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Of Kung-yeh Ch'ang the Master said, A girl might be wedded to him


1. Of Kung-yeh Ch'ang the Master said, A girl might be wedded to him.

Though he has been in fetters that was not his crime.



He gave him his daughter to wed.



Of Nan Jung the Master said, When the land keeps the Way he will not

be neglected; and if the land loses the Way he will escape punishment

and death.



He gave him his brother's daughter to wed.



2.
f Tzu-chien the Master said, What a gentleman he is! But if

there were no gentlemen in Lu, where could he have picked it up?



3. Tzu-kung asked, And what of me?



Thou art a vessel, said the Master.



What kind of vessel?



A rich temple vessel.



4. One said, Yung has love, but he is not glib.











The Master said, What is the good of being glib? Fighting men with

tongue-craft mostly makes men hate you. Whether love be his I do not

know, but what is the good of being glib?



5. The Master moved Ch'i-tiao K'ai to take office.



He answered, For this I want confidence.



The Master was pleased.



6. The Master said, Forsaken is the Way! I must take ship and stem

the seas; and Yu shall go with me.



When Tzu-lu heard this he was glad.



The Master said, Yu loves daring more than I do, but he is at a loss

how to take things.



7. Meng Wu asked whether Tzu-lu had love.



I do not know, said the Master.



He asked again.



A land of a thousand chariots might give Yu charge of its levies; but

whether love be his I do not know.



And how about Ch'iu?



A town of a thousand households, a clan of an hundred chariots might

make Ch'iu governor; but whether love be his I do not know.



And how about Ch'ih?



Standing in the court, girt with his sash, Ch'ih might entertain the

guests; but whether love be his I do not know.



8. The Master said to Tzu-kung, Which is the better man, thou or

Hui?



He answered, How dare I look as high as Hui? When Hui hears one thing,

he understands ten; when I hear one thing I understand two.



The Master said, Thou art not his like. Neither art thou his like, nor

am I.



9. Tsai Yue slept in the daytime.























The Master said, Rotten wood cannot be carved, nor are dung walls

plastered. Why chide with Yue?



The Master said, When I first met men I listened to their words and

took their deeds on trust. When I meet them now, I listen to their

words and watch their deeds. I righted this on Yue.



10. The Master said, I have met no firm man.



One answered, Shen Ch'ang.



The Master said, Ch'ang is passionate; how can he be firm?



11. Tzu-kung said, What I do not wish done to me, I likewise wish not

to do to others.



The Master said, That is still beyond thee, Tz'u.



12. Tzu-kung said, To hear the Master on his art and precepts is

granted us; but to hear him on man's nature and the Way of Heaven is

not.



13. Until Tzu-lu could do what he had heard, his only fear was to hear

more.



14. Tzu-kung asked, Why was K'ung-wen called cultured?



The Master said, He was quick and loved learning; he was not ashamed

to ask those beneath him: that is why he was called cultured.



15. The Master said, Of the ways of a gentleman Tzu-ch'an had four.

His life was modest; he honoured those that he served. He was kind in

feeding the people, and he was just in his calls upon them.



16. The Master said, Yen P'ing was a good friend. The longer he knew

you, the more attentive he grew.



17. The Master said, Tsang Wen lodged his tortoise with hills on the

pillars and reeds on the uprights: was this his wisdom?



18. Tzu-chang said, The chief minister, Tzu-wen, was thrice made

minister without showing gladness, thrice he left office with unmoved

looks. He always told the new ministers how the old ones had governed:

how was that?



He was faithful, said the Master.



But was it love?



I do not know, said the Master: how should this amount to love?



When Ts'ui murdered the lord of Ch'i, Ch'en Wen threw up ten teams of

horses and left the land. On coming to another kingdom he said, 'Like

my lord Ts'ui,' and left it. On coming to a second kingdom he said

again, 'Like my lord Ts'ui,' and left it: how was that?



He was clean, said the Master.



But was it love?



I do not know, said the Master: how should this amount to love?



19. Chi Wen thought thrice before acting.



On hearing this the Master said, Twice is enough.



20. The Master said, Whilst the land kept the Way Ning Wu showed

wisdom; when his land lost the Way he grew simple. His wisdom we may

come up to; such simplicity is beyond us.



21. When he was in Ch'en the Master said, Home, I must go home!

Zealous, or rash, or finished scholars, my young sons at home do not

know what pruning they still need!



22. The Master said, Because Po-yi and Shu-ch'i never remembered old

wickedness they made few enemies.



23. The Master said, Who can call Wei-sheng Kao straight? A man begged

him for vinegar: he begged it of a neighbour, and gave it.



24. The Master said, Smooth words, fawning looks, and overdone

humility, Tso Ch'iu-ming thought shameful, and so do I. He thought it

shameful to hide ill-will and ape friendship, and so do I.



25. As Yen Yuean and Chi-lu were sitting with him, the Master said,

Why not each of you tell me thy wishes?





Tzu-lu said, I should like carriages and horses, and clothes of light

fur to share with my friends, and, if they spoiled them, not to get

angry.



Yen Yuean said, I should like to make no boast of talent or show or

merit.



Tzu-lu said, We should like to hear your wishes, Sir.



The Master said, To give the old folk peace, to be true to friends,

and to have a heart for the young.



26. The Master said, It is finished! I have met no one that can see

his own faults and arraign himself within.



27. The Master said, In a hamlet of ten houses there must be men that

are as faithful and true men as I, but they do not love learning as I

do.



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