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The Master seldom spoke of gain, of Heaven's decree, or of perfect virtue.
达巷党人曰：“大哉孔子，博学而无所成名。”子闻之，谓门弟子曰：“吾何执，执御乎，执射乎？吾执御矣。”
A man from Daxiang said:'Truly great is the philosopher Kong. He is well-versed in learning, yet he lacks what it takes to gain renown.'When Confucius heard this, he said to his disciples:'What skill shall I practice? Driving a chariot, or archery? I will practice driving a chariot.'
Notes:
A chariot driver is a servant of others. His profession is even more lowly than that of an archer. The philosopher, hearing his praise, responded by humbling himself. This great sage did not actually intend to become a chariot driver.
子曰：“麻冕，礼也。今也纯，俭，吾从众。拜下，礼也。今拜乎上，泰也。虽违众，吾从下。”
The Master said:"The hempen cap is in accordance with the old usage. Now, silk caps are used, which are cheaper. I follow the common practice. Formerly, an officer paid his respects to his prince at the foot of the steps leading to the hall. Now, he pays his respects at the top of the steps; this is presumptuous. Contrary to everyone else, I adhere to the old practice."
子绝四：毋意、毋必、毋固、毋我。
The Master avoided four faults: he had no rash desires, no inflexible resolutions, no obstinacy, and no egoism.
子畏于匡，曰：“文王既没，文不在兹乎。天之将丧斯文也，后死者不得与于斯文也；天之未丧斯文也，匡人其如予何！”
When the Master was in danger in the town of Kuang, he said:"Since King Wen is dead, is the doctrine not here? If Heaven had intended to put an end to the doctrine on earth, it would not have entrusted it to me after King Wen's death. Heaven does not yet intend to put an end to the doctrine on earth. What can the people of Kuang do to me?"
Notes:
Yang Hu had committed atrocities in the town of Kuang. Confucius looked like Yang Hu externally. The people surrounded him to arrest him.
太宰问于子贡曰：“夫子圣者与？何其多能也。”子贡曰：“固天纵之将圣，又多能也。”子闻之，曰：“太宰知我乎。吾少也贱，故多能鄙事。君子多乎哉？不多也。”牢曰：“子云：吾不试，故艺。”
The prime minister said to Zigong:"Is your master a perfect sage? How many arts is he familiar with?"Zigong replied:"Truly, Heaven has endowed him without measure; he has reached the highest stage of wisdom, and moreover, he is skilled in many arts."The Master, hearing this, said:"Does the prime minister know me? When I was young, I was of humble rank, so I learned many lowly skills. Does a nobleman have many skills? No, he does not."Lao said:"Confucius said: 'I practice the arts because I am not employed in office.'"
Notes:
Zigong addressed this double question to Confucius because he saw a man with so many virtues exercising no office. Confucius answered that one should sell the precious stone, but it is not proper to go seeking the buyers. The sage is always ready to accept and exercise an office, but he wants the principles to be observed. He waits for a regular invitation, as the precious stone waits for the offers of a buyer.
子曰：“吾有知乎哉？无知也。有鄙夫问于我，空空如也，我叩其两端而竭焉。”
The Master said:"Do I have much knowledge? No, I do not. But when a lowly man asks me, though he is empty, I examine the question from all sides and exhaust it."
子曰：“凤鸟不至，河不出图，洛不出书，吾已夫！”
The Master said:"I do not see the phoenix coming, nor the diagram emerging from the river, nor the scripture coming from the Luo. It is all over for me!"
Notes:
The phoenix is a bird that announces future events. In the time of Shun, it was brought and offered as a gift to that prince. In the time of King Wen, it sang on Mount Qi. The diagram that emerges from the river is a diagram that emerged from the Yellow River on the back of a dragon-horse in the time of Fuxi. The phoenix and the diagram that emerges from the river have announced the reigns of very wise emperors. Confucius said:'No omens are appearing to announce the reign of a very wise emperor; such an emperor will not come. Which emperor will use me to teach the people? It is all over for my doctrine; it will not be put into practice.'
子见齐衰者、冕衣裳者、瞽者，见之，虽少必作，过之，必趋。”
When the Master saw a man in mourning, or a magistrate in official dress, or a blind person, even if younger than himself, he always rose, or passed quickly.
颜渊喟然叹曰：“仰之弥高，钻之弥坚，瞻之在前，忽焉在后。夫子循循然善诱人，博我以文，约我以礼。欲罢不能，既竭吾才，如有所立卓尔。遂欲从之，末由也已。”
Yan Yuan sighed deeply and said:"Looking up, it is so high that I cannot see its top. Drilling into it, it is so deep that I cannot fathom it. When I look at it in front of me, it is suddenly behind me. The Master, in a gradual and ordered manner, leads me on to virtue, broadening my knowledge with literature, and regulating my conduct with rites. When I want to stop, I cannot. After exhausting my talents, there is still something that stands like a mountain, which I cannot climb."
子疾病，子路使门人为臣。病间，曰：“久矣哉，由之行诈也。无臣而为有臣，吾谁欺，欺天乎？且予与其死于臣之手也，无宁死于二三子之手乎。且予纵不得大葬，予死于道路乎？”
The Master being seriously ill, Zilu engaged some disciples to serve as his stewards. When the illness abated a little, Confucius said:"For a long time now, You has been practicing deceit. I have no stewards, yet I am treated as if I had them. Whom shall I deceive? Shall I deceive Heaven? Moreover, would it not be better for me to die at the hands of my disciples than at the hands of stewards? And if I were not to have a grand funeral, would I be left to die on the road?"
子贡曰：“有美玉于斯，温椟而藏诸？求善贾而沽诸？”子曰：“沽之哉，沽之哉！我待贾者也。”
Zigong said to Confucius:"If there were a fine jewel here, would you store it in a warm box and hide it, or seek a good merchant to sell it?"The Master replied:"I would sell it, certainly I would sell it! But I wait for the right buyer."
Notes:
Zigong put this double question to Confucius because he saw a man with so many virtues exercising no office. Confucius replied that one should sell the precious stone, but it is not proper to go seeking the buyers. The sage is always ready to accept and exercise an office, but he wants the principles to be observed. He waits for a regular invitation, as the precious stone waits for the offers of a buyer.
子欲居九夷。或曰：“陋，如之何？”子曰：“君子居之，何陋之有？”
The Master would have liked to live among the nine barbarian tribes to the east. Someone said:"These tribes are uncivilized; how can you live among them?"He replied:"If a sage lived among them, what would they still have that is uncivilized?"
Notes:
Confucius, seeing that his teachings were unfruitful, would have desired to leave the Chinese Empire and retire to a foreign land. He would occasionally sigh, expressing his desire to live among the nine tribes of the eastern barbarians. He also said that he would like to entrust himself to the sea on a raft (and retire to a deserted island). He had no real intention of going to live among the barbarians in the hope of civilizing them.
子曰：“吾自卫反鲁，然后乐正，雅颂各得其所。”
The Master said:"Since I returned from the state of Wei to Lu, the music has been corrected, and the Odes of the sections Ya and Song have been put in order."
子曰：“出则事公卿，入则事父兄，丧事不敢不勉，不为酒困，何有于我哉？”
The Master said:"When outside, I serve my superiors; when at home, I serve my parents and elder brothers. In matters of mourning, I dare not be remiss. I do not let myself be overcome by wine. Do these four virtues belong to me?"
Notes:
The philosopher, to instruct others by humbling himself, said:"It is with great effort and much difficulty that I accomplish these four things."
子在川上曰：“逝者如斯夫，不舍昼夜。”
The Master, standing by a river, said:"All passes like this, night and day without ceasing."
Notes:
The sage imitates this continual movement of water and all nature. He ceaselessly strives until he reaches the summit of perfection.
子曰：“吾未见好德如好色者也。”
The Master said:"I have not yet met a man who loves virtue as much as he loves beauty."
Notes:
The history records that, when Confucius was in the state of Wei, Prince Ling transported him in the same carriage as his wife, and had him parade through the public square to attract attention. The philosopher found this procedure of very bad taste and said on this occasion the words that have just been quoted.
子曰：“譬如为山，未成一篑，止，吾止也。譬如平地，虽覆一篑，进，吾往也。”
The Master said:"If, after starting to build a mound, one stops when only a basket of earth is lacking, it will be true to say that one has stopped. If, after starting to level the ground, one continues, even if one adds only a basket of earth, one's progress will be visible."
Notes:
If the disciple of wisdom constantly strives, even if he collects only a little at a time, he will amass much; but if he stops halfway, he will lose all the fruit of the work he has already accomplished.
子曰：“语之而不惰者，其回也。”
The Master said:"One who, as soon as he receives an instruction, applies it with zeal, that was Hui."
子谓颜渊曰：“惜乎！吾见其进也，未见其止也。”
The Master speaking of Yan Yuan said:"Alas! I have always seen him advancing, never stopping."
子曰：“苗而不秀者有矣夫，秀而不实者有矣夫。”
The Master said:"There are times when the crops do not flower, and times when they flower but do not bear grain."
Notes:
So it is with men who devote themselves to the study of wisdom if they are not persistent.
子曰：“后生可畏。焉知来者之不如今也？四十五十而无闻焉，斯亦不足畏也已。”
The Master said:"We must beware that later generations may surpass us. How do we know that those who come after us will not be as good as we? But if at forty or fifty, they have not made themselves known by their virtue, then it is no longer worth fearing."
子曰：“法语之言，能无从乎？改之为贵。巽与之言，能无说乎？绎之为贵。说而不绎，从而不改，吾未如之何也已矣。”
The Master said:"Can one ignore a just and sincere admonition? But what is important is to correct oneself. Can one dislike a gentle and adroit admonition? But what is important is to meditate on it. I have nothing to do with one who loves admonitions but does not meditate on them, who listens to admonitions but does not correct himself."
子曰：“主忠信，毋友不如己者，过则勿惮改。”
The Master said:"Let your faithfulness and sincerity be your master, and do not befriend one who is not as good as yourself. If you make a mistake, do not be afraid to correct it."
子曰：“三军可夺帅也，匹夫不可夺志也。”
The Master said:"The commander of three armies may be taken away from his command; the will of a humble man cannot be taken away."
子曰：“岁寒，然后知松柏之后凋也。”
The Master said:"It is only when the cold of winter has come that one knows that the pine and cypress are the last to wither."
Notes:
The cold of winter is the image of a time of trouble. The persistence of foliage is the image of the firm and constant will of the sage. When tranquility reigns, the common man may not differ from the sage. It is only in the face of advantages or disadvantages brought by a revolution that one recognizes the constancy of the sage.
子曰：“知者不惑，仁者不忧，勇者不惧。”
The Master said:"The wise man is not confused; the good man is not worried; the brave man is not afraid."
子曰：“可与共学，未可与适道；可与适道，未可与立；可与立，未可与权。”
The Master said:"One may advance with a disciple gradually; when he is only fit to study with the master, he may not yet be fit to enter the way of virtue; when he is fit to enter the way of virtue, he may not yet be fit to establish himself in it; when he is fit to establish himself in it, he may not yet be fit to decide for himself in doubtful cases."
唐棣之华，偏其反而。岂不尔思，是室远而。子曰：“未之思也。夫何远之有！”
An ancient song said:"The peach tree itself sways its flowers. How can I not think of you? But your home is far away."The Master, after reciting this stanza, said:"They do not think of virtue. Is it a question of distance?"
Notes:
He who seeks his own interest harms justice. The question of Heaven's decree is very subtle. The way of perfect virtue is immense. Confucius spoke rarely of these three things. He spoke little of gain, lest he lead men to desire low things and seek their own interests. He spoke little of Heaven's decree and of perfect virtue, lest he excite men to attempt things beyond their strength. He spoke little of gain, lest his disciples be too inclined to seek their own interest. He spoke little of Heaven's decree and of perfect virtue, because his disciples would not easily understand these high questions.
