\nit.\"\nTsai Wo then went out, and the Master said, \"This shows Yu's want of\nvirtue. It is not till a child is three years old that it is allowed\nto leave the arms of its parents. And the three years' mourning is\nuniversally observed throughout the empire. Did Yu enjoy the three\nyears' love of his parents?\"\nThe Master said, \"Hard is it to deal with who will stuff himself\nwith food the whole day, without applying his mind to anything good!\nAre there not gamesters and chess players? To be one of these would\nstill be better than doing nothing at all.\"\nTsze-lu said, \"Does the superior man esteem valor?\" The Master said,\n\"The superior man holds righteousness to be of highest importance. A\nman in a superior situation, having valor without righteousness,\nwill be guilty of insubordination; one of the lower people having\nvalor without righteousness, will commit robbery.\"\nTsze-kung said, \"Has the superior man his hatreds also?\" The\nMaster said, \"He has his hatreds. He hates those who proclaim the evil\nof others. He hates the man who, being in a low station, slanders\nhis superiors. He hates those who have valor merely, and are\nunobservant of propriety. He hates those who are forward and\ndetermined, and, at the same time, of contracted understanding.\"\nThe Master then inquired, \"Ts'ze, have you also your hatreds?\"\nTsze-kung replied, \"I hate those who pry out matters, and ascribe\nthe knowledge to their wisdom. I hate those who are only not modest,\nand think that they are valorous. I hate those who make known secrets,\nand think that they are straightforward.\"\nThe Master said, \"Of all people, girls and servants are the most\ndifficult to behave to. If you are familiar with them, they lose their\nhumility. If you maintain a reserve towards them, they are\ndiscontented.\"\nThe Master said, \"When a man at forty is the object of dislike, he\nwill always continue what he is.\"\n18\nThe Viscount of Wei withdrew from the court. The Viscount of Chi\nbecame a slave to Chau. Pi-kan remonstrated with him and died.\nConfucius said, \"The Yin dynasty possessed these three men of\nvirtue.\"\nHui of Liu-hsia, being chief criminal judge, was thrice dismissed\nfrom his office. Some one said to him, \"Is it not yet time for you,\nsir, to leave this?\" He replied, \"Serving men in an upright way, where\nshall I go to, and not experience such a thrice-repeated dismissal? If\nI choose to serve men in a crooked way, what necessity is there for me\nto leave the country of my parents?\"\nThe duke Ching of Ch'i, with reference to the manner in which he\nshould treat Confucius, said, \"I cannot treat him as I would the chief\nof the Chi family. I will treat him in a manner between that\naccorded to the chief of the Chil and that given to the chief of the\nMang family.\" He also said, \"I am old; I cannot use his doctrines.\"\nConfucius took his departure.\nThe people of Ch'i sent to Lu a present of female musicians, which\nChi Hwan received, and for three days no court was held. Confucius\ntook his departure.\nThe madman of Ch'u, Chieh-yu, passed by Confucius, singing and\nsaying, \"O FANG! O FANG! How is your virtue degenerated! As to the\npast, reproof is useless; but the future may still be provided\nagainst. Give up your vain pursuit. Give up your vain pursuit. Peril\nawaits those who now engage in affairs of government.\"\nConfucius alighted and wished to converse with him, but Chieh-yu\nhastened away, so that he could not talk with him.\nCh'ang-tsu and Chieh-ni were at work in the field together, when\nConfucius passed by them, and sent Tsze-lu to inquire for the ford.\nCh'ang-tsu said, \"Who is he that holds the reins in the carriage\nthere?\" Tsze-lu told him, \"It is K'ung Ch'iu.', \"Is it not K'ung of\nLu?\" asked he. \"Yes,\" was the reply, to which the other rejoined,\n\"He knows the ford.\"\nTsze-lu then inquired of Chieh-ni, who said to him, \"Who are you,\nsir?\" He answered, \"I am Chung Yu.\" \"Are you not the disciple of K'ung\nCh'iu of Lu?\" asked the other. \"I am,\" replied he, and then Chieh-ni\nsaid to him, \"Disorder, like a swelling flood, spreads over the\nwhole empire, and who is he that will change its state for you? Rather\nthan follow one who merely withdraws from this one and that one, had\nyou not better follow those who have withdrawn from the world\naltogether?\" With this he fell to covering up the seed, and\nproceeded with his work, without stopping.\nTsze-lu went and reported their remarks, when the Master observed\nwith a sigh, \"It is impossible to associate with birds and beasts,\nas if they were the same with us. If I associate not with these\npeople,-with mankind,-with whom shall I associate? If right principles\nprevailed through the empire, there would be no use for me to change\nits state.\"\nTsze-lu, following the Master, happened to fall behind, when he\nmet an old man, carrying across his shoulder on a staff a basket for\nweeds. Tsze-lu said to him, \"Have you seen my master, sir?\" The old\nman replied, \"Your four limbs are unaccustomed to toil; you cannot\ndistinguish the five kinds of grain:-who is your master?\" With this,\nhe planted his staff in the ground, and proceeded to weed.\nTsze-lu joined his hands across his breast, and stood before him.\nThe old man kept Tsze-lu to pass the night in his house, killed a\nfowl, prepared millet, and feasted him. He also introduced to him\nhis two sons.\nNext day, Tsze-lu went on his way, and reported his adventure. The\nMaster said, \"He is a recluse,\" and sent Tsze-lu back to see him\nagain, but when he got to the place, the old man was gone.\nTsze-lu then said to the family, \"Not to take office is not\nrighteous. If the relations between old and young may not be\nneglected, how is it that he sets aside the duties that should be\nobserved between sovereign and minister? Wishing to maintain his\npersonal purity, he allows that great relation to come to confusion. A\nsuperior man takes office, and performs the righteous duties belonging\nto it. As to the failure of right principles to make progress, he is\naware of that.\"\nThe men who have retired to privacy from the world have been Po-i,\nShu-ch'i, Yuchung, I-yi, Chu-chang, Hui of Liu-hsia, and Shao-lien.\nThe Master said, \"Refusing to surrender their wills, or to submit to\nany taint in their persons; such, I think, were Po-i and Shu-ch'i.\n\"It may be said of Hui of Liu-hsia! and of Shaolien, that they\nsurrendered their wills, and submitted to taint in their persons,\nbut their words corresponded with reason, and their actions were\nsuch as men are anxious to see. This is all that is to be remarked\nin them.\n\"It may be said of Yu-chung and I-yi, that, while they hid\nthemselves in their seclusion, they gave a license to their words; but\nin their persons, they succeeded in preserving their purity, and, in\ntheir retirement, they acted according to the exigency of the times.\n\"I am different from all these. I have no course for which I am\npredetermined, and no course against which I am predetermined.\"\nThe grand music master, Chih, went to Ch'i.\nKan, the master of the band at the second meal, went to Ch'u.\nLiao, the band master at the third meal, went to Ts'ai. Chueh, the\nband master at the fourth meal, went to Ch'in.\nFang-shu, the drum master, withdrew to the north of the river.\nWu, the master of the hand drum, withdrew to the Han.\nYang, the assistant music master, and Hsiang, master of the\nmusical stone, withdrew to an island in the sea.\nThe duke of Chau addressed his son, the duke of Lu, saying, \"The\nvirtuous prince does not neglect his relations. He does not cause\nthe great ministers to repine at his not employing them. Without\nsome great cause, he does not dismiss from their offices the members\nof old families. He does not seek in one man talents for every\nemployment.\"\nTo Chau belonged the eight officers, Po-ta, Po-kwo, Chung-tu,\nChung-hwu, Shu-ya, Shuhsia, Chi-sui, and Chi-kwa.\n19\nTsze-chang said, \"The scholar, trained for public duty, seeing\nthreatening danger, is prepared to sacrifice his life. When the\nopportunity of gain is presented to him, he thinks of righteousness.\nIn sacrificing, his thoughts are reverential. In mourning, his\nthoughts are about the grief which he should feel. Such a man commands\nour approbation indeed\nTsze-chang said, \"When a man holds fast to virtue, but without\nseeking to enlarge it, and believes in right principles, but without\nfirm sincerity, what account can be made of his existence or\nnon-existence?\"\nThe disciples of Tsze-hsia asked Tsze-chang about the principles\nthat should characterize mutual intercourse. Tsze-chang asked, \"What\ndoes Tsze-hsia say on the subject?\" They replied, \"Tsze-hsia says:\n'Associate with those who can advantage you. Put away from you those\nwho cannot do so.'\" Tsze-chang observed, \"This is different from\nwhat I have learned. The superior man honors the talented and\nvirtuous, and bears with all. He praises the good, and pities the\nincompetent. Am I possessed of great talents and virtue?-who is\nthere among men whom I will not bear with? Am I devoid of talents\nand virtue?-men will put me away from them. What have we to do with\nthe putting away of others?\"\nTsze-hsia said, \"Even in inferior studies and employments there is\nsomething worth being looked at; but if it be attempted to carry\nthem out to what is remote, there is a danger of their proving\ninapplicable. Therefore, the superior man does not practice them.\"\nTsze-hsia said, \"He, who from day to day recognizes what he has\nnot yet, and from month to month does not forget what he has\nattained to, may be said indeed to love to learn.\"\nTsze-hsia said, \"There are learning extensively, and having a firm\nand sincere aim; inquiring with earnestness, and reflecting with\nself-application:-virtue is in such a course.\"\nTsze-hsia said, \"Mechanics have their shops to dwell in, in order to\naccomplish their works. The superior man learns, in order to reach\nto the utmost of his principles.\"\nTsze-hsia said, \"The mean man is sure to gloss his faults.\"\nTsze-hsia said, \"The superior man undergoes three changes. Looked at\nfrom a distance, he appears stern; when approached, he is mild; when\nhe is heard to speak, his language is firm and decided.\"\nTsze-hsia said, \"The superior man, having obtained their confidence,\nmay then impose labors on his people. If he have not gained their\nconfidence, they will think that he is oppressing them. Having\nobtained the confidence of his prince, one may then remonstrate with\nhim. If he have not gained his confidence, the prince will think\nthat he is vilifying him.\"\nTsze-hsia said, \"When a person does not transgress the boundary line\nin the great virtues, he may pass and repass it in the small virtues.\"\nTsze-yu said, \"The disciples and followers of Tsze-hsia, in\nsprinkling and sweeping the ground, in answering and replying, in\nadvancing and receding, are sufficiently accomplished. But these are\nonly the branches of learning, and they are left ignorant of what is\nessential.-How can they be acknowledged as sufficiently taught?\"\nTsze-hsia heard of the remark and said, \"Alas! Yen Yu is wrong.\nAccording to the way of the superior man in teaching, what departments\nare there which he considers of prime importance, and delivers? what\nare there which he considers of secondary importance, and allows\nhimself to be idle about? But as in the case of plants, which are\nassorted according to their classes, so he deals with his disciples.\nHow can the way of a superior man be such as to make fools of any of\nthem? Is it not the sage alone, who can unite in one the beginning and\nthe consummation of learning?\"\nTsze-hsia said, \"The officer, having discharged all his duties,\nshould devote his leisure to learning. The student, having completed\nhis learning, should apply himself to be an officer.\"\nTsze-hsia said, \"Mourning, having been carried to the utmost\ndegree of grief, should stop with that.\"\nTsze-hsia said, \"My friend Chang can do things which are hard to\nbe done, but yet he is not perfectly virtuous.\"\nThe philosopher Tsang said, \"How imposing is the manner of Chang! It\nis difficult along with him to practice virtue.\"\nThe philosopher Tsang said, \"I heard this from our Master: 'Men\nmay not have shown what is in them to the full extent, and yet they\nwill be found to do so, on the occasion of mourning for their\nparents.\"\nThe philosopher Tsang said, \"I have heard this from our Master:-'The\nfilial piety of Mang Chwang, in other matters, was what other men\nare competent to, but, as seen in his not changing the ministers of\nhis father, nor his father's mode of government, it is difficult to be\nattained to.'\"\nThe chief of the Mang family having appointed Yang Fu to be chief\ncriminal judge, the latter consulted the philosopher Tsang. Tsang\nsaid, \"The rulers have failed in their duties, and the people\nconsequently have been disorganized for a long time. When you have\nfound out the truth of any accusation, be grieved for and pity them,\nand do not feel joy at your own ability.\"\nTsze-kung said, \"Chau's wickedness was not so great as that name\nimplies. Therefore, the superior man hates to dwell in a low-lying\nsituation, where all the evil of the world will flow in upon him.\"\nTsze-kung said, \"The faults of the superior man are like the\neclipses of the sun and moon. He has his faults, and all men see them;\nhe changes again, and all men look up to him.\"\nKung-sun Ch'ao of Wei asked Tszekung, saying. \"From whom did\nChung-ni get his learning?\"\nTsze-kung replied, \"The doctrines of Wan and Wu have not yet\nfallen to the ground. They are to be found among men. Men of talents\nand virtue remember the greater principles of them, and others, not\npossessing such talents and virtue, remember the smaller. Thus, all\npossess the doctrines of Wan and Wu. Where could our Master go that he\nshould not have an opportunity of learning them? And yet what\nnecessity was there for his having a regular master?\"\nShu-sun Wu-shu observed to the great officers in the court,\nsaying, \"Tsze-kung is superior to Chung-ni.\"\nTsze-fu Ching-po reported the observation to Tsze-kung, who said,\n\"Let me use the comparison of a house and its encompassing wall. My\nwall only reaches to the shoulders. One may peep over it, and see\nwhatever is valuable in the apartments.\n\"The wall of my Master is several fathoms high. If one do not find\nthe door and enter by it, he cannot see the ancestral temple with\nits beauties, nor all the officers in their rich array.\n\"But I may assume that they are few who find the door. Was not the\nobservation of the chief only what might have been expected?\"\nShu-sun Wu-shu having spoken revilingly of Chung-ni, Tsze-kung said,\n\"It is of no use doing so. Chung-ni cannot be reviled. The talents and\nvirtue of other men are hillocks and mounds which may be stepped over.\nChung-ni is the sun or moon, which it is not possible to step over.\nAlthough a man may wish to cut himself off from the sage, what harm\ncan he do to the sun or moon? He only shows that he does not know\nhis own capacity.\nCh'an Tsze-ch' in, addressing Tsze-kung, said, \"You are too\nmodest. How can Chung-ni be said to be superior to you?\"\nTsze-kung said to him, \"For one word a man is often deemed to be\nwise, and for one word he is often deemed to be foolish. We ought to\nbe careful indeed in what we say.\n\"Our Master cannot be attained to, just in the same way as the\nheavens cannot be gone up by the steps of a stair.\n\"Were our Master in the position of the ruler of a state or the\nchief of a family, we should find verified the description which has\nbeen given of a sage's rule:-he would plant the people, and\nforthwith they would be established; he would lead them on, and\nforthwith they would follow him; he would make them happy, and\nforthwith multitudes would resort to his dominions; he would stimulate\nthem, and forthwith they would be harmonious. While he lived, he would\nbe glorious. When he died, he would be bitterly lamented. How is it\npossible for him to be attained to?\"\n20\nYao said, \"Oh! you, Shun, the Heaven-determined order of\nsuccession now rests in your person. Sincerely hold fast the due Mean.\nIf there shall be distress and want within the four seas, the Heavenly\nrevenue will come to a perpetual end.\"\nShun also used the same language in giving charge to Yu.\nT'ang said, \"I the child Li, presume to use a dark-colored victim,\nand presume to announce to Thee, O most great and sovereign God,\nthat the sinner I dare not pardon, and thy ministers, O God, I do\nnot keep in obscurity. The examination of them is by thy mind, O\nGod. If, in my person, I commit offenses, they are not to be\nattributed to you, the people of the myriad regions. If you in the\nmyriad regions commit offenses, these offenses must rest on my\nperson.\"\nChau conferred great gifts, and the good were enriched.\n\"Although he has his near relatives, they are not equal to my\nvirtuous men. The people are throwing blame upon me, the One man.\"\nHe carefully attended to the weights and measures, examined the body\nof the laws, restored the discarded officers, and the good\ngovernment of the kingdom took its course.\nHe revived states that had been extinguished, restored families\nwhose line of succession had been broken, and called to office those\nwho had retired into obscurity, so that throughout the kingdom the\nhearts of the people turned towards him.\nWhat he attached chief importance to were the food of the people,\nthe duties of mourning, and sacrifices.\nBy his generosity, he won all. By his sincerity, he made the\npeople repose trust in him. By his earnest activity, his\nachievements were great. By his justice, all were delighted.\nTsze-chang asked Confucius, saying, \"In what way should a person\nin authority act in order that he may conduct government properly?\"\nThe Master replied, \"Let him honor the five excellent, and banish away\nthe four bad, things;-then may he conduct government properly.\"\nTsze-chang said, \"What are meant by the five excellent things?\" The\nMaster said, \"When the person in authority is beneficent without great\nexpenditure; when he lays tasks on the people without their\nrepining; when he pursues what he desires without being covetous; when\nhe maintains a dignified ease without being proud; when he is majestic\nwithout being fierce.\"\nTsze-chang said, \"What is meant by being beneficent without great\nexpenditure?\" The Master replied, \"When the person in authority\nmakes more beneficial to the people the things from which they\nnaturally derive benefit;-is not this being beneficent without great\nexpenditure? When he chooses the labors which are proper, and makes\nthem labor on them, who will repine? When his desires are set on\nbenevolent government, and he secures it, who will accuse him of\ncovetousness? Whether he has to do with many people or few, or with\nthings great or small, he does not dare to indicate any disrespect;-is\nnot this to maintain a dignified ease without any pride? He adjusts\nhis clothes and cap, and throws a dignity into his looks, so that,\nthus dignified, he is looked at with awe;-is not this to be majestic\nwithout being fierce?\"\nTsze-chang then asked, \"What are meant by the four bad things?\"\nThe Master said, \"To put the people to death without having instructed\nthem;-this is called cruelty. To require from them, suddenly, the full\ntale of work, without having given them warning;-this is called\noppression. To issue orders as if without urgency, at first, and, when\nthe time comes, to insist on them with severity;-this is called\ninjury. And, generally, in the giving pay or rewards to men, to do\nit in a stingy way;-this is called acting the part of a mere\nofficial.\"\nThe Master said, \"Without recognizing the ordinances of Heaven, it\nis impossible to be a superior man.\n\"Without an acquaintance with the rules of Propriety, it is\nimpossible for the character to be established.\n\"Without knowing the force of words, it is impossible to know men.\"\nTHE END","title":"CONFUCIAN ANALECTS","type":"page"}