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Original |
Translation |
| 1 |
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Chapter I. |
| 1-1 |
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The Master said, 'The men of former times, in the matters of ceremonies and music
were rustics, it is said, while the men of
these latter times, in ceremonies and music,
are accomplished gentlemen. |
| 1-2 |
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'If I have occasion to use those things, I follow the men of former times.' |
| 2 |
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Chapter II. |
| 2-1 |
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The Master said, 'Of those who were with me in Chen [Ch'an] and Cai [Ts'ai],
there are none to be found to enter my door.' |
| 2-2 |
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Distinguished for their virtuous principles and practice, there were Yan Yuan,
Min Ziqian [Min Tsze-ch'ien], Ran Boniu [Zan
Po-niu], and Zhong Gong [Chung-kung]; for
their ability in speech, Zai Wo [Tsai Wo]
and Zigong; for their administrative talents,
Zan Yu and Chi Lu; for their literary acquirements,
Ziyou and Zixia. |
| 3 |
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Chapter III. |
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The Master said, 'Hui gives me no assistance. There is nothing that I say in
which he does not delight.' |
| 4 |
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Chapter IV. |
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The Master said, 'Filial indeed is Min Ziqian! Other people say nothing
of him different from the report of his parents
and brothers.' |
| 5 |
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Chapter V. |
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Nan Rong [Nan Yung] was frequently repeating the lines about a white scepter
stone. Confucius gave him the daughter of
his elder brother to wife. |
| 6 |
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Chapter VI. |
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Ji Kang asked which of the disciples loved to learn. Confucius replied to
him, 'There was Yan Hui [Yen Hui]; he loved
to learn. Unfortunately his appointed time
was short, and he died. Now there is no one
who loves to learn, as he did.' |
| 7 |
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Chapter VII. |
| 7-1 |
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When Yan Yuan died, Yan Lu [Yen Lu] begged the carriage of the Master to sell
and get an outer shell for his son's coffin. |
| 7-2 |
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The Master said, 'Every one calls his son his son, whether he has talents or
has not talents. There was Li [Li]; when
he died, he had a coffin but no outer shell.
I would not walk on foot to get a shell for
him, because, having followed in the rear
of the great officers, it was not proper that I should
walk on foot.' |
| 8 |
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Chapter VIII. |
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When Yan Yuan died, the Master said, 'Alas! Heaven is destroying me! Heaven
is destroying me!' |
| 9 |
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Chapter IX. |
| 9-1 |
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When Yan Yuan died, the Master bewailed him exceedingly, and the disciples who
were with him said, 'Master, your grief is
excessive?' |
| 9-2 |
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'Is it excessive?' said he. |
| 9-3 |
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'If I am not to mourn bitterly for this man, for whom should I mourn?' |
| 10 |
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Chapter X. |
| 10-1 |
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When Yan Yuan died, the disciples wished to give him a great funeral, and the
Master said, 'You may not do so.' |
| 10-2 |
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The disciples did bury him in great style. |
| 10-3 |
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The Master said, 'Hui behaved towards me as his father. I have not been able
to treat him as my son. The fault is not mine; it belongs to you,
O disciples.' |
| 11 |
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Chapter XI. |
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Li Lu [Chi Lu] asked about serving the spirits of the dead. The Master said,
'While you are not able to serve men, how
can you serve their spirits?' Li
Lu added, 'I venture to ask about death?'
He was answered, 'While you do not know life,
how can
you know about death? |
| 12 |
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Chapter XII. |
| 12-1 |
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The disciple Min was standing by his side, looking bland and precise; Zilu,
looking bold and soldierly; Zan Yu and Zigong,
with a free and straightforward manner.
The Master was pleased. |
| 12-2 |
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He said, 'Yu, there!-- he will not die a natural death.' |
| 13 |
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Chapter XIII. |
| 13-1 |
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Some parties in Lu were going to take down and rebuild the Long Treasury. |
| 13-2 |
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Min Ziqian said, 'Suppose it were to be repaired after its old style;--
why must it be altered and made anew?' |
| 13-3 |
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The Master said, 'This man seldom speaks; when he does, he is sure to hit the
point.' |
| 14 |
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Chapter XIV. |
| 14-1 |
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The Master said, 'What has the lute of Yu to do in my door?' |
| 14-2 |
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The other disciples began not to respect Zilu. The Master said, 'Yu has ascended
to the hall, though he has not yet passed into the inner apartments.' |
| 15 |
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Chapter XV. |
| 15-1 |
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Zigong asked which of the two, Yu [Shih] or Shang [Shang], was the superior.
The Master said, 'Shih goes beyond the due mean,
and Shang does not come up to it.' |
| 15-2 |
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Then,' said Zigong, 'the superiority is with Shih, I suppose.' |
| 15-3 |
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The Master said, 'To go beyond is as wrong as to fall short.' |
| 16 |
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Chapter XVI. |
| 16-1 |
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The head of the Li [Chi] family was richer than the duke of Zhou had been, and
yet Qiu collected his imposts for him,
and increased his wealth. |
| 16-2 |
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The Master said, 'He is no disciple of
mine. My little children, beat the drum and assail him.' |
| 17 |
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Chapter XVII. |
| 17-1 |
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Chai [Ch'ai] is simple. |
| 17-2 |
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Shen [Shan] is dull. |
| 17-3 |
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Shi [Shih] is specious. |
| 17-4 |
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You [Yu] is coarse. |
| 18 |
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Chapter XVIII. |
| 18-1 |
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The Master said, 'There is Hui! He has nearly attained to perfect virtue. He
is often in want. |
| 18-2 |
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'Ts'ze does not acquiesce in the appointments of Heaven, and his goods are increased
by him. Yet his judgments are often correct.' |
| 19 |
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Chapter XIX. |
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Zizhang asked what were the
characteristics of the GOOD man. The Master said, 'He does not tread in the
footsteps of others, but moreover, he does not enter the
chamber of the sage.' |
| 20 |
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Chapter XX. |
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The Master said, 'If, because a man's discourse appears solid and sincere,
we allow him to be a good man, is he really a superior
man? or is his gravity only in appearance?' |
| 21 |
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Chapter XXI. |
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Zilu asked whether he should immediately carry into practice what he heard.
The Master said, 'There are your father and
elder brothers to be consulted;-- why should
you act on that principle of immediately
carrying into practice what you hear?' Zan
Yu asked the same, whether he should immediately
carry into practice what he heard, and
the Master answered, 'Immediately carry into practice what you hear.' Gong Xihua
[Kung-hsi Hwa] said, 'Yu asked whether he
should carry immediately into practice what
he
heard, and you said, "There
are your father and elder brothers to be consulted." Qiu
asked whether he should immediately carry into practice what he heard, and you
said, "Carry it immediately into
practice." I, Chi [Ch'ih], am perplexed, and venture to ask you for an explanation.' The
Master said, 'Qiu is retiring and slow; therefore, I urged him forward. You has
more
than his own share of energy; therefore I kept him back.' |
| 22 |
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Chapter XXII. |
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The Master was put in fear in Kuang [K'wang] and Yan Yuan fell behind. The Master,
on his rejoining him, said, 'I thought you
had died.' Hui replied, 'While you were alive,
how should I presume to die?' |
| 23 |
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Chapter XXIII. |
| 23-1 |
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Li Ziran [Chi Tsze-zan] asked whether Zhong You [Chung Yu] and Ran Qiu [Zan Ch'iu]
could be called great ministers. |
| 23-2 |
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The Master said, 'I thought you would ask about some extraordinary individuals,
and you only ask about You and Qiu! |
| 23-3 |
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'What is called a great minister, is one who serves his prince according to what
is right, and when he finds he cannot do so, retires. |
| 23-4 |
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'Now, as to You and Qiu, they may be called ordinary ministers.' |
| 23-5 |
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Ziran said, 'Then they will always follow their chief;-- will they?' |
| 23-6 |
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The Master said, 'In an act of parricide or regicide, they would not follow him.' |
| 24 |
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Chapter XXIV. |
| 24-1 |
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Zilu got Zi Gao [Tsze-kao] appointed governor of Bi. |
| 24-2 |
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The Master said, 'You are injuring a man's son.' |
| 24-3 |
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Zilu said, 'There are (there) common people and officers; there are the altars
of the spirits of the land and grain. Why must one read books before
he can be considered to have learned?' |
| 24-4 |
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The Master said, 'It is on this account that I hate your glib-tongued people.' |
| 25 |
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Chapter XXV. |
| 25-1 |
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Zilu, Ceng Xi [Zeng Hsi], Zan Yu, and Gong Xihua [Kung-hsi Hwa] were sitting
by the Master. |
| 25-2 |
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He said to them, 'Though I am a day or so older than you, do not think of that. |
| 25-3 |
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'From day to day you are saying, "We
are not known." If some ruler were to know you, what would you like to do?' |
| 25-4 |
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Zilu hastily and lightly replied, 'Suppose the case of a State of ten thousand
chariots; let it be straitened between other large States; let it
be suffering from invading armies; and to this let there be added
a
famine in corn and in all vegetables:-- if I were intrusted
with the government of it, in three years' time I could make the people
to be bold, and to recognise the rules of righteous
conduct.' The Master smiled at him. |
| 25-5 |
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Turning to Yen Yu, he said, 'Qiu, what are your wishes?' Qiu replied, 'Suppose
a state of sixty or seventy li square, or
one of fifty or sixty, and let me have the
government of it;-- in three years'
time, I could make plenty to abound among the people. As to teaching
them the principles of propriety, and music, I must wait for the
rise of a superior man to do that.' |
| 25-6 |
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'What are your wishes, Chi ,' said the Master next to Gong Xihua.
Chi replied, 'I do not say that my ability
extends to these things, but I hould wish
to learn them. At the services of the ancestral
temple, and at the audiences of the princes
with the sovereign, I should like, dressed
in the dark square-made robe and the black
linen cap, to act as a small assistant.' |
| 25-7 |
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Last of all, the Master asked Ceng Xi [Tsang Hsi], 'Dian [Tien], what are your
wishes?' Tien, pausing as he was playing
on his lute, while it was yet twanging, laid
the instrument aside, and rose. 'My wishes,'
he said, 'are different from the cherished
purposes of these three gentlemen.' 'What
harm is there in that?' said the Master;
'do you also, as well as they, speak out
your wishes.' Dian then said, 'In this, the last month of spring, with the
dress of the season all complete, along with
five or six young men who have assumed
the cap, and six or seven boys, I would wash in the I, enjoy the breeze among
the rain altars, and return home singing.' The Master heaved a sigh and said,
'I give my approval to Dian.' |
| 25-8 |
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The three others having gone out, Ceng Xi remained behind, and said,
'What do you think of the words of these
three friends?' The Master replied, 'They
simply told each one his wishes.' |
| 25-9 |
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Xi pursued, 'Master, why did you smile at You?' |
| 25-10 |
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He was answered, 'The management of a State demands the rules of propriety. His
words were not humble; therefore I smiled at him.' |
| 25-11 |
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Xi again said, 'But was it not a State which Qiu proposed for himself?' The
reply was, 'Yes; did you ever see a territory
of sixty or seventy li or one of fifty or
sixty, which was not a State?' |
| 25-12 |
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Once more, Xi inquired, 'And was it not a State which Chi proposed for himself?'
The Master again replied, 'Yes; who but princes
have to do with ancestral temples, and with
audiences but the sovereign? If
Chi were to be a small assistant in these services, who could be a great
one? |