CHAP. I. 1. The Master said, 'There is Yung!-- He might occupy
the place of a prince.'
2. Chung-kung asked about Tsze-sang Po-tsze. The Master
said, 'He may pass. He does not mind small matters.'
3. Chung-kung said, 'If a man cherish in himself a reverential
feeling of the necessity of attention to business, though he may be
easy in small matters in his government of the people, that may be
allowed. But if he cherish in himself that easy feeling, and also
carry it out in his practice, is not such an easy mode of procedure
excessive?'
4. The Master said, 'Yung's words are right.'
CHAP. II. The Duke Ai asked which of the disciples loved to
learn. Confucius replied to him, 'There was Yen Hui; HE loved to
learn. He did not transfer his anger; he did not repeat a fault.
Unfortunately, his appointed time was short and he died; and now
there is not such another. I have not yet heard of any one who
loves to learn as he did.'
CHAP. III. 1. Tsze-hwa being employed on a mission to Ch'i,
the disciple Zan requested grain for his mother. The Master said,
'Give her a fu.' Yen requested more. 'Give her an yu,' said the
Master. Yen gave her five ping.
2. The Master said, 'When Ch'ih was proceeding to Ch'i, he had
fat horses to his carriage, and wore light furs. I have heard that
a superior man helps the distressed, but does not add to the wealth
of the rich.'
3. Yuan Sze being made governor of his town by the Master,
he gave him nine hundred measures of grain, but Sze declined
them.
4. The Master said, 'Do not decline them. May you not give
them away in the neighborhoods, hamlets, towns, and villages?'
CHAP. IV. The Master, speaking of Chung-kung, said, 'If the
calf of a brindled cow be red and horned, although men may not
wish to use it, would the spirits of the mountains and rivers put it
aside?'
CHAP. V. The Master said, 'Such was Hui that for three months
there would be nothing in his mind contrary to perfect virtue. The
others may attain to this on some days or in some months, but
nothing more.'
CHAP. VI. Chi K'ang asked about Chung-yu, whether he was fit
to be employed as an officer of government. The Master said, 'Yu is
a man of decision; what difficulty would he find in being an officer
of government?' K'ang asked, 'Is Ts'ze fit to be employed as an
officer of government?' and was answered, 'Ts'ze is a man of
intelligence; what difficulty would he find in being an officer of
government?' And to the same question about Ch'iu the Master
gave the same reply, saying, 'Ch'iu is a man of various ability.'
CHAP. VII. The chief of the Chi family sent to ask Min Tsze-
ch'ien to be governor of Pi. Min Tsze-ch'ien said, 'Decline the offer
for me politely. If any one come again to me with a second
invitation, I shall be obliged to go and live on the banks of the
Wan.'
CHAP. VIII. Po-niu being ill, the Master went to ask for him.
He took hold of his hand through the window, and said, 'It is killing
him. It is the appointment of Heaven, alas! That such a man should
have such a sickness! That such a man should have such a sickness!'
CHAP. IX. The Master said, 'Admirable indeed was the
virtue of Hui! With a single bamboo dish of rice, a single gourd dish
of drink, and living in his mean narrow lane, while others could not
have endured the distress, he did not allow his joy to be affected by
it. Admirable indeed was the virtue of Hui!'
CHAP. X. Yen Ch'iu said, 'It is not that I do not delight in your
doctrines, but my strength is insufficient.' The Master said, 'Those
whose strength is insufficient give over in the middle of the way
but now you limit yourself.'
CHAP. XI. The Master said to Tsze-hsia, 'Do you be a scholar
after the style of the superior man, and not after that of the mean
man.'
CHAP. XII. Tsze-yu being governor of Wu-ch'ang, the Master
said to him, 'Have you got good men there?' He answered, 'There is
Tan-t'ai Mieh-ming, who never in walking takes a short cut, and
never comes to my office, excepting on public business.'
CHAP. XIII. The Master said, 'Mang Chih-fan does not boast of
his merit. Being in the rear on an occasion of flight, when they were
about to enter the gate, he whipped up his horse, saying, "It is not
that I dare to be last. My horse would not advance."'
CHAP. XIV. The Master said, 'Without the specious speech of
the litanist T'o and the beauty of the prince Chao of Sung, it is
difficult to escape in the present age.'
CHAP. XV. The Master said, 'Who can go out but by the door?
How is it that men will not walk according to these ways?'
CHAP. XVI. The Master said, 'Where the solid qualities are in
excess of accomplishments, we have rusticity; where the
accomplishments are in excess of the solid qualities, we have the
manners of a clerk. When the accomplishments and solid qualities
are equally blended, we then have the man of virtue.'
CHAP. XVII. The Master said, 'Man is born for uprightness. If
a man lose his uprightness, and yet live, his escape from death is
the effect of mere good fortune.'
CHAP. XVIII. The Master said, 'They who know the truth are
not equal to those who love it, and they who love it are not equal to
those who delight in it.'
CHAP. XIX. The Master said, 'To those whose talents are above
mediocrity, the highest subjects may be announced. To those who
are below mediocrity, the highest subjects may not be announced.'
CHAP. XX. Fan Ch'ih asked what constituted wisdom. The
Master said, 'To give one's self earnestly to the duties due to men,
and, while respecting spiritual beings, to keep aloof from them, may
be called wisdom.' He asked about perfect virtue. The Master said,
'The man of virtue makes the difficulty to be overcome his first
business, and success only a subsequent consideration;-- this may
be called perfect virtue.'
CHAP. XXI. The Master said, 'The wise find pleasure in water;
the virtuous find pleasure in hills. The wise are active; the virtuous
are tranquil. The wise are joyful; the virtuous are long-lived.'
CHAP. XXII. The Master said, 'Ch'i, by one change, would come
to the State of Lu. Lu, by one change, would come to a State where
true principles predominated.'
CHAP. XXIII. The Master said, 'A cornered vessel without
corners.-- A strange cornered vessel! A strange cornered vessel!'
CHAP. XXIV. Tsai Wo asked, saying, 'A benevolent man,
though it be told him,-- 'There is a man in the well' will go in after
him, I suppose.' Confucius said, 'Why should he do so?' A superior
man may be made to go to the well, but he cannot be made to go
down into it. He may be imposed upon, but he cannot be fooled.'
CHAP. XXV. The Master said, 'The superior man, extensively
studying all learning, and keeping himself under the restraint of
the rules of propriety, may thus likewise not overstep what is
right.'
CHAP. XXVI. The Master having visited Nan-tsze, Tsze-lu was
displeased, on which the Master swore, saying, 'Wherein I have
done improperly, may Heaven reject me, may Heaven reject me!'
CHAP. XXVII. The Master said, 'Perfect is the virtue which is
according to the Constant Mean! Rare for a long time has been its
practise among the people.'
CHAP. XXVIII. 1. Tsze-kung said, 'Suppose the case of a man
extensively conferring benefits on the people, and able to assist all,
what would you say of him? Might he be called perfectly virtuous?'
The Master said, 'Why speak only of virtue in connexion with him?
Must he not have the qualities of a sage? Even Yao and Shun were
still solicitous about this.
2. 'Now the man of perfect virtue, wishing to be established
himself, seeks also to establish others; wishing to be enlarged
himself, he seeks also to enlarge others.
3. 'To be able to judge of others by what is nigh in ourselves;--
this may be called the art of virtue.'