The Analects

1.1 The Master said: "To learn, and at due times to practice what one has learned — is that not a pleasure? To have friends come from far away — is that not a joy? To go unacknowledged by others and not take it to heart — is that not the mark of a noble man?"

1.2 Youzi said: "Rare is the man who honors his parents and elders yet delights in defying his superiors. And never has one refused to defy his superiors yet delighted in stirring disorder. The noble man works at the root: when the root stands firm, the Way grows from it. Honor for parents and elders — is that not the root of character?"

1.3 The Master said: "Clever words and a pleasing mask — rarely do they dwell with humaneness."

1.4 Zengzi said: "Each day I examine myself on three counts: for others, have I been faithful in what I undertook? With friends, have I been trustworthy? Have I practiced what was handed down to me?"

1.5 The Master said: "To guide a state of a thousand chariots: meet your duties with reverence and keep your word; spend with measure and love the people; raise them only in their seasons."

1.6 The Master said: "A young man should be a good son at home, a good brother abroad; careful and truthful; loving toward all, keeping close to the best. When strength remains from all this, let him turn to study."

1.7 Zixia said: "To value worth over beauty; to serve father and mother with all one's strength; to serve one's lord ready to give even life; to keep faith with friends in every word — though men call such a one unlearned, I say he has learned."

1.8 The Master said: "A noble man without gravity has no dignity; his learning does not hold. Hold faithfulness and truth as first. Befriend no man who is not your equal in this. When you fault, do not fear to mend."

1.9 Zengzi said: "Care for the dying as they pass, and keep the memory of the distant dead: the people's virtue will turn back to depth."

1.10 Ziqin asked Zigong: "When the Master arrives in a state, he always hears of its government. Does he seek it, or is it given to him?" Zigong said: "The Master obtains it by warmth, goodness, respect, thrift, and deference. The Master's way of seeking — is it not other than the way of other men?"

1.11 The Master said: "While the father lives, watch a man's aims; when the father is gone, watch his conduct. If for three years he does not turn from his father's way, he may be called a good son."

1.12 Youzi said: "In the practice of ritual, harmony is the prize. The Way of the old kings was beautiful in this, the small and the great following it. Yet if harmony alone is sought, harmonizing without ritual will not do."

1.13 Youzi said: "A promise near to righteousness can be kept; respect near to ritual is far from shame; and he who does not cast off his kin can be depended on."

1.14 The Master said: "The noble man does not seek a full belly nor a soft home; he is quick in deeds and careful in words, and he draws near to men of the Way to set himself right. Such a one may be called a lover of learning."

1.15 Zigong said: "Poor yet no flatterer, rich yet no boaster — how is that?" The Master said: "It will do; yet not yet: poor yet joyful, rich yet loving of ritual." Zigong said: "The Ode says, 'As cut, as filed, as carved, as polished' — is that your meaning?" The Master said: "Now at last I can speak of the Odes with you: shown one corner, you return with the other three."

1.16 The Master said: "Do not fret that others do not know you; fret that you do not know others."

2.1 The Master said: "Governing by virtue is like the pole star: it keeps its place, and the multitude of stars turn round it."

2.2 The Master said: "Three hundred Odes — yet one phrase covers them: 'Let there be no crooked thoughts.'"

2.3 The Master said: "Lead with government and order with punishment, and the people will avoid wrong but have no shame. Lead with virtue and order with ritual, and they will have shame and come right again."

2.4 The Master said: "At fifteen I set my heart on learning. At thirty I stood firm. At forty I had no doubts. At fifty I knew the command of Heaven. At sixty my ear was attuned. At seventy I could follow my heart's desire without overstepping the line."

2.5 Meng Yizi asked about filial duty. The Master said: "Not to disobey." Later, when Fan Chi was driving, the Master said: "Meng Sun asked me about filial duty; I answered, 'Not to disobey.'" Fan Chi said: "What did you mean?" The Master said: "When parents live, serve them with ritual; when they die, bury them with ritual and sacrifice to them with ritual."

2.6 Meng Wu asked about filial duty. The Master said: "Let a father and mother know only the anxiety of illness — nothing else."

2.7 Ziyou asked about filial duty. The Master said: "Today filial duty means keeping parents fed. But dogs and horses are kept fed too. Without reverence, where is the difference?"

2.8 Zixia asked about filial duty. The Master said: "The look on the face is the hard part. To take the work when there is something to do, and wine and food for the elders first — could even that be called filial?"

2.9 The Master said: "I talk with Hui for a whole day; he never disagrees with me, like a dullard. But when he is gone and I weigh what he does, it shows the point. Hui is no dullard after all."

2.10 The Master said: "See what a man does, mark the road by which he came, and find where he rests at ease — can a man hide himself? Can he hide himself?"

2.11 The Master said: "Reviewing the old as a key to the new, one may be a teacher of others."

2.12 The Master said: "The noble man is not a vessel with one use."

2.13 Zigong asked about the noble man. The Master said: "He acts first, and his words follow after."

2.14 The Master said: "The noble man is not a partisan; the small man is no cooperation."

2.15 The Master said: "Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is peril."

2.16 The Master said: "To make study the whole business is dangerous doctrine indeed."

2.17 The Master said: "You, shall I teach you what knowing is? To say you know when you know, and to say you do not know when you do not — that is knowing."

2.18 Zhangxue was asked about earning office. The Master said: "Hear much, set aside the doubtful, and speak carefully of the rest — your errors will be few. See much, set aside the risky, and act carefully with the rest — your regrets will be few. Few errors in speech, few regrets in action: office lies there."

2.19 Duke Ai asked: "What should I do so the people submit?" Confucius said: "Raise the straight and set them over the crooked, and the people will submit. Raise the crooked over the straight, and the people will not submit."

2.20 Ji Kangzi asked how to make the people reverent and loyal. The Master said: "Meet them with gravity and they will be reverent; be a good son and kind, and they will be loyal; raise the good and teach the unskilled, and they will be moved."

2.21 Someone said to Confucius: "Why do you not govern?" The Master said: "The Documents say, 'To be filial — only be filial to your brothers, and show it in governing.' That too is governing. Why must one hold office to govern?"

2.22 The Master said: "A man without trust — I do not know how he is tolerated. A carriage without a yoke-bar, a cart without a collar-bar: how can you move them?"

2.23 Zizhang asked: "Can ten generations be foreseen?" The Master said: "The Yin built on the rites of the Xia, adding and taking away — that can be told. The Zhou built on the rites of the Yin, adding and taking away — that can be told. And so, whoever follows the Zhou, even a hundred generations hence, can be told."

2.24 The Master said: "To sacrifice to spirits that are not yours is flattery. To see the right and not do it is want of courage."

3.1 Confucius said of the Ji family: "Eight rows of dancers in their courtyard — if this can be borne, what cannot be borne?"

3.2 The Three Families performed the Yong removal. The Master said: "'The lords assist; the Son of Heaven is solemn' — what meaning has it in the halls of the three families?"

3.3 The Master said: "If a man lacks humaneness, what of ritual? If a man lacks humaneness, what of music?"

3.4 Lin Fang asked about the root of ritual. The Master said: "A great question! In ritual, better thrift than extravagance; in mourning, better grief than ceremony."

3.5 The Master said: "The chiefs of Yi and Di hold their rulers; the states of Xia do not — they may fall."

3.6 The Ji family sacrificed to Mount Tai. The Master said to Ran You: "Can you not save it?" He answered: "I cannot." The Master said: "Alas! Does Mount Tai yield to Lin Fang? Has it less sense than you?"

3.7 The Master said: "A gentleman does not contend — yet even in archery? Saluting and yielding, they ascend; coming down, they drink their fill. Even their contest is gentlemanly."

3.8 Zixia asked, quoting: "'Her dimpled smile, her lovely eyes, her plain ground for the patterns.' What does that mean?" The Master said: "The painting comes after the plain ground." Zixia said: "Then ritual comes after?" The Master said: "Shang — you raise my meaning. Now I can talk of the Odes with you."

3.9 The Master said: "The rites of Xia I can describe, but Qi cannot vouch for them. The rites of Yin I can describe, but Song cannot vouch for them. Their records and wise men fail; without records and wise men, the proof dies."

3.10 The Master said: "After the libation at the Dî sacrifice, I would rather not watch the rest."

3.11 Someone asked the meaning of the Dî. The Master said: "Unknown. One who knew its meaning would see all governance as plain as this" — pointing to his palm.

3.12 "Sacrifice as if present" — sacrifice to the spirits as if the spirits were there. The Master said: "If I do not take part, it is as if I had not sacrificed."

3.13 Wangsun Jia asked: "It is said, 'Propitiate the hearth rather than the southwest corner.' What of it?" The Master said: "Not so. Offend Heaven, and there is nowhere to pray."

3.14 The Master said: "Zhou looked back upon two dynasties; how resplendent its culture! I follow Zhou."

3.15 Upon entering the Grand Temple, the Master asked about everything. Someone said: "Who says the son of the man from Zou knows ritual? Into the Grand Temple, and he asks about everything." The Master heard it and said: "Such asking is itself ritual."

3.16 The Master said: "In archery, piercing the hide is not the point — some lack the strength for that. Such was the way of the ancients."

3.17 Zigong wished to drop the lamb at the new-moon sacrifice. The Master said: "Ci! You grudge the lamb; you grudged the rite."

3.18 The Master said: "Serve the ruler with full ritual; men call it flattery."

3.19 Duke Ding asked how a ruler employs his ministers and ministers serve their ruler. Confucius said: "The ruler employs with ritual; the minister serves with loyalty."

3.20 The Master said: "The Guanju is joy without license, grief without injury."

3.21 Duke Ai asked Zai Wo about the altar gods. He answered: "The Xia used pines; the Yin used cypresses; the Zhou used chestnuts — 'to make the people tremble.'" The Master heard it and said: "No making good what is done; no pleading what is past; no blaming what is gone."

3.22 The Master said: "Guan Zhong was a small vessel indeed!" "Was Guan Zhong frugal?" "The Guan family kept three courts; its offices were never doubled — how frugal is that?" "Then he knew ritual?" "Kings screen their gates with trees; Guan too. Kings have the wine-stand of emptied cups; Guan too. If Guan Zhong knew ritual, who does not?"

3.23 The Master, speaking to the Grand Master of Lu about music, said: "Music may be known: at the start, in unison; as it opens, clear and flowing; then continuous, till it ends."

3.24 The warden of Yi asked for an audience: "May a gentleman ever come here and be refused?" The followers brought him. On leaving he said: "Why grieve over losing office? The world has long been without the Way; Heaven means to use your Master as a wooden tongue for the bell."

3.25 The Master said of the Shao: "Perfectly beautiful, perfectly good." Of the Wu: "Perfectly beautiful, not perfectly good."

3.26 The Master said: "High station without tolerance; ritual without reverence; mourning without grief — how can I look at that?"

4.1 The Master said: "A neighborhood is adorned by humaneness. Choose a home where humaneness lives — how can that be unwise?"

4.2 The Master said: "Without humaneness one cannot long endure hardship, nor long enjoy ease. The humane rest in it; the wise profit by it."

4.3 Only the humane can love men and can hate men.

4.4 If your will is set on humaneness, no evil will come near you.

4.5 Wealth and honor are what men desire; unless won by the right way, do not dwell in them. Poverty and low estate are what men hate; unless won by the right way, do not flee them. If a noble man departs from humaneness, how does he fulfill the name? The noble man does not leave humaneness for the space of a meal: in haste he holds to it, in upheaval he holds to it.

4.6 The Master said: "I have seen none who love humaneness and none who hate inhumanity. One who loved humaneness would prize it beyond all. One who hated inhumanity would practice humaneness, letting no inhuman thing touch him. Is there the strength for even one day bent on humaneness? I have not seen the strength fail. Perhaps such men exist; I have not seen them."

4.7 The Master said: "Men's faults mark their kind. By his faults you read the man."

4.8 The Master said: "Hearing the Way in the morning, one may die content that evening."

4.9 The Master said: "A scholar with his heart set on the Way, yet ashamed of poor clothes and coarse food — not worth talking to."

4.10 The Master said: "The noble man, for all the world: no leaning, no against; he sides with the right."

4.11 The noble man thinks of virtue; the small man thinks of land. The noble man thinks of justice; the small man thinks of favors.

4.12 He who acts for profit stirs much resentment.

4.13 The Master said: "Can ritual, deference, and restraint govern a state? Then what trouble has one? Without them, what has one for ritual?"

4.14 The Master said: "Do not fret at having no office; fret at having no fitness for one. Do not fret that none know you; seek to be worth knowing."

4.15 The Master said: "Shen! My Way has one thread running through it." Zengzi answered: "Yes." The Master left. The disciples asked what it meant. Zengzi said: "The Master's Way: loyalty and compassion — nothing more."

4.16 The noble man understands what is right; the small man understands profit.

4.17 The Master said: "Seeing a worthy man, think of equaling him; seeing an unworthy man, search your own heart."

4.18 The Master said: "In serving your parents, gentle remonstrance. If they will not follow, stay reverent; do not rebel; labor, but without complaint."

4.19 The Master said: "While your parents live, do not travel far; if you travel, keep a set course."

4.20 If for three years a son does not turn from his father's way, he may be called filial.

4.21 The Master said: "Keep a parent's years in mind — joy on one side, fear on the other."

4.22 The Master said: "The men of old were slow to speak, for they feared their deeds would not match their words."

4.23 The Master said: "Few slip who hold to restraint."

4.24 The Master said: "The noble man wishes to be slow of speech and quick of deed."

4.25 Virtue is not solitary; it has neighbors.

4.26 Ziyou said: "Overbearing service to a ruler brings disgrace; overbearing counsel to a friend brings estrangement."

5.1 The Master said of Gongye Chang: "He is fit for a wife. Though he lay in bonds, it was not his crime." He gave him his daughter in marriage.

5.2 The Master said of Nan Rong: "When the state has the Way, he is not cast aside; when the state lacks the Way, he escapes punishment and death." He gave him his elder brother's daughter in marriage.

5.3 The Master said of Zijian: "A noble man indeed is such a one! If Lu had no noble men, where would he have gotten this?"

5.4 Zigong asked: "And what of me?" The Master said: "You are a vessel." "What vessel?" "A jewelled vessel of the ancestral temple."

5.5 Someone said: "Yong is humane but not eloquent." The Master said: "What use has he for eloquence? Those who fend men off with a glib tongue are often hated. I do not know whether he is humane — but what use has he for eloquence?"

5.6 The Master sent Qidiao Kai to take office. He answered: "For that I have not yet trust enough in myself." The Master was pleased.

5.7 The Master said: "If the Way does not prevail, I will take a raft and drift to sea. He who would follow me — is it not You?" Zilu heard it and was glad. The Master said: "You loves courage more than I do; but there is no timber to be had."

5.8 Meng Wu asked: "Is Zilu humane?" The Master said: "I do not know." He asked again. The Master said: "You: in a state of a thousand chariots he could be set over its levies — but I do not know whether he is humane." "And Qiu?" "Qiu: in a town of a thousand households, in a house of a hundred chariots, he could serve as its steward — but I do not know whether he is humane." "And Chi?" "Chi: girt and standing in court, he could speak with guests and strangers — but I do not know whether he is humane."

5.9 The Master said to Zigong: "Who is the better, you or Hui?" He answered: "How dare I look to Hui? Hui hears one thing and knows ten; I hear one thing and know two." The Master said: "You are not his equal; you and I are not his equal."

5.10 Zai Yu slept in the daytime. The Master said: "Rotten wood cannot be carved; a wall of dung cannot be plastered. What is the use of reproving Yu?" The Master said: "At first, with men, I heard their words and trusted their deeds. Now, with men, I hear their words and watch their deeds. It was Yu who brought this change."

5.11 The Master said: "I have not seen a man of firmness." Someone answered: "Shen Cheng." The Master said: "Cheng is full of desire — how should he be firm?"

5.12 Zigong said: "What I do not wish laid upon me, I also wish not to lay upon others." The Master said: "Ci, that is beyond your reach."

5.13 Zigong said: "The Master's culture and outward works we may hear; the Master's words on human nature and the Way of Heaven we may not hear."

5.14 When Zilu heard a thing, if he had not yet been able to practice it, he feared only to hear something more.

5.15 Zigong asked: "Why was Kong Wenzi given the name 'Wen,' the Cultured?" The Master said: "He was quick and loved learning; he was not ashamed to ask those below him. Therefore he was called 'Wen.'"

5.16 The Master said of Zichan: "He had four ways of the noble man: in his own conduct, deference; in serving his superiors, reverence; in nurturing the people, kindness; in employing the people, righteousness."

5.17 The Master said: "Yan Pingzhong was good at dealings with men: the longer the acquaintance, the more they revered him."

5.18 The Master said: "Zang Wenzhong kept a great tortoise, with hills carved on the roof-beams and duckweed painted on the posts. What sort of wisdom was that?"

5.19 Zizhang asked: "The prime minister Ziwen was made prime minister three times and showed no joy; three times he was dismissed and showed no anger. He always told the new prime minister of the old prime minister's policies. What of him?" The Master said: "He was loyal." "Was he humane?" "I do not know — how should he be humane?" "When Cui killed the prince of Qi, Chen Wenzi, who had ten chariots of horses, abandoned them and left. Coming to another state, he said, 'These are like our great officer Cui,' and left. Coming to another state, he said again, 'These are like our great officer Cui,' and left. What of him?" The Master said: "He was pure." "Was he humane?" "I do not know — how should he be humane?"

5.20 Ji Wenzi thought three times before acting. The Master heard it and said: "Twice would do."

5.21 The Master said: "Ning Wuzi: when the state had the Way, he was wise; when the state lacked the Way, he was foolish. His wisdom can be matched; his foolishness cannot be matched."

5.22 The Master, in Chen, said: "Let us go home! Let us go home! The young men of my house are wild and simple; they have made a fine pattern, but they do not know how to cut it."

5.23 The Master said: "Boyi and Shuqi did not brood over old wrongs; hence their resentment was rare."

5.24 The Master said: "Who says Weisheng Gao is straight? Someone begged vinegar of him, and he begged it of his neighbor and gave it."

5.25 The Master said: "Clever words, a pleasing face, and excess of deference — Zuoqiu Ming was ashamed of them, and I too am ashamed of them. To hide a grudge and befriend the man — Zuoqiu Ming was ashamed of it, and I too am ashamed of it."

5.26 Yan Yuan and Jilu were in attendance. The Master said: "Why not each speak your aims?" Zilu said: "I would share my carriages and horses and light furs with my friends, and wear them out without regret." Yan Yuan said: "I would not boast of my goodness nor display my labors." Zilu said: "We would hear the Master's aims." The Master said: "To give the old peace, to give friends trust, to give the young tenderness."

5.27 The Master said: "It is over! I have not seen one who sees his own fault and arraigns himself within."

5.28 The Master said: "In a hamlet of ten houses there must be one as loyal and trustworthy as I; but not one so fond of learning."

6.1 The Master said: "Yong could be given a seat facing south."

6.2 Zhonggong asked about Zisang Bozi. The Master said: "He would do — but he is too simple." Zhonggong said: "To dwell in reverence and act simply, in governing the people — is that not well? To dwell simply and act simply — is that not too simple?" The Master said: "Yong's words are right."

6.3 Duke Ai asked: "Which of your disciples loves learning?" Confucius answered: "There was Yan Hui, who loved learning: he did not transfer his anger, he did not repeat his faults. Unhappily he was short-lived and died. Now there is none; I have not heard of one who loves learning."

6.4 Zihua was sent to Qi, and Ran Qiu asked grain for his mother. The Master said: "Give her a measure." He asked for more. The Master said: "Give her a larger measure." Ran Qiu gave her five bundles of grain. The Master said: "When Chi went to Qi, he rode fat horses and wore light furs. I have heard it said: the noble man helps the needy; he does not crown the rich."

6.5 Yuan Si served him as steward, and the Master gave him nine hundred measures of grain; he declined. The Master said: "Do not decline — can you not give it to your neighbors and townsmen?"

6.6 The Master said of Zhonggong: "The calf of a plough-ox, tawny and horned — though one would not use it, would the mountains and rivers cast it aside?"

6.7 The Master said: "Hui: for three months his heart did not depart from humaneness; the others reach it for a day or a month at most."

6.8 Ji Kangzi asked: "Can Zhongyou be made to govern?" The Master said: "You is decisive — what difficulty would governing be to him?" "Can Ci be made to govern?" The Master said: "Ci is understanding — what difficulty would governing be to him?" "Can Qiu be made to govern?" The Master said: "Qiu is accomplished — what difficulty would governing be to him?"

6.9 The Ji family made Min Ziqian governor of Bi. Min Ziqian said: "Decline it well for me. If anyone comes to me again, I shall be north of the Wen River."

6.10 Bo Niu was ill, and the Master went to ask after him. He took his hand through the window and said: "We are losing him. It is fate! That such a man should have such a sickness! That such a man should have such a sickness!"

6.11 The Master said: "How worthy Hui was! One basket of rice, one gourd of water, in a mean alley — others could not have borne the misery, and Hui did not change his joy. How worthy Hui was!"

6.12 Ran Qiu said: "It is not that I do not delight in the Master's Way; my strength is not enough." The Master said: "One whose strength is not enough falls down midway. Now you draw the line yourself."

6.13 The Master said to Zixia: "Be a scholar of the noble man's kind; do not be a scholar of the small man's kind."

6.14 Ziyou was governor of Wucheng. The Master said: "Have you got men there?" He said: "There is one Tantai Mieming: he does not walk by shortcuts, and except on public business he has never come to my house."

6.15 The Master said: "Meng Zhifan did not boast. When the army fled he stayed behind to cover it; as he was about to enter the gate, he whipped up his horse and said: 'It was not that I dared to be last — my horse would not go.'"

6.16 The Master said: "Without the eloquence of a Zhu Tuo, and with the beauty of a Song Chao, it is hard to escape trouble in this age."

6.17 The Master said: "Who can go out except by the door? Why does no one walk this Way?"

6.18 The Master said: "When substance outweighs adornment, one is a rustic; when adornment outweighs substance, one is a scribe. Adornment and substance in equal measure — then one is a noble man."

6.19 The Master said: "Man is born straight. If a crooked man lives on, it is by luck."

6.20 The Master said: "To know it is not as good as to love it; to love it is not as good as to delight in it."

6.21 The Master said: "To those above the middle, one may speak of higher things; to those below the middle, one may not speak of higher things."

6.22 Fan Chi asked about wisdom. The Master said: "To work for what is right for the people, to revere the spirits and ghosts and keep them far off — that may be called wisdom." He asked about humaneness. The Master said: "The humane man puts the difficulty first and the reward last — that may be called humaneness."

6.23 The Master said: "The wise delight in water; the humane delight in mountains. The wise are in motion; the humane are still. The wise are joyful; the humane are long-lived."

6.24 The Master said: "Let Qi be changed once, and it comes to Lu; let Lu be changed once, and it comes to the Way."

6.25 The Master said: "A gu that is not a gu — a gu indeed! A gu indeed!"

6.26 Zai Wo asked: "A humane man — if one told him, 'A man has fallen into the well,' would he go in after him?" The Master said: "Why should he do so? A noble man may be made to go to him, but not to be entrapped; he may be deceived, but not made a fool of."

6.27 The Master said: "The noble man broadens himself with culture and binds it with ritual — then he will not go astray."

6.28 The Master saw Nanzi, and Zilu was displeased. The Master swore: "If I have done any wrong, may Heaven loathe me! May Heaven loathe me!"

6.29 The Master said: "The virtue of the middle way — is it not the highest? For a long time the people have lacked it."

6.30 Zigong said: "If one could spread wide benefits among the people and succor the multitude — what of that? Could he be called humane?" The Master said: "Why speak only of humaneness? He would surely be a sage! Even Yao and Shun fell short of it. The humane man: wishing to stand himself, he helps others to stand; wishing to reach himself, he helps others to reach. To be able to take what is near as a likeness — that may be called the method of humaneness."

7.1 The Master said: "I transmit and do not make; I trust in and love the ancients. I venture to compare myself to our Old Peng."

7.2 The Master said: "To keep a thing in the mind in silence, to learn without wearying, to teach men without tiring — what difficulty is that to me?"

7.3 The Master said: "Not to cultivate virtue; not to discuss what I have learned; to hear what is right and be unable to follow it; to be unable to mend what is not good — these are my worries."

7.4 When the Master was at rest, he was relaxed and cheerful.

7.5 The Master said: "How far I have fallen! It is long since I dreamt of the Duke of Zhou."

7.6 The Master said: "Set your will on the Way, hold fast to virtue, lean on humaneness, wander in the arts."

7.7 The Master said: "From one who brings a bundle of dried meat and upward, I have never failed to teach."

7.8 The Master said: "I do not open the way for one who is not struggling to understand; I do not help one who is not struggling to speak. If I raise one corner and he cannot return with the other three, I do not repeat it."

7.9 When the Master ate beside one in mourning, he never ate his fill.

7.10 On a day when the Master had wept, he did not sing.

7.11 The Master said to Yan Yuan: "When used, act; when set aside, keep hidden. Only you and I can do this." Zilu said: "If you were to lead the three armies, whom would you take with you?" The Master said: "To wrestle a tiger bare-handed and ford a river, dying without regret — him I would not take. It must be one who faces the affair with care, who loves to plan, and so succeeds."

7.12 The Master said: "If wealth could be sought by right, I would do it, even as a whip-bearer. If it cannot be sought, I follow what I love."

7.13 The Master was careful in three things: fasting, war, sickness.

7.14 When the Master was in Qi and heard the Shao, for three months he did not know the taste of meat. He said: "I did not think music could reach such a height."

7.15 Ran You said: "Does the Master side with the prince of Wei?" Zigong said: "Yes — I will ask him." He went in and said: "What manner of men were Boyi and Shuqi?" The Master said: "Wise men of old." "Did they resent?" "They sought humaneness and found it — what resentment was there?" Zigong came out and said: "The Master does not side with him."

7.16 The Master said: "With coarse grain to eat, water to drink, a bent arm for a pillow — joy lies in that too. Wealth and honor won unjustly are to me as drifting clouds."

7.17 The Master said: "Give me a few more years, and fifty years of learning, and I might be free of great faults."

7.18 The Master's speech in the standard tongue: the Odes, the Documents, and the handling of ritual — all in the standard tongue.

7.19 The Duke of She asked Zilu about Confucius, and Zilu did not answer. The Master said: "Why did you not say: he is a man who forgets to eat in his eagerness, forgets sorrow in his joy, and does not know that old age is coming on."

7.20 The Master said: "I am not one who knows from birth; I love the ancients and am quick to seek them out."

7.21 The Master did not speak of: prodigies, feats of strength, disorder, spirits.

7.22 The Master said: "When three walk together, there must be my teacher among them: I choose out what is good in them and follow it; what is not good, I change."

7.23 The Master said: "Heaven gave me this virtue; what can Huan Tui do to me?"

7.24 The Master said: "Do you think I conceal anything from you? I conceal nothing from you. There is nothing I do that I do not share with you — that is who I am."

7.25 The Master taught four things: culture, conduct, loyalty, trust.

7.26 The Master said: "A sage I cannot hope to see; to see a noble man would be enough." The Master said: "A good man I cannot hope to see; to see a man of constancy would be enough. To be empty and pretend fullness, to be poor and pretend abundance — it is hard to have constancy."

7.27 The Master fished with a line but not with a net; he shot, but did not shoot at roosting birds.

7.28 The Master said: "There may be those who act without knowing; I am not such a one. To hear much and choose out what is good, to see much and remember it — this is next to knowing."

7.29 The people of Huxiang were hard to speak with. A youth came to see him, and the disciples were perplexed. The Master said: "I approve his coming in, not his going out; why be so severe? When a man has cleansed himself and comes in, I approve the cleansing; I do not vouch for his past."

7.30 The Master said: "Is humaneness far off? I wish for humaneness, and humaneness is here."

7.31 The Minister of Justice of Chen asked whether Duke Zhao knew ritual. Confucius said: "He knew ritual." When Confucius had withdrawn, he bowed to Wuma Qi and brought him forward, saying: "I have heard the noble man is not partisan — is the noble man partisan? The ruler took a wife from Wu, of the same surname, and called her Wu Mengzi. If the ruler knew ritual, who does not?" Wuma Qi told the Master. The Master said: "I am fortunate: if I have a fault, men are sure to know it."

7.32 When the Master sang with others and they sang well, he would always make them repeat it, and then join in the harmony.

7.33 The Master said: "In letters, perhaps I am like other men. The noble man's practice in his own person — of that I have not yet attained."

7.34 The Master said: "As for sagehood and humaneness — how dare I claim them? But to work at them without wearying, and to teach men without tiring, that may be said of me." Gongxi Hua said: "These are just what the disciples cannot learn."

7.35 The Master was gravely ill, and Zilu asked leave to pray. The Master said: "Is there such a thing?" Zilu answered: "There is. The eulogies say: 'Pray to the spirits above and below.'" The Master said: "My praying has long been done."

7.36 The Master said: "Extravagance leads to insubordination; thrift leads to meanness. Better meanness than insubordination."

7.37 The Master said: "The noble man is open and at ease; the small man is ever anxious and small."

7.38 The Master was warm yet stern, dignified yet not fierce, respectful yet at ease.

8.1 The Master said: "Tai Bo — he may be called a man of the highest virtue. Three times he yielded the world away, and the people could find no words to praise it."

8.2 The Master said: "Deference without ritual is drudgery; caution without ritual is timidity; courage without ritual is disorder; straightness without ritual is rudeness. When the noble man is deep in his kin, the people rise to humaneness; when he does not forsake old friends, the people are not neglectful."

8.3 Zengzi was ill and called his disciples: "Look at my feet; look at my hands. The Ode says: 'Trembling, trembling, as if on the brink of a deep gulf, as if treading on thin ice.' And now, from this time on, I know I am free — my children!"

8.4 Zengzi was ill, and Meng Jingzi came to ask after him. Zengzi said: "When a bird is about to die, its cry is mournful; when a man is about to die, his words are good. Three things the noble man prizes in the Way: in his bearing, to be far from violence and insolence; in his face, to be near to trust; in his words and tone, to be far from meanness and perversity. As for the dishes and bowls, the officials see to those."

8.5 Zengzi said: "Able, yet asking the unable; learned, yet asking the unlearned; possessing as if not possessing; full as if empty; wronged yet not contending. Once a friend of mine strove after just this."

8.6 Zengzi said: "One to whom the orphaned charge of six feet may be entrusted, to whom the command of a hundred li may be given, whom no great crisis can turn — is he a noble man? He is a noble man indeed."

8.7 Zengzi said: "A scholar must be strong and resolute, for his burden is heavy and his road is long. Humaneness is his own burden — is it not heavy? Only death ends it — is it not long?"

8.8 The Master said: "Rise through the Odes; stand firm through ritual; ripen in music."

8.9 The Master said: "The people may be made to follow it; they may not be made to understand it."

8.10 The Master said: "To love courage and hate poverty — that is disorder. For a man lacking humaneness, to hate him too much — that is disorder."

8.11 The Master said: "If a man had the talents of the Duke of Zhou, but was proud and stingy, the rest is not worth looking at."

8.12 The Master said: "To study for three years without turning to emolument — that is not easy to find."

8.13 The Master said: "Hold faith firmly, love learning, and guard the good Way to the death. Enter no tottering state; dwell in no disordered state. When the world has the Way, appear; when it lacks the Way, keep hidden. When the state has the Way, poverty and low estate are a shame; when the state lacks the Way, wealth and honor are a shame."

8.14 The Master said: "Not in that office, do not plan that government."

8.15 The Master said: "How the opening by Master Zhi, and the closing of the Guanju, filled the ear with splendor!"

8.16 The Master said: "Wild yet not straight; simple yet not honest; sincere in look yet not trustworthy — such men I cannot fathom."

8.17 The Master said: "Learn as if you could never catch up, and still fear to lose it."

8.18 The Master said: "How towering were Shun and Yu, who held the world and took no part in it!"

8.19 The Master said: "Great indeed was Yao as a ruler! Towering was he! Heaven alone is great, and Yao took it as his model. Boundless was he — the people could find no name for him. Towering were his achievements! Radiant were his works of culture!"

8.20 King Wu said: "I have ten able ministers." Confucius said: "The difficulty of finding talent — is it not so? At the time of Tang and Yu it was at its fullest. There was a woman among them, so nine men. Holding two-thirds of the world, he served the Yin. The virtue of Zhou — it may be called the highest virtue."

8.21 The Master said: "Of Yu I find no flaw. He ate and drank meanly, yet gave richly to the spirits and ghosts; he wore coarse clothes, yet made beautiful his cap and apron; he dwelt in a low palace, yet spent all his strength on dikes and ditches. Of Yu I find no flaw."

9.1 The Master seldom spoke of profit, of fate, and of humaneness.

9.2 A man of the village of Daxiang said: "Great is Confucius! Widely learned, yet he makes no name in any one thing." The Master heard it and said to his disciples: "What shall I take up? Driving? Shooting? I shall take up driving."

9.3 The Master said: "The hemp cap is ritual; nowadays they use silk, which is thriftier — I follow the many. To bow below the hall is ritual; nowadays they bow above it, which is insolent. Though I go against the many, I bow below."

9.4 The Master was free of four things: no groundless opinion, no certainty, no rigidity, no self.

9.5 The Master was in fear at Kuang. He said: "King Wen is gone — is the culture not here with me? If Heaven meant to destroy this culture, a late-born man could not share in it. If Heaven does not mean to destroy it, what can the men of Kuang do to me?"

9.6 The Grand Minister asked Zigong: "Is your Master a sage? How is he so manifoldly able?" Zigong said: "Heaven has indeed let him go free toward sagehood, and he is manifoldly able." The Master heard it and said: "The Grand Minister knows me! Being lowly in my youth, I am able in many a menial thing. Are noble men many-skilled? Not many."

9.7 Lao said: "The Master said: 'Not being tried in office, I took to the arts.'"

9.8 The Master said: "Do I know anything? I know nothing. A common man asked me something, and I was empty. I struck at both ends of his question until I had sounded it through."

9.9 The Master said: "The phoenix does not come; the River brings no chart. It is over for me!"

9.10 When the Master saw one in mourning, or one in ceremonial cap and robes, or a blind man — seeing them, though they were young, he would rise; passing them, he would go quickly.

9.11 Yan Yuan sighed deeply: "The more I look up, the higher it is; the more I bore in, the harder it is. I see it before me, and suddenly it is behind. The Master leads men on, step by step: he broadened me with culture, he bound me with ritual, and I could not stop. When I had spent all my strength, it stood there, towering. I wished to follow it, but there was no way in."

9.12 The Master was gravely ill, and Zilu made the disciples act as retainers. When he mended, he said: "Long has You played false! To have retainers when there are none to have. Whom would I deceive — Heaven? And rather than die in the hands of retainers, I would rather die in the hands of you two or three. And even if I get no grand burial, will I die by the roadside?"

9.13 Zigong said: "If there were a beautiful jade here, would one wrap it in a box and store it, or seek a good merchant and sell it?" The Master said: "Sell it, sell it! I am one who waits for the buyer."

9.14 The Master wished to dwell among the nine barbarian tribes. Someone said: "They are crude — how can you?" The Master said: "Where a noble man dwells, what crudeness is there?"

9.15 The Master said: "When I returned from Wei to Lu, then music was set right, and the Ya and the Song each took their place."

9.16 The Master said: "Abroad, to serve dukes and ministers; at home, to serve fathers and elder brothers; at mourning, not to dare to be slack; not to be mastered by wine — what difficulty is that to me?"

9.17 The Master, standing by a stream, said: "It passes on like this, never resting day or night."

9.18 The Master said: "I have not seen one who loves virtue as he loves beauty."

9.19 The Master said: "Suppose one builds a mound: one basket short of the top, and he stops — I stop. Suppose one levels the ground: though he tip but one basket there, going on — I advance."

9.20 The Master said: "One who listens when I speak and never flags — is it not Hui?"

9.21 The Master said of Yan Yuan: "How sad! I saw him going forward; I never saw him stop."

9.22 The Master said: "There are sprouts that never flower — yes there are! There are flowers that never fruit — yes there are!"

9.23 The Master said: "The young are to be feared: how do we know those who come will not equal those here now? But if a man reaches forty or fifty with no name, he is no longer to be feared."

9.24 The Master said: "Words of law and counsel — can one fail to follow them? But mending is the prize. Words of gentle persuasion — can one fail to be pleased? But working them out is the prize. To be pleased and not work them out, to follow and not mend — I can do nothing with such a man."

9.25 The Master said: "Hold loyalty and trust as chief. Befriend no man not your equal. When you fault, do not fear to mend."

9.26 The Master said: "The three armies may be stripped of their general; a common man may not be stripped of his will."

9.27 The Master said: "Clad in a worn padded robe, standing beside one in fox and badger, and not ashamed — is it not You? 'Not envious, not greedy — how should he not be good?'" Zilu recited this all his life. The Master said: "That way is not enough to be called good."

9.28 The Master said: "Only when the year turns cold do we know that the pine and cypress are the last to fade."

9.29 The Master said: "The wise are not perplexed; the humane are not anxious; the brave are not afraid."

9.30 The Master said: "One may share learning with a man, but not yet share the Way; one may share the Way, but not yet stand with him; one may stand with him, but not yet weigh and turn with him."

9.31 "The flowers of the wild cherry — how they waver and turn. Do I not think of you? Only your house is far." The Master said: "He did not think of her — what farness was there?"

10.1 In his village, Confucius was gentle and deferential, as one unable to speak. In the ancestral temple and at court, he spoke fluently, though with care.

10.2 At court, speaking with the lower great officers, he was forthright; with the higher great officers, he was mild and even. When the ruler was present, he was reverent and composed.

10.3 When the ruler summoned him to act as usher, his face changed and his step quickened. He bowed to those standing with him, hands left and right; his robe flowed before and behind. Hastening forward, he was like wings. When the guests withdrew, he always reported: "The guests no longer look back."

10.4 Entering the ducal gate, he bowed low, as if the gate could not hold him. He did not stand in the middle of the gate; he did not tread on the threshold. Passing the ruler's seat, his face changed and his step quickened, and his words seemed to fail him. Lifting the hem of his robe, he ascended the hall, bowing low and holding his breath as if not breathing. Coming out, when he had descended one step, he relaxed his face and was cheerful. At the foot of the steps he hurried forward, like wings. Returning to his place, he was reverent.

10.5 Holding the jade tablet, he bowed low, as if it were too heavy to bear. He raised it as if bowing, lowered it as if handing it over. His face was stirred, as of one facing battle; his steps were small and close, as if following a line. At the presentation of gifts, his face was gracious. At the private audience, he was pleasant and easy.

10.6 The noble man did not trim his collar in dark purple or maroon; he did not wear red or purple for house clothes. In hot weather he wore a single robe of hemp or coarse cloth, and always an outer layer to go out. A black robe with a lamb's coat; a white robe with a fawn's coat; a yellow robe with a fox's coat. The house fur was long, with the right sleeve short. He always had a night robe, half again as long as his body. For sitting he used the thick fur of fox and badger. Out of mourning, he wore every kind of ornament. Except for the curtained skirt, he always trimmed his garments. He did not wear a lamb's coat and dark cap to condole. On the new moon he always went to court in court dress.

10.7 In fasting, he always had a clean garment of cloth. In fasting he always changed his food, and always moved his seat.

10.8 He did not turn from white rice, nor from finely cut fish. Rice gone sour, fish gone bad, meat gone off — he did not eat. Of bad color, he did not eat. Of bad smell, he did not eat. Badly cooked, he did not eat. Out of season, he did not eat. Cut crookedly, he did not eat. Without its proper sauce, he did not eat. Though there was much meat, he did not let it outweigh the rice. Only in wine he had no measure, but never to disorder. Wine bought and meat bought he did not eat. He never withdrew the ginger from the table, but did not eat much of it.

10.9 Of the meat he sacrificed at the public sacrifice, he did not keep it overnight. Of sacrificial meat, it did not go out of his house three days; past three days, he did not eat it.

10.10 He did not speak while eating, nor talk while in bed.

10.11 Though his food were coarse greens and vegetable broth, he always made the offering, and always with reverence.

10.12 If the mat was not straight, he did not sit on it.

10.13 When the villagers drank wine, the elders went out, and then he went out.

10.14 When the villagers held the winter exorcism, he stood in his court dress on the eastern steps.

10.15 When sending a messenger to ask after a friend in another state, he bowed twice and saw him off.

10.16 Kangzi sent him medicine; he bowed and received it, saying: "I do not know it, so I dare not taste it."

10.17 The stables burned. The Master, back from court, said: "Was anyone hurt?" He did not ask about the horses.

10.18 When the ruler sent him food, he always straightened his mat and tasted it first. When the ruler sent him raw meat, he always cooked it and made the offering. When the ruler sent him a live animal, he always reared it. When eating with the ruler, when the ruler made the offering, he ate first.

10.19 When he was ill and the ruler came to see him, he lay with his head to the east, his court dress laid over him, his sash trailing.

10.20 When the ruler's summons came, he did not wait for his horses to be put to, but set out on foot.

10.21 Entering the Grand Temple, he asked about everything.

10.22 When a friend died and there was nowhere for him to be laid, he said: "I will see to his funeral."

10.23 When a friend sent a gift, though it were carriages and horses, unless it were sacrificial meat, he did not bow.

10.24 In bed he did not lie stiff as a corpse; at home he did not sit as a guest.

10.25 Seeing one in mourning, though an intimate, he always changed countenance. Seeing one in a cap, or a blind man, though a familiar, he always showed respect. To one in mourning garb he bowed from his carriage; he bowed to one carrying the census boards. At a rich spread, he always changed countenance and rose. At sudden thunder or fierce wind, he always changed countenance.

10.26 Mounting his carriage, he always stood straight and took the strap. In the carriage he did not turn to look back, did not speak fast, did not point.

10.27 When the look came, the bird rose; it hovered, and then settled. The Master said: "The hen pheasant on the hill bridge — timely indeed, timely indeed!" Zilu saluted it; the bird flapped three times and rose.

11.1 The Master said: "Those who first advanced in ritual and music were plain men of the wilds; those who came later to ritual and music were noble men. If I were to use them, I would follow the first."11.2 The Master said: "Those who followed me to Chen and Cai — none of them come to my door now."11.3 Virtue in action: Yan Yuan, Min Ziqian, Ran Boniu, Zhonggong. Speech: Zai Wo, Zigong. Government: Ran You, Jilu. Culture and learning: Ziyou, Zixia.11.4 The Master said: "Hui is no help to me — there is nothing in my words he does not delight in."11.5 The Master said: "Filial indeed was Min Ziqian! No one could find fault with the words of his parents and brothers about him."11.6 Nanrong repeated the lines on the white jade scepter three times; Confucius gave him his elder brother's daughter in marriage.11.7 Ji Kangzi asked: "Who among your disciples loves learning?" Confucius answered: "There was Yan Hui who loved learning; unhappily he died young. Now there is none."11.8 When Yan Yuan died, Yan Lu begged for the Master's carriage to make him an outer coffin. The Master said: "Talented or not, each man speaks of his own son. When Li died, he had a coffin but no outer coffin. I would not go on foot to give him one, for I follow behind the great officers, and I may not go on foot."11.9 When Yan Yuan died, the Master said: "Alas! Heaven is destroying me! Heaven is destroying me!"11.10 When Yan Yuan died, the Master wept for him with abandon. His followers said: "Master, you are overcome with grief!" He said: "Am I overcome? If not for this man, for whom should I grieve so?"11.11 When Yan Yuan died, the disciples wished to bury him richly. The Master said: "That must not be." The disciples buried him richly. The Master said: "Hui looked on me as a father, yet I could not look on him as a son. This was not my doing; it was those disciples of yours."11.12 Jilu asked about serving the spirits. The Master said: "You are not yet able to serve men — how could you serve the spirits?" He said: "May I ask about death?" The Master said: "You do not yet know life — how could you know death?"11.13 Minzi stood at his side, gentle and upright; Zilu, bold and firm; Ran You and Zigong, frank and pleasant. The Master was glad. "Yet such a one as You will not die a natural death."11.14 The men of Lu were building a new treasury. Min Ziqian said: "What of keeping the old structure? Why must it be rebuilt?" The Master said: "That man seldom speaks, but when he does, he hits the mark."11.15 The Master said: "Why does You play the zither at my door?" The disciples grew disrespectful toward Zilu. The Master said: "You has climbed the hall; he has not yet entered the inner room."11.16 Zigong asked: "Which is worthier, Shi or Shang?" The Master said: "Shi goes too far; Shang falls short." He said: "Then Shi is the better?" The Master said: "Going too far is the same as falling short."11.17 The Ji family was richer than the Duke of Zhou, yet Ran Qiu gathered taxes for them and increased their wealth. The Master said: "He is no disciple of mine. Beat the drum, my young men, and attack him — that is permitted."11.18 Chai is dull; Shen is slow; Shi is one-sided; You is coarse.11.19 The Master said: "Hui is near the mark, yet often in want. Ci does not accept his lot, and has grown rich by trade; his guesses often hit."11.20 Zizhang asked about the way of a good man. The Master said: "He does not tread the old tracks, yet he does not enter the inner room."11.21 The Master said: "Is earnest speech to be approved? Is it a noble man, or only a solemn face?"11.22 Zilu asked: "Should one act on hearing?" The Master said: "Father and elder brother are alive — how could one act on hearing?" Ran You asked: "Should one act on hearing?" The Master said: "Act on hearing." Gongxi Hua said: "You asked, 'Should one act on hearing?' and you said, 'Father and elder brother are alive'; Qiu asked the same, and you said, 'Act on hearing.' I am confused; may I ask?" The Master said: "Qiu holds back, so I urged him forward; You is a match for two men, so I held him back."11.23 When the Master was in danger at Kuang, Yan Yuan fell behind. The Master said: "I thought you were dead." He said: "While you live, how would I dare die?"11.24 Ji Ziran asked: "Can Zhong You and Ran Qiu be called great ministers?" The Master said: "I thought you would ask something extraordinary, but you ask about You and Qiu. A great minister serves his lord with the Way, and withdraws when that is impossible. As for You and Qiu, they may be called servants fit for office." He said: "Then will they follow whatever is done?" The Master said: "If it were the killing of a father or a lord, they would not follow."11.25 Zilu had Zigao made governor of Fei. The Master said: "You are injuring another man's son." Zilu said: "There are people there, and there are the altars of soil and grain — why must one read books to be learned?" The Master said: "It is for such things that I hate the glib of tongue."11.26 Zilu, Zengxi, Ran You, and Gongxi Hua were seated in attendance. The Master said: "I am but a day older than you; pay me no regard for that. You sit and say, 'No one knows me!' Yet if someone did know you, what would you do?" Zilu answered at once: "A state of a thousand chariots, hemmed in between great powers, pressed by armies, and followed by famine — let me govern it. Within three years I could give them courage and a sense of what is right." The Master smiled at him. "Qiu, what of you?" He answered: "A domain of sixty or seventy li, or fifty or sixty — let me govern it. Within three years I could make the people sufficient. As for ritual and music, I would wait for a noble man." "Chi, what of you?" He answered: "I do not say I could, but I would wish to learn. At the ceremonies of the ancestral temple, or at a gathering of lords, in the dark robe and the ceremonial cap, I would wish to serve as a lesser assistant." "Dian, what of you?" The sound of the zither thinned, then ended with a clang; he set the zither aside and rose, and answered: "Different from the three others." The Master said: "What harm is there? Each but speaks his wish." He said: "Late in spring, when the spring clothes are made, with five or six young men capped and six or seven boys, to bathe in the Yi, to take the air at the rain-altar, and to come home singing." The Master sighed deeply and said: "I am with Dian!" When the three had gone out, Zengxi stayed behind and said: "What of the words of those three?" The Master said: "Each but spoke his wish." He said: "Why did you smile at You?" He said: "To govern a state one needs ritual, and his words showed no deference — that is why I smiled at him." "Then Qiu was not speaking of a state?" "Where do you see a domain of sixty or seventy li, or fifty or sixty, that is not a state?" "Then Chi was not speaking of a state?" "Ancestral temples and gatherings of lords — what but the work of a lord? If Chi is to be the lesser, who could be the greater?"

12.1 Yan Yuan asked about humaneness. The Master said: "To master oneself and return to ritual is humaneness. Once a man masters himself and returns to ritual, the world turns to humaneness. Humaneness comes from oneself — how could it come from others?" Yan Yuan said: "May I ask its particulars?" The Master said: "Look at nothing contrary to ritual; hear nothing contrary to ritual; speak nothing contrary to ritual; do nothing contrary to ritual." Yan Yuan said: "Though I am not quick, I will set myself to practice these words."12.2 Zhonggong asked about humaneness. The Master said: "Going out, behave as though meeting a great guest; directing the people, as though presiding at a great sacrifice. What you do not want for yourself, do not put upon others. Then in the state none will resent you, and in the family none will resent you." Zhonggong said: "Though I am not quick, I will set myself to practice these words."12.3 Sima Niu asked about humaneness. The Master said: "The humane man is slow to speak." He said: "Slow to speak — is that called humaneness?" The Master said: "When doing it is hard, can speaking of it be other than slow?"12.4 Sima Niu asked about the noble man. The Master said: "The noble man is free of sorrow and fear." He said: "Free of sorrow and fear — is that called a noble man?" The Master said: "When he examines himself and finds no fault, what has he to sorrow over or fear?"12.5 Sima Niu said with sorrow: "Every man has brothers; I alone have none." Zixia said: "I have heard: 'Death and life are fate; wealth and honor are from Heaven.' If a noble man is reverent and without fault, and toward others respectful and courteous, then within the four seas all men are his brothers. How should a noble man grieve that he has no brothers?"12.6 Zizhang asked about understanding. The Master said: "When slander that seeps in like water, and complaints that sting the skin, cannot get through — that may be called understanding. When such slander and complaints cannot get through — that may be called far-sighted."12.7 Zigong asked about government. The Master said: "Sufficient food, sufficient arms, and the trust of the people." Zigong said: "If one had to do without, which of these three first?" He said: "Do without arms." Zigong said: "If one still had to do without, which of the two first?" He said: "Do without food. From of old all men die; but a people without trust cannot stand."12.8 Ji Zicheng said: "A noble man is substance alone; what need has he of ornament?" Zigong said: "A pity that you should speak so of the noble man, sir! A team of four horses cannot overtake the tongue. Ornament is substance and substance is ornament. The hide of a tiger or leopard, stripped of its hair, is no different from that of a dog or sheep."12.9 Duke Ai asked Youzi: "This year the harvest fails and the revenues fall short — what should be done?" Youzi answered: "Why not tax a tenth?" The Duke said: "Two-tenths is not enough for me — how could a tenth do?" He answered: "When the people have enough, who is there to be without? When the people have not enough, who is there to have enough?"12.10 Zizhang asked about exalting virtue and distinguishing what confuses. The Master said: "To hold to loyalty and trust, and to move toward what is right — that is exalting virtue. To love a man and wish him life, to hate him and wish him death, and at once to wish him life and wish him death — that is confusion. 'Truly it is not for wealth, but only for the strangeness of it.'"12.11 Duke Jing of Qi asked Confucius about government. Confucius answered: "Let the ruler be a ruler, the minister a minister, the father a father, the son a son." The Duke said: "Excellent! Truly, if the ruler is no ruler, the minister no minister, the father no father, the son no son, though there be grain, could I eat it?"12.12 The Master said: "He who can settle a lawsuit with half a word — is it not You?" Zilu never slept on a promise.12.13 The Master said: "In hearing lawsuits I am like other men. What is needed is to make lawsuits cease."12.14 Zizhang asked about government. The Master said: "Abide in it without weariness; carry it out with loyalty."12.15 The Master said: "Learn widely in culture and hold it fast with ritual — then you will not go astray."12.16 The Master said: "The noble man completes what is beautiful in others and does not complete what is evil in them. The small man is the opposite."12.17 Ji Kangzi asked Confucius about government. Confucius answered: "Government is rectitude. If you lead with rectitude, who would dare not be upright?"12.18 Ji Kangzi was troubled by thieves and asked Confucius. Confucius answered: "If you yourself were free of desire, though you paid them they would not steal."12.19 Ji Kangzi asked Confucius about government, saying: "What if I kill the lawless to further the lawful?" Confucius answered: "In governing, why use killing? If you desire good, the people will be good. The virtue of the noble man is wind; the virtue of the small man is grass. Grass bent by wind must bow down."12.20 Zizhang asked: "How should a scholar be so as to be called distinguished?" The Master said: "What do you mean by distinguished?" Zizhang answered: "In the state he is sure to be known; in the family he is sure to be known." The Master said: "That is notoriety, not distinction. The distinguished man is upright and loves what is right, examines words and observes faces, and is careful to put himself below others. In the state he is sure to be distinguished; in the family he is sure to be distinguished. As for the notorious man, he takes on the look of humaneness while acting against it, and rests in it without doubt. In the state he is sure to be known; in the family he is sure to be known."12.21 Fan Chi was walking with the Master below the rain-altar. He said: "May I ask about exalting virtue, repairing secret faults, and distinguishing confusion?" The Master said: "A good question! To put the deed first and the reward after — is that not exalting virtue? To attack one's own evil and not the evil of others — is that not repairing secret faults? In a moment's anger to forget oneself and one's parents — is that not confusion?"12.22 Fan Chi asked about humaneness. The Master said: "To love men." He asked about knowledge. The Master said: "To know men." Fan Chi did not grasp it. The Master said: "Raise the straight and set them over the crooked, and you can make the crooked straight." Fan Chi withdrew and, seeing Zixia, said: "Just now I saw the Master and asked about knowledge; he said, 'Raise the straight and set them over the crooked, and you can make the crooked straight.' What does it mean?" Zixia said: "How rich in meaning! Shun had the world, chose from the multitude, and raised Gao Yao — and the inhuman drew away. Tang had the world, chose from the multitude, and raised Yi Yin — and the inhuman drew away."12.23 Zigong asked about friendship. The Master said: "Advise him loyally and guide him well; if that fails, stop — do not disgrace yourself."12.24 Zengzi said: "The noble man gathers friends by his culture, and by his friends supports his humaneness."

13.1 Zilu asked about government. The Master said: "Go before them, and toil with them." He asked for more. He said: "Never flag."13.2 Zhonggong, as steward of the Ji family, asked about government. The Master said: "Set the officers first, pardon small faults, raise the worthy and able." He said: "How shall I know the worthy and able to raise them?" He said: "Raise those you know. And those you do not know — will others let them go?"13.3 Zilu said: "The lord of Wei awaits you to govern. What will you begin with?" The Master said: "The rectifying of names, surely!" Zilu said: "Is that so? How far you wander, Master! What is to be rectified?" The Master said: "Rude indeed are you, You! A noble man keeps silence about what he does not know. If names are not right, words are not smooth; if words are not smooth, deeds are not done; if deeds are not done, ritual and music do not flourish; if ritual and music do not flourish, punishments are not just; if punishments are not just, the people know not where to set hand or foot. Therefore a noble man must be able to speak of what he names, and what he speaks of must be doable. In his words a noble man leaves nothing to chance."13.4 Fan Chi asked to learn farming. The Master said: "I am not the equal of an old farmer." He asked to learn gardening. He said: "I am not the equal of an old gardener." Fan Chi went out. The Master said: "A small man indeed is Fan Xu! When those above love ritual, none of the people dare be disrespectful; when those above love what is right, none of the people dare disobey; when those above love trust, none of the people dare be insincere. Thus the people of the four quarters will come with their children strapped to their backs — what need of farming?"13.5 The Master said: "One who recites the three hundred Odes, yet is given government and cannot carry it out, or is sent to the four quarters and cannot answer alone — though he has read much, what of it?"13.6 The Master said: "If a man is upright in himself, things are done without orders. If he is not upright, though he orders, he is not obeyed."13.7 The Master said: "The governments of Lu and Wei are as brothers."13.8 The Master said of Prince Jing of Wei that he was good at ordering his household. When he first had something, he said: "It is just enough." When he had a little more: "It is nearly complete." When he was rich: "It is nearly beautiful."13.9 When the Master went to Wei, Ran You drove. The Master said: "How crowded!" Ran You said: "Since they are crowded, what next?" He said: "Enrich them." He said: "Since they are rich, what next?" He said: "Teach them."13.10 The Master said: "If only someone would use me, in a twelvemonth I could do something, and in three years something accomplished."13.11 The Master said: "'If good men governed a state for a hundred years, they could overcome cruelty and do away with killing.' How true that saying is!"13.12 The Master said: "If a true king arose, it would take a generation before humaneness prevailed."13.13 The Master said: "If a man sets himself right, what difficulty has he in governing? If he cannot set himself right, how can he set others right?"13.14 Ran You returned from court. The Master said: "Why so late?" He answered: "There were affairs of state." The Master said: "They were private matters. If there were affairs of state, though I am not in office, I would have heard of them."13.15 Duke Ding asked: "Is there a single word that can make a state flourish?" Confucius answered: "A word cannot be like that. But men say: 'To be a lord is hard; to be a minister is not easy.' If one knows how hard it is to be a lord — does that not come near to a single word making a state flourish?" He said: "Is there a single word that can ruin a state?" Confucius answered: "A word cannot be like that. But men say: 'I have no joy in being a lord, save that no one contradicts my words.' If the words are good and no one contradicts them, is that not good? If the words are not good and no one contradicts them — does that not come near to a single word ruining a state?"13.16 The Duke of She asked about government. The Master said: "Make those near happy, and those far away come."13.17 Zixia, as governor of Jufu, asked about government. The Master said: "Do not wish for speed; do not look at small gains. Wishing for speed, you do not reach; looking at small gains, great things are not done."13.18 The Duke of She told Confucius: "In my village there is a man of uprightness whose father stole a sheep, and the son bore witness against him." Confucius said: "In my village the upright are different from that: a father covers for his son, and a son for his father — and uprightness lies in this."13.19 Fan Chi asked about humaneness. The Master said: "In your dwelling be reverent; in handling affairs be respectful; toward others be loyal. Though you go among barbarians, do not cast these away."13.20 Zigong asked: "How should a man be so as to be called a scholar?" The Master said: "In his own conduct to have a sense of shame; sent to the four quarters, not to disgrace his lord's commission — that may be called a scholar." He said: "May I ask the next?" He said: "His clan calls him filial; his village calls him a good brother." He said: "May I ask the next?" He said: "His word is sure to be kept and his deed sure to follow through — stiff and unyielding, a small man, yet he may rank as the next." He said: "What of those who govern today?" The Master said: "Alas! Men of peck and bushel measure — how are they worth counting?"13.21 The Master said: "If I cannot find men of the middle way to work with, then the ardent and the cautious, surely! The ardent press forward; the cautious hold back from some things."13.22 The Master said: "The men of the south have a saying: 'A man without constancy cannot be a diviner or a healer.' Well said! 'If his virtue is not constant, he may yet bring shame on himself.'" The Master said: "It is simply that he is not divined for."13.23 The Master said: "The noble man is at harmony but not the same; the small man is the same but not at harmony."13.24 Zigong asked: "What if all the villagers love a man?" The Master said: "Not enough." "What if all the villagers hate him?" The Master said: "Not enough. It is better that the good among the villagers love him and the bad hate him."13.25 The Master said: "The noble man is easy to serve but hard to please. If you please him contrary to the Way, he is not pleased; and when he uses men, he gives each his measure. The small man is hard to serve but easy to please. If you please him though contrary to the Way, he is pleased; and when he uses men, he demands perfection."13.26 The Master said: "The noble man is at ease but not proud; the small man is proud but not at ease."13.27 The Master said: "Firmness, resolution, simplicity, and slowness of speech are near to humaneness."13.28 Zilu asked: "How should a man be so as to be called a scholar?" The Master said: "Earnest with his friends and warm with his brothers — that may be called a scholar. With friends, earnest urging; with brothers, cheerful warmth."13.29 The Master said: "When good men have taught the people for seven years, they may be sent to war."13.30 The Master said: "To send an untrained people into war — that is to throw them away."

14.1 Xian asked about shame. The Master said: "When the state has the Way, to enjoy its pay; when the state lacks the Way, to enjoy its pay — that is shame." "If one can put aside self-assertion, boasting, resentment, and greed, may one be called humane?" The Master said: "One may be called hard to attain — but whether humane, I do not know."14.2 The Master said: "A scholar who clings to comfort is not fit to be called a scholar."14.3 The Master said: "When the state has the Way, speak boldly and act boldly; when it lacks the Way, act boldly but speak with deference."14.4 The Master said: "A man of virtue will surely have words; a man of words need not have virtue. A humane man will surely have courage; a man of courage need not have humaneness."14.5 Nangong Kuo asked Confucius: "Yi was a good archer, Ao could overturn boats and shove them across the water, yet neither died a natural death; Yu and Ji worked at the fields and gained the world." The Master did not answer. When Nangong Kuo had gone out, the Master said: "What a noble man he is! How he honors virtue!"14.6 The Master said: "A noble man lacking humaneness — there are such; but never a small man with humaneness."14.7 The Master said: "If you love him, can you spare him toil? If you are loyal to him, can you not instruct him?"14.8 The Master said: "In making proclamations, Pi Chen drafted them, Shi Shu discussed them, Ziyu the envoy polished them, and Zichan of Dongli gave them color."14.9 Someone asked about Zichan. The Master said: "A kind man." He asked about Zixi. He said: "That man! That man!" He asked about Guan Zhong. He said: "A man indeed. He took three hundred households of Pian from the head of the Bo family, so that they ate coarse food to the end of their days, and bore him no grudge."14.10 The Master said: "To be poor and free of resentment is hard; to be rich and free of pride is easy."14.11 The Master said: "Meng Gongchuo would be more than equal as a steward for the Zhao or Wei families; he could not serve as minister of Teng or Xue."14.12 Zilu asked what makes a complete man. The Master said: "The wisdom of Zang Wuzhong, the freedom from desire of Gongchuo, the courage of Bian Zhuangzi, the skill of Ran Qiu, graced with ritual and music — he might then be a complete man." He said: "But for a complete man today, why need it be so? To see gain and think of right, to see danger and offer one's life, and in old promises not to forget the words of a lifetime — such a one may be called a complete man."14.13 The Master asked Gongming Jia about Gongshu Wenzi, saying: "Is it true that he did not speak, did not laugh, did not take?" Gongming Jia answered: "Those who told you overshot. He spoke only at the right time, so men did not tire of his words; he laughed only when glad, so men did not tire of his laughter; he took only what was right, so men did not tire of his taking." The Master said: "Is that so? Is that so?"14.14 The Master said: "Zang Wuzhong, through his fief of Fang, begged that his descendants be established in Lu. Though he said it was not a demand, I do not believe it."14.15 The Master said: "Duke Wen of Jin was crafty and not upright; Duke Huan of Qi was upright and not crafty."14.16 Zilu said: "When Duke Huan killed Prince Jiu, Shao Hu died with him; Guan Zhong did not die." He said: "Was he not lacking in humaneness?" The Master said: "Duke Huan brought the lords together nine times without the chariots of war — that was Guan Zhong's strength. What humaneness! What humaneness!"14.17 Zigong said: "Guan Zhong was surely not humane? When Duke Huan killed Prince Jiu, he could not die with him, but served him as minister." The Master said: "Guan Zhong served Duke Huan, made him chief of the lords, and set the whole world in order; to this day the people receive his gifts. Were it not for Guan Zhong, we would wear our hair loose and fasten our coats on the left. Would he stoop to the trust of common men and women, strangling himself in a ditch where no one would know?"14.18 The officer Zhuan, retainer of Gongshu Wenzi, was raised with Wenzi to the rank of great officer. Hearing of it, the Master said: "He may be called 'Wen' — cultured."14.19 The Master spoke of the misrule of Duke Ling of Wei. Kangzi said: "If that is so, how is he not ruined?" Confucius said: "Zhongshu Yu handles the guests and envoys, Zhu Tuo the ancestral temple, Wangsun Jia the army. If that is so, how could he be ruined?"14.20 The Master said: "When a man speaks without shame, it is hard to carry out."14.21 Chen Chengzi murdered Duke Jian. Confucius fasted and bathed, then went to court and told Duke Ai: "Chen Heng has murdered his lord; I beg that he be punished." The Duke said: "Tell the three chief ministers." Confucius said: "Because I follow behind the great officers, I dare not leave it untold. Yet the lord says, 'Tell the three.'" He went to the three and told them; they refused. Confucius said: "Because I follow behind the great officers, I dare not leave it untold."14.22 Zilu asked about serving a lord. The Master said: "Do not deceive him; resist him to his face."14.23 The Master said: "The noble man rises upward; the small man sinks downward."14.24 The Master said: "Men of old learned for themselves; men today learn for others."14.25 Qu Boyu sent a messenger to Confucius. Confucius sat with him and asked: "What is your master doing?" He answered: "My master wishes to lessen his faults and has not yet done so." When the messenger had gone out, the Master said: "A messenger indeed! A messenger indeed!"14.26 The Master said: "Not in that office, do not plan its government." Zengzi said: "The noble man's thoughts do not go beyond his station."14.27 The Master said: "The noble man is ashamed if his words outrun his deeds."14.28 The Master said: "The Way of the noble man has three things, and I have none of them: the humane man is free of sorrow, the wise man of doubt, the courageous man of fear." Zigong said: "The Master is describing himself."14.29 Zigong compared men. The Master said: "Ci, are you so worthy? I have no time for that."14.30 The Master said: "Do not grieve that men do not know you; grieve that you have no ability."14.31 The Master said: "Not to suspect deceit, not to reckon on bad faith, yet to see it first — is that not worthy?"14.32 Weisheng Mu said to Confucius: "Qiu, why do you go about so busily? Is it not to show off your cleverness?" Confucius said: "I do not dare to be clever; I hate stubbornness."14.33 The Master said: "A swift horse is praised not for its strength but for its character."14.34 Someone said: "What of repaying injury with kindness?" The Master said: "With what then would you repay kindness? Repay injury with uprightness, and kindness with kindness."14.35 The Master said: "No one knows me!" Zigong said: "Why is it that no one knows you, Master?" The Master said: "I do not resent Heaven, nor blame men. I learn what is below and reach what is above. He who knows me — is it not Heaven?"14.36 Gongbo Liao slandered Zilu to Jisun. Zifu Jingbo told the Master, saying: "My master is surely unsettled by Gongbo Liao; I still have the power to have him cut down in the marketplace." The Master said: "If the Way is to prevail, that is fate; if the Way is to be set aside, that is fate. What can Gongbo Liao do against fate?"14.37 The Master said: "The worthy withdraw from the world; the next from a place; the next from a look; the next from a word." The Master said: "Those who did so were seven men."14.38 Zilu spent the night at Stone Gate. The gatekeeper said: "Where from?" Zilu said: "From the Kong household." He said: "Is that the one who knows it cannot be done and keeps doing it?"14.39 The Master was striking the chime-stone in Wei when a man carrying a basket passed by the door of the Kong house. He said: "Wholehearted, that striking of the stone!" Then he said: "How petty, and how stiff! If no one knows you, then let it be. 'Deep, and you wade through; shallow, and you lift your skirts.'" The Master said: "How firm! Nothing is hard for him."14.40 Zizhang said: "The Documents say: 'Gaozong kept his mourning hut and for three years did not speak.' What does that mean?" The Master said: "Why only Gaozong? The ancients all did so. When a lord died, the officers gathered under the prime minister for three years."14.41 The Master said: "When those above love ritual, the people are easy to direct."14.42 Zilu asked about the noble man. The Master said: "Cultivate yourself with reverence." He said: "Is that all?" He said: "Cultivate yourself so as to bring peace to others." He said: "Is that all?" He said: "Cultivate yourself so as to bring peace to the common people. To cultivate oneself so as to bring peace to the people — even Yao and Shun found that hard, did they not?"14.43 Yuan Rang sat waiting with his legs sprawled out. The Master said: "As a boy not respectful, as a man with nothing to show, and old without dying — this is a thief." He struck him on the shin with his staff.14.44 A boy from Que village was carrying messages. Someone asked: "Is he one who improves himself?" The Master said: "I have seen him sitting in a place of honor, and walking abreast of his elders. He does not seek to improve; he wants quick success."

15.1 Duke Ling of Wei asked Confucius about military formations. Confucius answered: "About the placing of sacrificial vessels I have heard something; of military matters I have not learned." The next day he set out.15.2 When they ran out of food in Chen, the followers fell sick and none could rise. Zilu came in angry, saying: "Does the noble man also suffer want?" The Master said: "The noble man holds firm in want; the small man in want turns loose."15.3 The Master said: "Ci, do you think that I am one who learns much and remembers it?" He answered: "Yes — is it not so?" He said: "No. I thread it all on one."15.4 The Master said: "You! Few are those who know virtue."15.5 The Master said: "Was it not Shun who governed without doing anything? What did he do? He made himself reverent and faced south — that is all."15.6 Zizhang asked about getting along in the world. The Master said: "If your words are loyal and trustworthy and your actions earnest and respectful, then even in the lands of barbarians you will get along. If your words are not loyal and trustworthy and your actions not earnest and respectful, will you get along even in your own village? Standing, see them ranged before you; riding in the carriage, see them leaning on the yoke — then you will get along." Zizhang wrote it on his sash.15.7 The Master said: "Straight indeed was Shi Yu! When the state had the Way, he was like an arrow; when it lacked the Way, he was like an arrow. A noble man indeed was Qu Boyu! When the state had the Way, he took office; when it lacked the Way, he could roll it up and keep it to himself."15.8 The Master said: "To speak with a man who can be spoken with, and not to speak — you lose the man. To speak with a man who cannot be spoken with — you lose your words. The wise lose neither men nor words."15.9 The Master said: "A resolute scholar and a man of humaneness do not seek life at the cost of humaneness; they may rather kill themselves to complete their humaneness."15.10 Zigong asked about the practice of humaneness. The Master said: "A craftsman who would do his work well must first sharpen his tools. Living in this state, serve the worthy among its great officers, and befriend the humane among its scholars."15.11 Yan Yuan asked about governing a state. The Master said: "Adopt the calendar of Xia, ride in the carriage of Yin, wear the cap of Zhou; for music, the Shao and the Wu. Ban the music of Zheng; keep glib men at a distance. The music of Zheng is lewd; glib men are dangerous."15.12 The Master said: "A man without far thoughts will have near sorrows."15.13 The Master said: "It is over! I have never seen one who loves virtue as he loves beauty."15.14 The Master said: "Zang Wenzhong — was he not one who stole his post? He knew Liuxia Hui's worth and would not give him place."15.15 The Master said: "Demand much of yourself and little of others, and you will keep resentment far off."15.16 The Master said: "A man who never says, 'What is to be done? What is to be done?' — I do not know what to do with him."15.17 The Master said: "To spend all day together and never speak of what is right, but delight in small cleverness — hard indeed!"15.18 The Master said: "The noble man takes right as his substance, brings it forth with ritual, expresses it with deference, and completes it with truth. A noble man indeed!"15.19 The Master said: "The noble man grieves that he has no ability; he does not grieve that men do not know him."15.20 The Master said: "The noble man hates to die without his name being honored."15.21 The Master said: "The noble man seeks from himself; the small man seeks from others."15.22 The Master said: "The noble man is dignified but does not contend; he gathers with others but is not a partisan."15.23 The Master said: "The noble man does not raise a man for his words, nor reject his words for the man."15.24 Zigong asked: "Is there one word that can be practiced for a lifetime?" The Master said: "It is forgiveness, surely! What you do not want for yourself, do not put upon others."15.25 The Master said: "In my dealings with men, whom have I slandered, whom have I praised? If I have praised anyone, I have tested him. These people are the means by which the three dynasties walked the straight way."15.26 The Master said: "I still saw the blank spaces in the records of the scribes. A man who had a horse would lend it to another to ride. Today there is none such!"15.27 The Master said: "Clever words ruin virtue. A small impatience ruins a great plan."15.28 The Master said: "When the multitude hates a man, you must examine him; when the multitude loves him, you must examine him."15.29 The Master said: "A man can enlarge the Way; the Way does not enlarge the man."15.30 The Master said: "To have a fault and not mend it — that is a fault indeed."15.31 The Master said: "I once spent the whole day without food and the whole night without sleep, in thought. It was no use; better to learn."15.32 The Master said: "The noble man plans for the Way, not for food. Plowing may leave hunger in it; learning may leave pay in it. The noble man worries about the Way, not about poverty."15.33 The Master said: "When wisdom gets it but humaneness cannot keep it, though you gain it, you will surely lose it. When wisdom gets it and humaneness keeps it, but dignity does not preside over it, the people will not be reverent. When wisdom gets it, humaneness keeps it, and dignity presides over it, yet it is set in motion without ritual — it is not yet good."15.34 The Master said: "The noble man cannot be known by small matters, but great charges may be laid on him; the small man cannot bear great charges, but he can be known by small matters."15.35 The Master said: "The people's need for humaneness is greater than their need for water and fire. I have seen men tread into water and fire and die; I have never seen a man tread into humaneness and die."15.36 The Master said: "Before humaneness, yield to no one — not even your teacher."15.37 The Master said: "The noble man is firm but not rigid."15.38 The Master said: "In serving your lord, set the work first and the pay after."15.39 The Master said: "There is teaching for all, without distinction of kind."15.40 The Master said: "Those whose ways differ cannot take counsel together."15.41 The Master said: "In speech, only be clear."15.42 When the Music Master Mian came to see him, as he reached the steps the Master said: "Here are the steps." When he reached the mat: "Here is the mat." When all were seated, the Master told him: "So-and-so is here; so-and-so is here." When Music Master Mian had gone out, Zizhang asked: "Is that the way to speak with a music master?" The Master said: "Yes; that is indeed the way to guide a music master."

16.1 The Ji family was about to attack Zhuanyu. Ran You and Zilu came to see the Master and said: "The Ji family is about to take action against Zhuanyu." The Master said: "Qiu! Is this not your fault? Long ago the former kings made Zhuanyu lord of the eastern Meng, and it lies within our borders; it is a servant of the altars of state. Why attack it?" Ran You said: "Our lord wishes it; we two, his ministers, do not." The Master said: "Qiu! Zhou Ren had a saying: 'Set forth your strength and take your place; if you cannot, stop.' When danger comes and you do not steady it, when it totters and you do not uphold it, what use are such ministers? And your words are wrong besides: when a tiger or a rhinoceros escapes its cage, when a tortoise-shell or jade is ruined in its box — whose fault is that?" Ran You said: "As for Zhuanyu now, it is strong and close to Fei. If we do not take it now, later generations will surely grieve over it." The Master said: "Qiu! The noble man hates to pass over saying 'I wish it' and must needs make excuses. I, Qiu, have heard that those who hold states and families do not worry at scarcity but at inequality, do not worry at poverty but at unrest. For where all is equal there is no poverty, where there is harmony no scarcity, where there is peace no danger of falling. If this is so, when distant peoples do not submit, one cultivates culture and virtue to draw them; when they have come, one makes them secure. Now You and Qiu serve your lord: distant peoples do not submit and you cannot draw them; the state is splitting apart and you cannot hold it; yet you plot to move shields and spears within its borders. I fear the grief of the Ji family lies not in Zhuanyu, but within the screen walls of its own house."

16.2 The Master said: "When the world has the Way, ritual and music and the campaigns of war come forth from the Son of Heaven. When the world lacks the Way, ritual and music and the campaigns of war come forth from the feudal lords. When they come from the lords, ten generations seldom pass before they are lost; when they come from the great ministers, five generations seldom pass; when household servants hold the commands of the state, three generations seldom pass. When the world has the Way, government is not in the hands of the great ministers. When the world has the Way, the common people do not debate."

16.3 The Master said: "The emoluments have been gone from the ducal house for five generations, and government has passed into the hands of the great ministers for four; hence the descendants of the Three Huan are fading."

16.4 The Master said: "Three friendships are to one's gain, and three to one's loss. Friendship with the upright, friendship with the sincere, friendship with the well-informed: these are gain. Friendship with the ingratiating, friendship with the soft-spoken, friendship with the glib-tongued: these are loss."

16.5 The Master said: "Three joys are to one's gain, and three to one's loss. To delight in moderating oneself by ritual and music, to delight in speaking of the goodness of others, to delight in having many worthy friends: these are gain. To delight in arrogant pleasure, to delight in idle wandering, to delight in feasting: these are loss."

16.6 The Master said: "In attendance on a noble man there are three faults: to speak before it is time to speak is rashness; to speak when it is time and not to speak is concealment; to speak without observing the countenance is blindness."

16.7 The Master said: "The noble man has three warnings. In youth, when the blood and breath are not yet settled, the warning is against lust. In his prime, when the blood and breath are at their strongest, the warning is against combat. In old age, when the blood and breath have failed, the warning is against greed."

16.8 The Master said: "The noble man holds three fears: he fears the command of Heaven, he fears great men, he fears the words of the sages. The petty man does not know the command of Heaven and so does not fear it; he is too familiar with great men and mocks the words of the sages."

16.9 The Master said: "Those who know from birth are the highest; those who know by learning are next; those who learn when they are hard pressed come after that; and those who are hard pressed and still do not learn — these are the lowest of the people."

16.10 The Master said: "The noble man has nine thoughts: in seeing, he thinks of clarity; in hearing, of keenness; in countenance, of warmth; in manner, of respect; in speech, of loyalty; in service, of reverence; in doubt, of asking; in anger, of the difficulties to come; and when he sees gain, he thinks of what is right."

16.11 The Master said: "'To see goodness and seem never to reach it; to see what is not good and seem to draw back from scalding water.' I have seen such men, and I have heard such words. 'To live in hiding and seek one's purpose; to practice righteousness and so fulfill one's Way.' I have heard such words, but I have never seen such a man."

16.12 Duke Jing of Qi had four thousand horses, yet on the day he died the people found nothing in him to praise. Bo Yi and Shu Qi starved at the foot of Mount Shouyang, and to this day the people praise them. Is this not what is meant?

16.13 Chen Kang asked Boyu: "Have you also had special teaching?" He replied: "Not yet. Once he stood alone, and I hurried across the courtyard. He said: 'Have you studied the Odes?' I answered: 'Not yet.' 'If you do not study the Odes, you have no words to stand on.' I retired and studied the Odes. Another day he again stood alone, and I hurried across the courtyard. He said: 'Have you studied ritual?' I answered: 'Not yet.' 'If you do not study ritual, you have no ground to stand on.' I retired and studied ritual. I have heard these two things." Chen Kang withdrew delighted and said: "I asked one thing and gained three: I heard of the Odes, I heard of ritual, and I heard that the noble man keeps his son at a distance."

16.14 The wife of the ruler of a state: the ruler calls her "the lady"; the lady calls herself "the little servant"; the people of the state call her "the ruler's lady"; when she is named to other states they say "the lone little lady"; and the people of other states likewise call her "the ruler's lady."

17.1 Yang Huo wished to see the Master, and the Master would not see him, so he sent the Master a gift of a suckling pig. The Master waited until Yang Huo was away, then went to thank him, and met him on the road. Yang Huo said to the Master: "Come, I have words for you." He said: "To hide one's jewel and let one's state go astray — can that be called humaneness?" The Master said: "It cannot." "To love taking part in affairs yet time and again miss the time — can that be called wisdom?" The Master said: "It cannot." "The days and months pass; the years will not wait for us." The Master said: "Agreed; I shall take office."

17.2 The Master said: "By nature men are near to one another; by habit they grow far apart."

17.3 The Master said: "Only the highest wisdom and the lowest stupidity do not change."

17.4 The Master went to Wucheng and heard the sound of strings and songs. The Master smiled and said: "To kill a chicken, why use an ox-knife?" Ziyou replied: "Once I, Yan, heard this from you, Master: 'When the noble man learns the Way, he loves men; when the petty man learns the Way, he is easy to command.'" The Master said: "My friends, Yan's words are right. What I said before was a jest."

17.5 Gongshan Furao, holding Fei, revolted, and summoned the Master, who wished to go. Zilu was displeased and said: "Nowhere to go is that — why must you go to the house of Gongshan?" The Master said: "He who summons me — can it be for nothing? If anyone would use me, I might bring about a Zhou in the East!"

17.6 Zizhang asked the Master about humaneness. The Master said: "To be able to practice five things everywhere under Heaven is humaneness." "May I ask what they are?" He said: "Reverence, breadth, trustworthiness, diligence, kindness. With reverence you escape insult; with breadth you win the multitude; with trustworthiness men entrust you with office; with diligence you accomplish much; with kindness you are able to command others."

17.7 Bi Xi summoned him, and the Master wished to go. Zilu said: "Once I, You, heard this from you, Master: 'He who has done evil in his own person — the noble man does not enter his company.' Bi Xi is holding Zhongmou in revolt; how can you go to him?" The Master said: "Yes, I said that. But is it not said that the hardest is ground and not worn thin, the whitest is steeped and not blackened? Am I a gourd, to be hung up and not eaten?"

17.8 The Master said: "You! Have you heard of the six words and their six blindings?" He replied: "Not yet." "Sit, and I will tell you. To love humaneness without loving learning: its blinding is foolishness. To love wisdom without loving learning: its blinding is drifting. To love trustworthiness without loving learning: its blinding is harm. To love uprightness without loving learning: its blinding is harshness. To love courage without loving learning: its blinding is disorder. To love firmness without loving learning: its blinding is recklessness."

17.9 The Master said: "My disciples, why does none of you study the Odes? The Odes can stir you, can open your eyes, can make you fit for company, can give vent to grievance. Near at hand they teach you to serve your father; far off, to serve your lord; and they make you know many names of birds and beasts, plants and trees."

17.10 The Master said to Boyu: "Have you done the Zhou South and the Shao South? A man who has not done the Zhou South and the Shao South is like one who stands facing a wall."

17.11 The Master said: "Ritual, ritual — does it mean jade and silk? Music, music — does it mean bells and drums?"

17.12 The Master said: "A stern face over a cowardly heart — compare him to a petty man: is he not like a thief who bores through walls?"

17.13 The Master said: "The village worthy is the thief of virtue."

17.14 The Master said: "To hear on the road and talk on the road is to throw virtue away."

17.15 The Master said: "Can a base man be employed in serving a lord? Before he gets it, he fears he will not get it; when he has got it, he fears to lose it. And if he fears to lose it, he will stop at nothing."

17.16 The Master said: "In ancient times the people had three failings, and now perhaps even these are gone. The boldness of the ancients was unrestrained; the boldness of today is dissipation. The pride of the ancients was austerity; the pride of today is anger and spite. The foolishness of the ancients was uprightness; the foolishness of today is mere deceit."

17.17 The Master said: "Clever words and a pleasing mask — rarely do they dwell with humaneness."

17.18 The Master said: "I hate purple taking the place of crimson; I hate the songs of Zheng confounding the stately music; I hate the glib tongue that overturns states and families."

17.19 The Master said: "I would rather say nothing." Zigong said: "If you say nothing, what shall we, your disciples, hand down?" The Master said: "What does Heaven say? The four seasons run their course, the hundred things come to birth. What does Heaven say?"

17.20 Ru Bei wished to see the Master, and the Master excused himself on the ground of illness. As the messenger went out of the door, the Master took up his zither and sang, so that he should hear it.

17.21 Zai Wo asked: "Three years of mourning — a year would already be long. If the noble man for three years does not practice ritual, ritual will surely decay; if for three years he does not practice music, music will surely crumble. The old grain is gone and the new grain is in; the drill-sticks have each taken their turn at the fire — a year should be enough." The Master said: "Would you be at ease eating fine rice and wearing embroidered cloth?" He said: "I would be at ease." "If you are at ease, then do it! But when the noble man is in mourning, sweet food is not sweet to him, music does not gladden him, and a fine dwelling does not rest him; therefore he does not do it. Now if you are at ease, then do it!" Zai Wo went out. The Master said: "Yu is without humaneness. Only after a child is three years old does he leave his parents' arms. Three years of mourning is the mourning common to all under Heaven. Did Yu have three years' love from his parents?"

17.22 The Master said: "To eat one's fill all day and never use one's mind — hard indeed! Are there not games of chess? To play them is still better than nothing."

17.23 Zilu said: "Does the noble man prize courage?" The Master said: "The noble man puts righteousness first. A noble man with courage but without righteousness makes rebellion; a petty man with courage but without righteousness makes a bandit."

17.24 Zigong said: "Does the noble man also have hates?" The Master said: "He has hates: he hates those who proclaim the faults of others; he hates those who dwell in low places and slander their betters; he hates the courageous who lack ritual; he hates the bold who are blind to reason." He said: "Ci, have you also hates?" "I hate those who take prying for wisdom, those who take insolence for courage, and those who take telling on others for uprightness."

17.25 The Master said: "Only women and petty men are hard to keep. Draw them near, and they grow insolent; keep them at a distance, and they resent it."

17.26 The Master said: "A man of forty who is still hated — he will end as he is."

18.1 The Viscount of Wei left him; the Viscount of Ji became his slave; Bi Gan remonstrated and died. The Master said: "The Yin had three humane men."

18.2 Liuxia Hui was chief judge and was dismissed three times. Someone said: "Are you not able to leave?" He said: "If I serve men with an upright way, where can I go and not be dismissed three times? If I serve men with a crooked way, why need I leave the land of my parents?"

18.3 Duke Jing of Qi, receiving the Master, said: "To treat you as the Ji family is treated — that I cannot do; I will treat you between the Ji and the Meng." He said: "I am old; I cannot use you." The Master departed.

18.4 The men of Qi sent a gift of singing girls; Ji Huanzi accepted them and for three days did not hold court; the Master departed.

18.5 The madman of Chu, Jie Yu, sang as he passed by the Master: "Phoenix, phoenix! How your virtue has waned! What is past cannot be amended; what is to come may still be pursued. Enough, enough! Those who hold office now are in peril!" The Master came down, wishing to speak with him, but Jie Yu hurried away and avoided him, and he could not speak with him.

18.6 Chang Ju and Jie Ni were ploughing together as a pair. The Master passed by and sent Zilu to ask where the ford was. Chang Ju said: "Who is that holding the reins?" Zilu said: "It is Kong Qiu." "Is that the Kong Qiu of Lu?" "It is he." "Then he knows the ford." He asked Jie Ni. Jie Ni said: "Who are you?" "I am Zhong You." "Are you a follower of the Kong Qiu of Lu?" He answered: "Yes." Jie Ni said: "The whole world is one great flood; who will change it for you? And rather than follow one who flees from men, would it not be better to follow one who flees from the whole age?" He went on covering the seed without stopping. Zilu went and told the Master. The Master looked troubled and said: "One cannot flock with birds and beasts. If I do not go with these men, with whom shall I go? If the world had the Way, I would not be seeking to change it."

18.7 Zilu, following the Master, fell behind and met an old man carrying a basket on his staff. Zilu asked: "Have you seen the Master?" The old man said: "Your four limbs are unpracticed and you cannot tell the five grains apart — who is your Master?" He planted his staff and went on weeding. Zilu stood with his hands folded. The old man kept Zilu for the night, killed a chicken and cooked millet and fed him, and brought out his two sons to meet him. The next day Zilu went on and told the Master. The Master said: "He is a recluse." He sent Zilu back to see him, but when he arrived the old man had gone. Zilu said: "Not to hold office is to lack righteousness. If the order between elders and young is not to be set aside, how can the righteousness between lord and minister be set aside? He wished to keep himself clean and yet disordered the great bonds of men. The noble man takes office to practice righteousness; that the Way does not prevail, he already knows."

18.8 Men who withdrew from the world: Bo Yi, Shu Qi, Yuzhong, Yiyi, Zhuzhang, Liuxia Hui, Shaolian. The Master said: "They did not lower their purpose nor disgrace themselves: Bo Yi and Shu Qi, yes!" Of Liuxia Hui and Shaolian he said: "They lowered their purpose and disgraced themselves; yet their words kept to the order of things and their deeds to what was thought right — that is all." Of Yuzhong and Yiyi he said: "They lived in hiding and spoke freely, kept themselves pure in person, and in withdrawal weighed what was right. I am different from these: I have no must and no must-not."

18.9 The Grand Music Master Zhi went to Qi; the musician of the second meal, Gan, went to Chu; of the third meal, Liao, went to Cai; of the fourth meal, Que, went to Qin; the drummer Fang Shu went into the region of the River; the hand-drum player Wu went into the region of the Han; the junior Music Master Yang and the chime-stone player Xiang went into the sea.

18.10 The Duke of Zhou said to the Duke of Lu: "The noble man does not cast off his kin, nor let his great ministers resent not being employed. Old friends and old servants, unless there is grave cause, he does not abandon. He demands no single man be perfect in all things."

18.11 The Zhou had eight scholars: Bo Da, Bo Kuo, Zhong Tu, Zhong Hu, Shu Ye, Shu Xia, Ji Sui, Ji Gua.

19.1 Zizhang said: "A scholar who, seeing danger, gives his life; who, seeing gain, thinks of what is right; who in sacrifice thinks of reverence and in mourning thinks of grief — this may suffice."

19.2 Zizhang said: "If you hold to virtue without enlarging it, if you believe in the Way without firmness, how can you be said to have anything? How can you be said to have nothing?"

19.3 The disciples of Zixia asked Zizhang about friendship. Zizhang said: "What does Zixia say?" They answered: "Zixia says: 'Make friends with those who are fit; refuse those who are not.'" Zizhang said: "This differs from what I have heard: 'The noble man honors the worthy and bears with the many; he praises the good and pities the incapable. If I am greatly worthy, whom among men can I not bear with? If I am unworthy, men will refuse me — how can I refuse them?'"

19.4 Zixia said: "Even the lesser ways must have something worth looking at; but in going far one may bog down in them, and so the noble man does not follow them."

19.5 Zixia said: "To know each day what one lacks, and each month not to forget what one can do — this may be called loving to learn."

19.6 Zixia said: "Learn widely and hold firmly to your purpose; ask earnestly and think of what is near — humaneness lies in this."

19.7 Zixia said: "The hundred craftsmen dwell in their workshops to complete their work; the noble man studies to bring his Way to fulfillment."

19.8 Zixia said: "The petty man's faults are always glossed over."

19.9 Zixia said: "The noble man has three changes: looked at from afar he is grave; drawn near he is warm; heard speaking he is stern."

19.10 Zixia said: "Only when the noble man is trusted does he put the people to toil; if he is not trusted, they think he is oppressing them. Only when trusted does he remonstrate; if he is not trusted, they think he is slandering them."

19.11 Zixia said: "In great virtue do not overstep the bounds; in small virtue, going out and in is allowed."

19.12 Ziyou said: "The young disciples of Zixia are fit for sweeping and answering, for coming forward and stepping back — but these are the branches. As for the root, they have nothing; what is to be done?" Zixia heard it and said: "Alas, Yan You is wrong! In the Way of the noble man, what is taught first and what is left until later? It is like plants and trees, which are distinguished by their kinds. The Way of the noble man — how can it be misrepresented? He who has both beginning and end is perhaps only the sage."

19.13 Zixia said: "When in office, if there is leisure, study; when studying, if there is leisure, take office."

19.14 Ziyou said: "In mourning, let grief be reached, and stop there."

19.15 Ziyou said: "My friend Zhang can do what is hard to do, but he is not yet humane."

19.16 Zengzi said: "How imposing Zhang is! It is hard to practice humaneness alongside him."

19.17 Zengzi said: "I have heard from the Master: 'No man gives of himself utterly; it must be at the mourning of a parent.'"

19.18 Zengzi said: "I have heard from the Master: 'In the filial piety of Meng Zhuangzi, other things may be equaled; but that he did not change his father's ministers or his father's government — that is hard to equal.'"

19.19 The Meng family appointed Yang Fu as chief judge, and he asked Zengzi. Zengzi said: "Those above have lost the Way, and the people have been scattered for long. If you get at the truth of a case, be grieved and pity them; do not be glad!"

19.20 Zigong said: "The wickedness of Zhou was not as great as all that. Hence the noble man hates to dwell in a low place, where all the world's filth collects."

19.21 Zigong said: "The faults of the noble man are like eclipses of the sun and moon: when he errs, all men see it; when he mends, all men look up to him."

19.22 Gongsun Chao of Wei asked Zigong: "Where did Zhongni learn?" Zigong said: "The Way of Wen and Wu has not fallen to the ground; it lives in men. The worthy grasp its great things; the unworthy grasp its small things. There is no one who does not have the Way of Wen and Wu. How could the Master not learn? And why should he have one constant teacher?"

19.23 Shusun Wushu said to the great ministers in court: "Zigong is worthier than Zhongni." Zifu Jingbo told Zigong. Zigong said: "Take the walls of a house: my wall reaches to the shoulder, so one can peer over and see the good things within the house. The Master's wall is many fathoms high; unless you enter by the gate you do not see the beauty of the ancestral temple or the richness of the hundred offices. Those who find the gate are few. Is not what the gentleman said most natural?"

19.24 Shusun Wushu spoke ill of Zhongni. Zigong said: "Do not do so! Zhongni cannot be defamed. The worth of other men is like a hill or a mound: it can still be climbed over. Zhongni is the sun and the moon: he cannot be climbed over. Though a man wish to cut himself off from them, what harm does it do the sun and moon? It only shows that he does not know his own measure."

19.25 Chen Ziqin said to Zigong: "You are being modest; can Zhongni really be worthier than you?" Zigong said: "By one word the noble man is judged wise, by one word judged unwise; words must be weighed. The Master cannot be equaled, just as Heaven cannot be climbed by a stair. If the Master had gained a state or a family, it is as the saying goes: 'Raise them, and they stand; lead them, and they follow; soothe them, and they come; stir them, and they are in harmony. In life he is honored, in death he is mourned — how could he be equaled?'"

20.1 Yao said: "Oh, you Shun! The succession of Heaven's seasons rests on your person. Truly hold to the middle. If the four seas fall into distress and want, the gift of Heaven will end forever." Shun likewise commanded Yu in these words. He said: "I, the little one, Lü, venture to use a black ox and dare to make clear announcement to the great and sovereign Lord: offenses I dare not pardon. The Lord's servants I do not conceal; the choice is in the Lord's heart. If I myself am guilty, do not visit it on the ten thousand regions; if the ten thousand regions are guilty, let the guilt rest on my person." "Zhou had a great bestowal, and the good were made rich. Though there be near kinsmen of Zhou, they are not equal to humane men. If the hundred clans commit offenses, the guilt rests on me alone." He weighed the measures, examined the laws, restored offices that had fallen into disuse, and the government of the four quarters went forward. He revived states that had been destroyed, restored lines that had been cut off, raised up men who had withdrawn from the world, and the hearts of the people under Heaven turned to him. What he valued: the people, food, mourning, sacrifice. Being generous, he won the multitude; being trustworthy, the people relied on him; being diligent, he achieved much; being just, men rejoiced.

20.2 Zizhang asked the Master: "How must a man be before he can take part in government?" The Master said: "If he honors the five beauties and puts away the four evils, then he can take part in government." Zizhang said: "What are the five beauties?" The Master said: "The noble man is generous without expense; he toils men without their resentment; he desires without greed; he is at ease without pride; he is majestic without fierceness." Zizhang said: "What is meant by generous without expense?" The Master said: "To benefit the people by what benefits them — is that not generosity without expense? To choose where they may rightly be toiled and set them to it — who will resent it? To desire humaneness and attain humaneness — how is that greed? The noble man, whether the multitude be many or few, small or great, dares not slight them — is that not being at ease without pride? The noble man sets his robe and cap straight and makes his gaze reverent; gravely he is looked on and men fear him — is that not being majestic without fierceness?" Zizhang said: "What are the four evils?" The Master said: "To put to death without teaching is called cruelty; to demand results without warning is called tyranny; to give careless orders and then enforce a deadline is called robbery; and in giving to others, to grudge the reckoning of what goes out and comes in — that is called being a mere steward."

20.3 The Master said: "Without knowing the command of Heaven, one cannot be a noble man; without knowing ritual, one cannot take one's stand; without knowing the force of words, one cannot know men."