The Master said, Yung might fill the seat of a prince
1. The Master said, Yung might fill the seat of a prince.
And might Tzu-sang Po-tzu? asked Chung-kung.
Yes, said the Master; but he is slack.
To be stern to himself, said Chung-kung, and slack in his claims on
the people, might do; but to be slack himself and slack with others
must surely be too slack.
The Master said, What Yung says is true.
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Confucius answered, Yen Hui loved learning. He did not carry over
anger; he made no mistake twice. Alas! his mission was short, he died.
Now that he is gone, I hear of no one that loves learning.
3. When Tzu-hua was sent to Ch'i, the disciple Jan asked for grain
for his mother.
The Master said, Give her six pecks.
He asked for more.
The Master said, Give her sixteen.
Jan gave her eight hundred.
The Master said, On his way to Ch'i, Ch'ih was drawn by sleek
horses and clad in light furs. I have heard that gentlemen help the
needy, not that they swell riches.
When Yuean Ssu was made governor he was given nine hundred measures of
grain, which he refused.
Not so, said the Master: why not take it and give it to thy neighbours
and countryfolk?
4. The Master said of Chung-kung, If the calf of a brindled cow be red
and horned, though men be shy to offer him, will the hills and streams
reject him?
5. The Master said, For three months together Hui's heart never
sinned against love. The others may hold out for a day, or a month,
but no more.
6. Chi K'ang asked whether Chung-yu was fit to govern.
The Master said, Yu is firm; what would governing be to him?
And is Tz'u fit to govern?
Tz'u is thorough; what would governing be to him?
And is Ch'iu fit to govern?
Ch'in is clever; what would governing be to him?
7. The Chi sent to make Min Tzu-ch'ien governor of Pi.
Min Tzu-ch'ien said, Make some good excuse for me. If he sends again I
must be across the Wen.
8. When Po-niu was ill the Master asked after him. Grasping his
hand through the window, he said, He is going. It is the Bidding; but
why this man of such an illness? Why this man of such an illness?
9. The Master said. What a man was Hui! A bowl of rice, a gourd of
water, in a low alley; man cannot bear such misery! Yet Hui never fell
from mirth. What a man he was!
10. Jan Ch'iu said, It is not that I take no pleasure in the
Master's Way: I want strength.
The Master said, He that wants strength faints midway; but thou
drawest a line.
11. The Master said to Tzu-hsia, Study to be a gentleman, not as the
small man studies.
12. When Tzu-yu was governor of Wu-ch'eng, the Master said, Hast thou
gotten any men?
He answered, I have Tan-t'ai Mieh-ming. He will not take a short cut
when walking, and he has never come to my house except on business.
13. The Master said, Meng Chih-fan never brags. He was covering the
rear in a rout; but on coming to the gate he whipped his horse and
cried, Not courage kept me behind; my horse won't go!
14. The Master said, Unless we are glib as the reader T'o and fair as
Chao of Sung, escape is hard in the times that be!
15. The Master said, Who can go out except by the door? Why is it no
one keeps to the Way?
16. The Master said, Matter outweighing art begets roughness; art
outweighing matter begets pedantry. Matter and art well blent make a
gentleman.
17. The Master said, Man is born straight. If he grows crooked and
yet lives, he is lucky to escape.
18. The Master said, He that knows is below him that loves, and he
that loves below him that delights therein.
19. The Master said, To men above the common we can talk of higher
things; to men below the common we must not talk of higher things.
20. Fan Ch'ih asked, What is wisdom?
The Master said, To foster right among the people; to honour ghosts
and spirits, and yet keep aloof from them, may be called wisdom.
He asked, What is love?
The Master said, To rank the effort above the prize may be called
love.
21. The Master said, Wisdom delights in water; love delights in hills.
Wisdom is stirring; love is quiet. Wisdom is merry; love grows old.
22. The Master said, By one revolution Ch'i might grow to be Lu; by
one revolution Lu might reach the Way.
23. The Master said, A drinking horn that is no horn! What a horn!
What a drinking horn!
24. Tsai Wo said, If a man of love were told that a man is in a
well, would he go in after him?
The Master said, Why should he? A gentleman might be got to the well,
but not trapped into it, He may be cheated, but not fooled.
25. The Master said, By breadth of reading and the ties of courtesy,
a gentleman is kept, too, from false paths.
26. The Master saw Nan-tzu. Tzu-lu was displeased.
The Master took an oath, saying, If I have done wrong, may Heaven
forsake me, may Heaven forsake me!
27. The Master said, The highest minds cleave to the Centre, the
Common. They have long been rare among the people.
28. Tzu-kung said, To treat the people with bounty and help the many,
how were that? Could it be called love?
The Master said, What has this to do with love? Must it not be
holiness? Yao and Shun still yearned for this. Seeking a foothold
for self, love finds a foothold for others; seeking light for itself,
it enlightens others too. To learn from the near at hand may be called
the clue to love.
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