Confucius and his disciples · Complete work
Book 2 為政篇第二
Book 2 為政篇第二 of 20. Read it here for reference, or continue through the entire work without leaving the reader.
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2.1子曰：「為政以德，譬如北辰，居其所而眾星共之。」
2.2子曰：「《詩》三百，一言以蔽之，曰：『思無邪。』」
2.3子曰：「道之以政，齊之以刑，民免而無恥；道之以德，齊之以禮，有恥且格。」
2.4子曰：「吾十有五而志于學，三十而立，四十而不惑，五十而知天命，六十而耳順，七十而從心所欲，不踰矩。」
2.5孟懿子問孝。子曰：「無違。」樊遲御，子告之曰：「孟孫問孝於我，我對曰：『無違。』」樊遲曰：「何謂也？」子曰：「生，事之以禮；死，葬之以禮，祭之以禮。」
2.6孟武伯問孝。子曰：「父母唯其疾之憂。」
2.7子游問孝。子曰：「今之孝者，是謂能養。至於犬馬，皆能有養；不敬，何以別乎？」
2.8子夏問孝。子曰：「色難。有事，弟子服其勞；有酒食，先生饌，曾是以為孝乎？」
2.9子曰：「吾與回言終日，不違，如愚。退而省其私，亦足以發，回也不愚。」
2.10子曰：「視其所以，觀其所由，察其所安。人焉廋哉？人焉廋哉？」
2.11子曰：「溫故而知新，可以為師矣。」
2.12子曰：「君子不器。」
2.13子貢問君子。子曰：「先行其言而後從之。」
2.14子曰：「君子周而不比，小人比而不周。」
2.15子曰：「學而不思則罔，思而不學則殆。」
2.16子曰：「攻乎異端，斯害也已。」
2.17子曰：「由！誨女知之乎！知之為知之，不知為不知，是知也。」
2.18子張學干祿。子曰：「多聞闕疑，慎言其餘，則寡尤；多見闕殆，慎行其餘，則寡悔。言寡尤，行寡悔，祿在其中矣。」
2.19哀公問曰：「何為則民服？」孔子對曰：「舉直錯諸枉，則民服；舉枉錯諸直，則民不服。」
2.20季康子問：「使民敬、忠以勸，如之何？」子曰：「臨之以莊，則敬；孝慈，則忠；舉善而教不能，則勸。」
2.21或謂孔子曰：「子奚不為政？」子曰：「《書》云：『孝乎惟孝，友于兄弟，施於有政。』是亦為政，奚其為為政？」
2.22子曰：「人而無信，不知其可也。大車無輗，小車無軏，其何以行之哉？」
2.23子張問：「十世可知也？」子曰：「殷因於夏禮，所損益，可知也；周因於殷禮，所損益，可知也。其或繼周者，雖百世可知也。」
2.24子曰：「非其鬼而祭之，諂也。見義不為，無勇也。」
Mouseia
Mouseia's complete machine-assisted Musean translation, made directly from the classical Chinese of all twenty books and 510 numbered sayings for fidelity, precision of tone, and structure.
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."
Mouseia
Mouseia's complete Plain English edition, made independently and directly from all twenty books and 510 numbered sayings of the classical Chinese.
2.1 The Master said: "Governing by goodness is like the North Star: it stays put and all the other stars circle it."
2.2 The Master said: "Three hundred poems — but one line sums them up: 'No crooked thoughts.'"
2.3 The Master said: "Rule with laws and punishments, and people avoid trouble but feel no shame. Lead with goodness and proper tradition, and they feel shame and correct themselves."
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 what heaven wanted of me. At sixty my ear was tuned. At seventy I could follow my heart without crossing the line."
2.5 Meng Yizi asked about being a good son. The Master said: "Never disobey." Later, with Fan Chi driving, he added: "Meng Sun asked me about being a good son, and I said, 'Never disobey.'" Fan Chi asked what that meant. The Master said: "While your parents live, serve them the proper way; when they die, bury and honor them the proper way."
2.6 Meng Wu asked about being a good son. The Master said: "Just let your parents worry about your health — nothing else."
2.7 Ziyou asked about being a good son. The Master said: "These days it means feeding them. But you feed dogs and horses too. Without respect, what's the difference?"
2.8 Zixia asked about being a good son. The Master said: "Keeping a pleasant face is the hard part. Doing chores and handing food to elders first — would even that count without the right spirit?"
2.9 The Master said: "I can talk to Hui all day and he never argues, like someone slow. But watch what he does afterward — he gets the point. He's not slow at all."
2.10 The Master said: "Watch what a man does, see the path that brought him here, find what he's comfortable with — can he hide? Can anyone hide?"
2.11 The Master said: "Studying the old to understand the new — such a person can teach others."
2.12 The Master said: "A good person isn't a tool with one job."
2.13 Zigong asked about being a good person. The Master said: "Do it first; talk about it after."
2.14 The Master said: "A good person doesn't take sides blindly; a small person can't be counted on for teamwork."
2.15 The Master said: "Learning without thinking is wasted effort; thinking without learning is dangerous."
2.16 The Master said: "Making study the be-all and end-all is truly dangerous."
2.17 The Master said: "Shall I teach you what knowing is? Say you know when you know, say you don't when you don't — that's knowing."
2.18 Zhangxue asked about getting ahead. The Master said: "Hear a lot, drop the doubtful stuff, speak carefully about the rest — few mistakes. See a lot, drop the risky stuff, act carefully on the rest — few regrets. Few mistakes in speech, few regrets in action: there's your career."
2.19 Duke Ai asked: "How do I get people to obey?" Confucius said: "Promote the honest over the crooked, and people obey. Promote the crooked over the honest, and they won't."
2.20 Ji Kangzi asked how to make people respectful and loyal. The Master said: "Take them seriously and they'll be respectful. Be a good son and kind, and they'll be loyal. Promote good people and train the unskilled, and they'll be moved."
2.21 Someone asked Confucius: "Why don't you go into government?" The Master said: "The old records say: 'Be a good son and brother — that IS governing.' That's government too. Why must you hold an office to govern?"
2.22 The Master said: "A person nobody can trust — I don't know how they get by. A big cart without a yoke-bar, a small cart without a collar-bar — how do you even move them?"
2.23 Zizhang asked: "Can we predict ten generations ahead?" The Master said: "The Yin adapted the Xia rites — we know what they added and dropped. The Zhou adapted the Yin rites — we know that too. So even a hundred generations from now, we can predict it the same way."
2.24 The Master said: "Honoring spirits that aren't yours is flattery. Seeing what's right and not doing it is cowardice."