Book 9 子罕篇第九

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?"

9.1 The Master rarely talked about profit, about fate, or about goodness.

9.2 A man from Daxiang village said: "Confucius is great! He's learned about everything and hasn't made a name in anything." The Master heard it and said to his students: "What should I be good at? Driving? Archery? I'll be a driver."

9.3 The Master said: "The hemp cap is the proper tradition, but these days they use silk, which is cheaper — I go along with the crowd on that. Bowing down below the hall is the proper tradition, but these days they bow up on the level of the hall, which is rude — even against the crowd, I bow down below."

9.4 The Master had none of four things: no jumping to conclusions, no musts, no stubbornness, no me-first.

9.5 The Master was in danger in Kuang. He said: "King Wen is dead — is the culture not right here with me? If heaven wanted to destroy this culture, someone like me couldn't have a share in it. And if heaven doesn't want 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 good at so many things?" Zigong said: "Heaven clearly set him loose to be a sage, and he's good at lots of things." The Master heard and said: "The Grand Minister really knows me! I grew up poor, so I picked up a lot of lowly skills. Is a gentleman good at lots of things? Not really."

9.7 Lao said: "The Master said: 'I never got a real job, so I learned all these skills.'"

9.8 The Master said: "Do I actually know things? No, I know nothing. If a plain person asks me something, I'm empty. I just take his question by both ends until I've worked all of it out."

9.9 The Master said: "No phoenix comes; no chart comes out of the river. I'm finished."

9.10 When the Master saw someone in mourning clothes, or someone in ceremonial cap and robes, or a blind person — even if they were young, he would stand up; and if he passed them, he would hurry.

9.11 Yan Yuan sighed deeply: "The more I look up to it, the higher it gets. The harder I dig into it, the harder it gets. I see it in front of me, and suddenly it's behind me. The Master draws people along patiently: he opened my mind with learning, and kept me in line with tradition, and I couldn't stop. When I'd used up everything I had, there it stood, way above me. I want to follow it, but I've no way to get there."

9.12 The Master was very sick, and Zilu had the students act like his official attendants. When he got better he said: "You's been faking for a long time! Setting up attendants when I have no right to any. Who am I fooling — heaven? Anyway, I'd rather die in the hands of you two or three than in the hands of attendants. And even if I don't get a big funeral, is it likely I'll die in the street?"

9.13 Zigong said: "If there was a beautiful piece of jade here, would you box it up and keep it, or look for a good buyer and sell it?" The Master said: "Sell it! Sell it! I'm the one waiting for the buyer."

9.14 The Master wanted to go live among the nine barbarian tribes. Someone said: "They're crude. How could you?" The Master said: "If a gentleman lived there, how would it be crude?"

9.15 The Master said: "After I came back from Wei to Lu, I set the music right, and the ceremonial and praise songs each found their proper place."

9.16 The Master said: "Out in the world serving rulers and officials, at home serving parents and older brothers, not slacking at funerals, and not letting wine knock me over — what's hard about that for me?"

9.17 The Master, standing by a river, said: "It goes on like this, never stopping, day or night."

9.18 The Master said: "I've never met anyone who loves goodness the way they love good looks."

9.19 The Master said: "Say you're building a hill — one basketful short of finishing, and you stop: that's me stopping. Say you're filling in level ground — and you dump in just one basketful and keep going: that's me moving forward."

9.20 The Master said: "The one who listens to me and never slacks off — that's Hui, isn't it?"

9.21 The Master said about Yan Yuan: "What a shame! I watched him going forward; I never saw him stop."

9.22 The Master said: "There are sprouts that never flower — of course there are! There are flowers that never turn into fruit — of course there are!"

9.23 The Master said: "Young people are to be respected: who knows if the next generation won't be as good as this one? But if someone reaches forty or fifty with nothing to show, he's not impressive anymore."

9.24 The Master said: "Straight advice — can you help listening to it? But the point is fixing things. Kind, gentle words — can you help liking them? But the point is figuring them out. Liking them and not figuring them out, listening and not fixing anything — I don't know what to do with a person like that."

9.25 The Master said: "Put loyalty and honesty first. Don't befriend people who aren't as good as you. When you mess up, don't be afraid to fix it."

9.26 The Master said: "Even a whole army can lose its general. You can't take away the will of one ordinary man."

9.27 The Master said: "Wearing a worn-out padded robe, standing next to someone in fancy furs and not feeling ashamed — that's You! 'Not jealous, not greedy — what would be wrong with him?'" Zilu repeated that line for the rest of his life. The Master said: "That alone isn't enough to be called good."

9.28 The Master said: "Only when the weather turns cold do you find out that the pine and cypress are the last to lose their leaves."

9.29 The Master said: "Wise people aren't confused; good people aren't anxious; brave people aren't afraid."

9.30 The Master said: "You can study with someone without ever sharing the Way with them. You can share the Way with them without ever standing firm with them. You can stand firm with them without ever making judgments together with them."

9.31 "The wild cherry blossoms — how they flutter and turn. Don't I think of you? It's just that your home is so far." The Master said: "He wasn't thinking of her. What's far about it?"