English
French
Arabic
Bulgarian
Czech
Danish
German
Greek
Spanish
Finnish
Hungarian
Indonesian
Italian
Hebrew
Japanese
Korean
Dutch
Polish
Portuguese, International
Romanian
Russian
Slovak
Swedish
Thai
Turkish
Ukrainian
V.1. The Master said that Gongye Chang was a man to whom one could fittingly give a daughter in marriage; that although he had been in fetters, he had deserved no punishment. He gave him his daughter in marriage. The Master said that Nanyong, in a well-governed State, would always hold office; that in a badly-governed State, he would manage to escape torture and capital punishment. He gave him his brother's daughter in marriage.
子谓子贱：“君子哉若人！鲁无君子，斯焉取斯？”
V.2. The Master said of Zijian: — What wisdom is in this man! If the principality of Lu had had no sages, where would he have drawn such wisdom from?
子贡问曰：“赐也何如？”子曰：“汝器也。”曰：“何器也？”曰：“琏瑚也。”
V.3. Zigong asked: — What do you say of me? The Master replied: — You are a vessel. Zigong went on: — What vessel? — A vessel for the offerings, said Confucius.
或曰：“雍也仁而不佞。”子曰：“焉用佞？御人以口给，屡憎于人，不知其仁。焉用佞？”
V.4. Someone said: — Yong is very virtuous, but little skilled in speech. The Master replied: — What use is it to be skilled in speech? Those who receive everyone with fine words, which come only from the lips and not from the heart, often make themselves odious. I do not know whether Yong is virtuous; but what would it serve him to be skilled in speech?
子使漆雕开仕。对曰：“吾斯之未能信。”子说。
V.5. The Master having urged Qidiaokai to take up an office, the latter replied: — I have not yet come to know perfectly. This answer delighted the Master.
子曰：“道不行，乘桴浮于海，从我者其由与！”子路闻之喜。子曰：“由也好勇过我，无所取材。”
V.6. The Master said: — My doctrine is not put into practice. If I were to board a raft and entrust myself to the waves of the sea, the one who would follow me, would it not be You? Zilu, hearing these words, felt great joy. The Master said: — You has more daring than I; but he lacks the discernment needed to judge well.
孟武伯问：“子路仁乎？”子曰：“不知也。”又问。子曰：“由也，千乘之国，可使治其赋也。不知其仁也。”“求也何如？”子曰：“求也，千室之邑，百乘之家，可使为之宰也。不知其仁也。”“赤也何如？”子曰：“赤也，束带立于朝，可使与宾客言也。不知其仁也。”
V.7. Meng Wubo asked: « Is Zilu virtuous? » The Master replied: « I do not know. » He asked again. The Master replied: « You is able to form the troops of a principality possessing a thousand war chariots. I do not know whether his virtue is perfect. » He asked: « What do you think of Qiu? » The Master replied: « Qiu is able to govern a town of a thousand families, or the house of a great prefect who has a hundred war chariots. I do not know whether he is perfectly virtuous. » He asked: « What do you say of Chi? » The Master replied: « Chi would be able to stand in court dress beside a prince, and to converse with guests and visitors. I do not know whether his virtue is perfect. »
子谓子贡曰：“汝与回也孰愈？”对曰：“赐也何敢望回。回也闻一以知十，赐也闻一以知二。”子曰：“弗如也。吾与汝弗如也。”
V.8. The Master said to Zigong: — Which of the two surpasses the other, you or Hui? Zigong replied: — How would I dare set myself beside Hui? It is enough for Hui to hear one thing explained for him to understand ten. I, when I have heard one thing explained, understand only two. The Master said: — You are inferior to him; I agree with you, you are inferior to him.
宰予旦寝，子曰：“朽木，不可雕也；粪土之墙，不可圬也。于予与何诛？”
V.9. Zaiyu stayed in bed during the day. The Master said: — A piece of rotten wood cannot be carved; a wall of dung and mud cannot be plastered. What use is it to reprimand Yu? Formerly, when I had heard a man speak, I believed that his conduct matched his words. Now, when I have heard a man speak, I then observe whether his actions match his words. It is Yu who has made me change the rule of my judgments.
子曰：“始吾于人也，听其言而信其行；今吾于人也，听其言而观其行。于予与改是。”
V.10. The Master said: — I have not yet seen a man of inflexible firmness of soul. Someone said: — Shen Chang. The Master replied: — Chang is the slave of his passions; how would he have firmness of soul?
子贡曰：“我不欲人之加诸我也，吾亦欲无加诸人。”子曰：“赐也，非尔所及也。”
V.11. Zigong said: — What I do not want others to do to me, I desire not to do to others. The Master replied: — Sei, you have not yet attained this perfection.
子贡曰：“夫子之文章，可得而闻也；夫子之言性与天道，不可得而闻也。”
V.12. Zigong said: — It is given to all the disciples to hear the Master's lessons on bodily bearing and propriety, but not his teachings on the nature of man and the action of Heaven.
子路有闻，未之能行，唯恐有闻。
V.13. When Zilu had received a teaching, he feared to receive a new one, until he had succeeded in putting the first into practice.
子贡问曰：“孔文子何以谓之文也？”子曰：“敏而好学，不耻下问，是以谓之文也。”
V.14. Zigong asked why Kong Wenzi had received after his death the name of Wen, the Polished or the Cultivated. The Master replied: — Although he was very intelligent, he loved to be taught; he was not ashamed to question even his inferiors. It is for this reason that he received the posthumous name of Wen.
Notes: Nanyong, a disciple of Confucius, lived in Nangong. His given names were Tao and Guo. His courtesy name was Ziyong, and his posthumous name Jingshou. He was the elder brother of Meng Yi.
子谓子产：“有君子之道四焉：其行己也恭，其事上也敬，其养民也惠，其使民也义。”
V.15. The Master said that Zichan practised four virtues perfectly: namely, deference toward his equals, respect toward his superiors, beneficence toward the people, and justice toward his subjects.
子曰：“晏平仲善与人交，久而敬之。”
V.16. The Master said: — Yan Pingzhong is admirable in his relations with his friends; however long their intimacy may have lasted, he always treats them with respect.
子曰：“臧文仲居蔡，山节藻棁，何如其知也？”
V.17. The Master said: — Zang Wenzhong had built, to house a great tortoise, an edifice where sculpture figured mountains on the capitals of the columns, and painting represented sea algae on the small columns of the roof. Can one say that this was an enlightened man?
Notes: Zang Wenzhong, named Chen, head of the Zang Sun family, was a great prefect in the principality of Lu. Cai, a great tortoise, so named because it came from the country of Cai (today included in Zhou Ning Fu, province of Henan). Wenzhong believed that a tortoise surrounded by so many honours would surely bring down celestial favours. He did not know that the tortoise is of use only for divination, that it can only give happy or unhappy omens, but cannot dispense goods and evils. Did he deserve to pass for an enlightened man?
子张问曰：“令尹子文三仕为令尹，无喜色；三已之，无愠色。旧令尹之政，必以告新令尹。何如？”子曰：“忠矣！”曰：“仁矣乎？”子曰：“未知。焉得仁？”“崔子弑齐君，陈文子有马十乘，弃而违之。至于他邦，则曰：‘犹吾大夫崔子也。’违之。至一邦，则又曰：‘犹吾大夫崔子也。’违之。何如？”子曰：“清矣。”曰：“仁矣乎？”子曰：“未知。焉得仁？”
V.18. Zizhang said: — Ziwen, prime minister of Chu, was three times raised to honours and made prime minister; he showed no joy at it. He was three times stripped of his office; he showed no discontent at it. On leaving the office of prime minister, he made known to his successor his administrative acts. What should one think of him? The Master said: — He was faithful to duty. Zizhang went on: — Was his virtue perfect? The Master replied: — I do not know; is his indifference to office perfection? Zizhang said: — Cuizi, having killed his prince, the prince of Qi, Chen Wenzi, who had ten teams of four horses, abandoned his riches, and left his native land. Arrived in another principality, he said: « Here the officers resemble our great prefect Cuizi. » And he went away. Whenever he arrived in a new principality, he always said: « Here the officers resemble our great prefect Cuizi. » And he withdrew. What should one think of him? The Master replied: — He feared the slightest defilement. Zizhang went on: — Was his virtue perfect? Confucius replied: — I do not know; did he attain the perfection of virtue?
季文子三思而后行。子闻之，曰：“再，斯可矣！”
V.19. Ji Wenzi reflected repeatedly before doing a thing. The Master, having learned of it, said: — It is enough to reflect twice.
Notes: Ji Wenzi, named Xingfu, was a great prefect in the principality of Lu. Before doing a thing, one must reflect, but not too much. After reflecting twice, one may make a decision. A third examination gives rise to little-praiseworthy intentions, and obscures ideas instead of clarifying them. The important thing is to take justice as the rule of one's actions.
子曰：“宁武子，邦有道，则知；邦无道，则愚。其知可及也；其愚不可及也。”
V.20. The Master said: — Ning Wuzu, as long as the State was well governed, showed himself prudent, and when the State was badly governed, he showed himself imprudent. His prudence can be imitated; his imprudence is beyond all imitation.
Notes: Ning Wuzu, named Yu, was a great prefect in the principality of Wei. According to the commentators of the Chunqiu, he held this office under prince Wen and under prince Cheng. Prince Wen knew how to govern well; under his reign, Wuzu drew upon himself no difficulty. In this he showed a prudence that can be equalled. Prince Cheng governed so badly that he lost the sovereign power. Wuzu took care to repair the prince's faults, with the most entire devotion, braving sufferings and perils. The affairs in which he engaged were all of those that prudent and cunning officers (concerned only with their own interests) carefully avoid and do not consent to undertake. Yet he was able to the end to preserve his person and serve his prince. In this his imprudence is beyond all imitation.
子在陈曰：“归与！归与！吾党之小子狂简，斐然成章，不知所以裁之。”
V.21. The Master, being in the principality of Chen, said: — Shall I return, shall I return to the principality of Lu? The disciples I had in my country have lofty aspirations, apply themselves little to vulgar things and are of remarkable distinction. But they do not know how to regulate these good qualities.
Notes: Confucius travelled through the various principalities, spreading his teachings everywhere. When he was in the principality of Chen, seeing that his doctrine was not being put into practice, he resolved to found a school that would survive him and transmit his precepts to future ages. As he could not find disciples capable of always keeping the just mean, he thought of those he had left in the principality of Lu, who were of somewhat lesser capacity. He judged that men with lofty aspirations could make progress in the way of virtue. He feared only that they might go beyond the just limits, stray from the right path, and fall into error. For this reason, he wished to return to his country and moderate their excessive ardour.
子曰：“伯夷叔齐，不念旧恶，怨是用希。”
V.22. The Master said: — Boyi and Shuqi forgot the past faults of others; thus they had few enemies.
子曰：“孰谓微生高直？或乞醢焉，乞诸其邻而与之。”
V.23. The Master said: — Who can still praise the uprightness of Weisheng Gao? Someone having asked him for vinegar, he himself asked for some from one of his neighbours in order to give it to him.
子曰：“巧言令色，足恭，左丘明耻之，丘亦耻之。匿怨而友其人，左丘明耻之，丘亦耻之。”
V.24. The Master said: — To employ studied language, to put on too composed an exterior, to give marks of excessive deference, this is what Zuo Qiuming would have blushed to do; I too would be ashamed of it. To hate a man in the depths of one's heart and to treat him in a friendly way, this is what Zuo Qiuming would have blushed to do; I too would be ashamed of it.
颜渊季路侍，子曰：“盍各言尔志？”子路曰：“愿车马，衣轻裘，与朋友共，敝之而无憾。”颜渊曰：“愿无伐善，无施劳。”子路曰：“愿闻子之志。”子曰：“老者安之，朋友信之，少者怀之。”
V.25. The Master said to Yan Yuan and Zilu, who were standing beside him: — Why would you not each tell me what your wishes would be? Zilu replied: — I would wish to share with my friends the use of my carriages, my horses, my tunics lined with fine fur; and, if my friends mistreated or spoiled them, to feel no discontent at it. Yan Yuan said: — I would wish not to boast of my good qualities, not to exaggerate my good services. Zilu went on: — Master, I would be glad to learn what your wish would be. The Master replied: — To provide abundantly for the needs of the aged, to deserve the trust of my friends, to help children and young people with affection.
Notes: Zilu replied: « One must share with the whole universe the use of the things of the whole universe. »
子曰：“已矣乎！吾未见能见其过而内自讼者也。”
V.26. The Master said: — Must one then despair of seeing a man who acknowledges his faults, and reproaches himself for them in secret? I, for my part, have not yet seen one.
子曰：“十室之邑，必有忠信如丘者焉，不如丘之好学也。”
V.27. The Master said: — In a village of ten families, there are certainly men to whom nature has given, as to me, dispositions to fidelity and sincerity; but there are none who work as I do to know and practise these virtues.
Notes: Confucius, to incite men to cultivate virtue, said: « It is easy to find men endowed with excellent natural dispositions; but one rarely hears cited a man who has perfect virtues. He who applies himself with all his strength to cultivating virtue can become a very great sage. He who does not apply himself to it will never be more than an uncultivated man, like a coarse peasant. »
