Book 8 泰伯篇第八

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."

8.1 The Master said: "Tai Bo — you could call him the highest kind of good. Three times he handed over the kingdom, and the people couldn't even find words to praise him."

8.2 The Master said: "Being polite without ritual turns into pointless effort; being careful without ritual turns into fear; being brave without ritual turns into chaos; being blunt without ritual turns into rudeness. When a gentleman cares deeply for his family, the people start being kind; when he doesn't forget old friends, the people stop being cold."

8.3 Zengzi was sick and called his students: "Look at my feet. Look at my hands. The Odes say: 'Shaking and trembling, like standing at the edge of a deep pit, like walking on thin ice.' And from now on I know I'm safe — my young friends!"

8.4 Zengzi was sick, and Meng Jingzi came to ask about him. Zengzi said: "When a bird is about to die, its cry is sad. When a person is about to die, their words are good. Three things a gentleman values in the Way: how he carries himself — keeping his temper and arrogance away; how his face looks — getting close to being trustworthy; how he speaks — keeping nastiness and nonsense away. As for the dishes and bowls, that's the staff's job."

8.5 Zengzi said: "Talented, yet asking the untalented. Knowledgeable, yet asking the ignorant. Having something as if he didn't. Full, but acting empty. Getting knocked around and not fighting back. An old friend of mine used to work at exactly that."

8.6 Zengzi said: "Someone you could hand an orphaned child of six feet to, someone you could hand a whole province's rule to, someone who can't be shaken when it really matters — is he a gentleman? He's a gentleman, all right."

8.7 Zengzi said: "A scholar has to be strong and tough — the load is heavy and the road is long. Being good is his load; isn't that heavy? It lasts until he dies; isn't that long?"

8.8 The Master said: "Start with the Odes, get steady with ritual, and finish with music."

8.9 The Master said: "The people can be made to follow it, but they can't be made to understand it."

8.10 The Master said: "Loving being brave and hating being poor — that's chaos. Hating a person without goodness too much — that's chaos too."

8.11 The Master said: "Even if someone had all the brains of the Duke of Zhou, if he was arrogant and stingy, the rest isn't worth looking at."

8.12 The Master said: "Someone who studies three years without thinking about a paycheck — that's rare."

8.13 The Master said: "Believe deeply, love learning, and hold on to the good Way till you die. Don't go into a state that's falling apart; don't live in a state that's in chaos. When the world is run well, show up; when it isn't, stay hidden. When your country is run well, being poor and low is a disgrace. When your country is a mess, being rich and important is a disgrace."

8.14 The Master said: "If it's not your job, don't stick your nose into it."

8.15 The Master said: "How the music opened with Master Zhi leading, and closed with the Guanju — it just poured into your ears!"

8.16 The Master said: "Wild but not honest, simple but not sincere, nice-looking but not trustworthy — I don't know what to do with people like that."

8.17 The Master said: "Study like you're trying to catch up, and even then you're afraid of losing what you've got."

8.18 The Master said: "How towering Shun and Yu were — they held the whole world and took nothing from it for themselves!"

8.19 The Master said: "How great Yao was as a ruler! Towering! Only heaven is great, and Yao made himself like it. So vast nobody could put a name to it. Towering were his achievements! Brilliant was his culture and order!"

8.20 King Wu said: "I have ten capable ministers." Confucius said: "Finding talent is hard — isn't it true? In the time of Tang and Yu there was the most. There was a woman among them, so nine men. He held two-thirds of the world and still served the Yin. The goodness of Zhou — you could call that the highest goodness."

8.21 The Master said: "I can't find a single fault with Yu. He ate and drank poorly but gave richly to the spirits; he wore cheap clothes but made his ceremonial robes and cap beautiful; he lived in a plain palace but spent his whole effort on drains and irrigation. I can't find a single fault with him."