Confucian Analects (Lun Yü)

iconChapter - 14

1Hsien asked what was shameful.
2The Master said, "When good government prevails in a state, to be thinking only of salary; and, when bad government prevails, to be thinking, in the same way, only of salary;-this is shameful."
3"When the love of superiority, boasting, resentments, and covetousness are repressed, this may be deemed perfect virtue."
4The Master said, "This may be regarded as the achievement of what is difficult. But I do not know that it is to be deemed perfect virtue."
5The Master said, "The scholar who cherishes the love of comfort is not fit to be deemed a scholar."
6The Master said, "When good government prevails in a state, language may be lofty and bold, and actions the same. When bad government prevails, the actions may be lofty and bold, but the language may be with some reserve."
7The Master said, "The virtuous will be sure to speak correctly, but those whose speech is good may not always be virtuous. Men of principle are sure to be bold, but those who are bold may not always be men of principle."
8Nan-kung Kwo, submitting an inquiry to Confucius, said, "I was skillful at archery, and Ao could move a boat along upon the land, but neither of them died a natural death. Yu and Chi personally wrought at the toils of husbandry, and they became possessors of the kingdom."
9The Master made no reply; but when Nan-kung Kwo went out, he said, "A superior man indeed is this! An esteemer of virtue indeed is this!"
10The Master said, "Superior men, and yet not always virtuous, there have been, alas! But there never has been a mean man, and, at the same time, virtuous."
11The Master said, "Can there be love which does not lead to strictness with its object? Can there be loyalty which does not lead to the instruction of its object?"
12The Master said, "In preparing the governmental notifications, P'I Shan first made the rough draft; Shi-shu examined and discussed its contents; Tsze-yu, the manager of foreign intercourse, then polished the style; and, finally, Tsze-ch'an of Tung-li gave it the proper elegance and finish."
13Some one asked about Tsze-ch'an. The Master said, "He was a kind man."
14He asked about Tsze-hsi.
15The Master said, "That man! That man!"
16He asked about Kwan Chung. "For him," said the Master, "the city of Pien, with three hundred families, was taken from the chief of the Po family, who did not utter a murmuring word, though, to the end of his life, he had only coarse rice to eat."
17The Master said, "To be poor without murmuring is difficult. To be rich without being proud is easy."
18The Master said, "Mang Kung-ch'o is more than fit to be chief officer in the families of Chao and Wei, but he is not fit to be great officer to either of the states Tang or Hsieh."
19Tsze-lu asked what constituted a COMPLETE man.
20The Master said, "Suppose a man with the knowledge of Tsang Wu-chung, the freedom from covetousness of Kung-ch'o, the bravery of Chwang of Pien, and the varied talents of Zan Ch'iu; add to these the accomplishments of the rules of propriety and music;-such a one might be reckoned a COMPLETE man."
21He then added, "But what is the necessity for a complete man of the present day to have all these things?
22The man, who in the view of gain, thinks of righteousness; who in the view of danger is prepared to give up his life; and who does not forget an old agreement however far back it extends:-such a man may be reckoned a COMPLETE man."
23The Master asked Kung-ming Chia about Kung-shu Wan, saying, "Is it true that your master speaks not, laughs not, and takes not?"
24Kung-ming Chia replied, "This has arisen from the reporters going beyond the truth.-My master speaks when it is the time to speak, and so men do not get tired of his speaking.
25He laughs when there is occasion to be joyful, and so men do not get tired of his laughing.
26He takes when it is consistent with righteousness to do so, and so men do not get tired of his taking."
27The Master said, "So! But is it so with him?"
28The Master said, "Tsang Wu-chung, keeping possession of Fang, asked of the duke of Lu to appoint a successor to him in his family. Although it may be said that he was not using force with his sovereign, I believe he was."
29The Master said, "The duke Wan of Tsin was crafty and not upright. The duke Hwan of Ch'i was upright and not crafty."
30Tsze-lu said, "The Duke Hwan caused his brother Chiu to be killed, when Shao Hu died, with his master, but Kwan Chung did not die. May not I say that he was wanting in virtue?"
31The Master said, "The Duke Hwan assembled all the princes together, and that not with weapons of war and chariots:-it was all through the influence of Kwan Chung. Whose beneficence was like his? Whose beneficence was like his?"
32Tsze-kung said, "Kwan Chung, I apprehend was wanting in virtue. When the Duke Hwan caused his brother Chiu to be killed, Kwan Chung was not able to die with him. Moreover, he became prime minister to Hwan."
33The Master said, "Kwan Chung acted as prime minister to the Duke Hwan made him leader of all the princes, and united and rectified the whole kingdom. Down to the present day, the people enjoy the gifts which he conferred.
34But for Kwan Chung, we should now be wearing our hair unbound, and the lappets of our coats buttoning on the left side.
35"Will you require from him the small fidelity of common men and common women, who would commit suicide in a stream or ditch, no one knowing anything about them?"
36The great officer, Hsien, who had been family minister to Kung-shu Wan, ascended to the prince's court in company with Wan.
37The Master, having heard of it, said, "He deserved to be considered WAN (the accomplished)."
38The Master was speaking about the unprincipled course of the duke Ling of Weil when Ch'i K'ang said, "Since he is of such a character, how is it he does not lose his state?"
39Confucius said, "The Chung-shu Yu has the superintendence of his guests and of strangers; the litanist, T'o, has the management of his ancestral temple; and Wang-sun Chia has the direction of the army and forces:-with such officers as these, how should he lose his state?"
40The Master said, "He who speaks without modesty will find it difficult to make his words good."
41Chan Ch'ang murdered the Duke Chien of Ch'i.
42Confucius bathed, went to court and informed the Duke Ai, saying, "Chan Hang has slain his sovereign. I beg that you will undertake to punish him."
43The duke said, "Inform the chiefs of the three families of it."
44Confucius retired, and said, "Following in the rear of the great officers, I did not dare not to represent such a matter, and my prince says, "Inform the chiefs of the three families of it."
45He went to the chiefs, and informed them, but they would not act.
46Confucius then said, "Following in the rear of the great officers, I did not dare not to represent such a matter."
47Tsze-lu asked how a ruler should be served.
48The Master said, "Do not impose on him, and, moreover, withstand him to his face."
49The Master said, "The progress of the superior man is upwards; the progress of the mean man is downwards."
50The Master said, "In ancient times, men learned with a view to their own improvement. Nowadays, men learn with a view to the approbation of others."
51Chu Po-yu sent a messenger with friendly inquiries to Confucius.
52Confucius sat with him, and questioned him. "What," said he! "is your master engaged in?"
53The messenger replied, "My master is anxious to make his faults few, but he has not yet succeeded."
54He then went out, and the Master said, "A messenger indeed! A messenger indeed!"
55The Master said, "He who is not in any particular office has nothing to do with plans for the administration of its duties."
56The philosopher Tsang said, "The superior man, in his thoughts, does not go out of his place."
57The Master said, "The superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions."
58The Master said, "The way of the superior man is threefold, but I am not equal to it. Virtuous, he is free from anxieties; wise, he is free from perplexities; bold, he is free from fear.
59Tsze-kung said, "Master, that is what you yourself say."
60Tsze-kung was in the habit of comparing men together.
61The Master said, "Tsze must have reached a high pitch of excellence! Now, I have not leisure for this."
62The Master said, "I will not be concerned at men's not knowing me; I will be concerned at my own want of ability."
63The Master said, "He who does not anticipate attempts to deceive him, nor think beforehand of his not being believed, and yet apprehends these things readily when they occur;-is he not a man of superior worth?"
64Wei-shang Mau said to Confucius, "Ch'iu, how is it that you keep roosting about? Is it not that you are an insinuating talker?
65Confucius said, "I do not dare to play the part of such a talker, but I hate obstinacy."
66The Master said, "A horse is called a ch'i, not because of its strength, but because of its other good qualities."
67Some one said, "What do you say concerning the principle that injury should be recompensed with kindness?"
68The Master said, "With what then will you recompense kindness?"
69"Recompense injury with justice, and recompense kindness with kindness."
70The Master said, "Alas! there is no one that knows me."
71Tsze-kung said, "What do you mean by thus saying-that no one knows you?"
72The Master replied, "I do not murmur against Heaven. I do not grumble against men. My studies lie low, and my penetration rises high. But there is Heaven;-that knows me!"
73The Kung-po Liao, having slandered Tsze-lu to Chi-sun, Tsze-fu Ching-po informed Confucius of it, saying, "Our master is certainly being led astray by the Kung-po Liao, but I have still power enough left to cut Liao off, and expose his corpse in the market and in the court."
74The Master said, "If my principles are to advance, it is so ordered. If they are to fall to the ground, it is so ordered. What can the Kung-po Liao do where such ordering is concerned?"
75The Master said, "Some men of worth retire from the world. Some retire from particular states. Some retire because of disrespectful looks. Some retire because of contradictory language."
76The Master said, "Those who have done this are seven men."
77Tsze-lu happening to pass the night in Shih-man, the gatekeeper said to him, "Whom do you come from?"
78Tsze-lu said, "From Mr. K'ung."
79"It is he,-is it not?"-said the other, "who knows the impracticable nature of the times and yet will be doing in them."
80The Master was playing, one day, on a musical stone in Weil when a man carrying a straw basket passed door of the house where Confucius was, and said, "His heart is full who so beats the musical stone."
81A little while after, he added, "How contemptible is the one-ideaed obstinacy those sounds display! When one is taken no notice of, he has simply at once to give over his wish for public employment.
82'Deep water must be crossed with the clothes on; shallow water may be crossed with the clothes held up.'"
83The Master said, "How determined is he in his purpose! But this is not difficult!"
84Tsze-chang said, "What is meant when the Shu says that Kao-tsung, while observing the usual imperial mourning, was for three years without speaking?"
85The Master said, "Why must Kao-tsung be referred to as an example of this? The ancients all did so. When the sovereign died, the officers all attended to their several duties, taking instructions from the prime minister for three years."
86The Master said, "When rulers love to observe the rules of propriety, the people respond readily to the calls on them for service."
87Tsze-lu asked what constituted the superior man.
88The Master said, "The cultivation of himself in reverential carefulness."
89"And is this all?" said Tsze-lu.
90"He cultivates himself so as to give rest to others," was the reply.
91"And is this all?" again asked Tsze-lu.
92The Master said, "He cultivates himself so as to give rest to all the people. He cultivates himself so as to give rest to all the people:-even Yao and Shun were still solicitous about this."
93Yuan Zang was squatting on his heels, and so waited the approach of the Master, who said to him, "In youth not humble as befits a junior; in manhood, doing nothing worthy of being handed down; and living on to old age:-this is to be a pest." With this he hit him on the shank with his staff.
94A youth of the village of Ch'ueh was employed by Confucius to carry the messages between him and his visitors.
95Some one asked about him, saying, "I suppose he has made great progress."
96The Master said, "I observe that he is fond of occupying the seat of a full-grown man; I observe that he walks shoulder to shoulder with his elders. He is not one who is seeking to make progress in learning.
97He wishes quickly to become a man."