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The Analects
By Confucius
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SECTION 1
Part 1
The Master "Is it not pleasant to learn with a constant perseverance
and application?
"Is it not delightful to have friends coming from distant quarters?
"Is he not a man of complete virtue, who feels no discomposure though
men may take no note of him?"
The philosopher Yu said, "They are few who, being filial and fraternal,
are fond of offending against their superiors. There have been none,
who, not liking to offend against their superiors, have been fond
of stirring up confusion.
"The superior man bends his attention to what is radical. That being
established, all practical courses naturally grow up. Filial piety
and fraternal submission,-are they not the root of all benevolent
actions?"
The Master said, "Fine words and an insinuating appearance are seldom
associated with true virtue."
The philosopher Tsang said, "I daily examine myself on three points:-whether,
in transacting business for others, I may have been not faithful;-whether,
in intercourse with friends, I may have been not sincere;-whether
I may have not mastered and practiced the instructions of my teacher."
The Master said, "To rule a country of a thousand chariots, there
must be reverent attention to business, and sincerity; economy in
expenditure, and love for men; and the employment of the people at
the proper seasons."
The Master said, "A youth, when at home, should be filial, and, abroad,
respectful to his elders. He should be earnest and truthful. He should
overflow in love to all, and cultivate the friendship of the good.
When he has time and opportunity, after the performance of these things,
he should employ them in polite studies."
Tsze-hsia said, "If a man withdraws his mind from the love of beauty,
and applies it as sincerely to the love of the virtuous; if, in serving
his parents, he can exert his utmost strength; if, in serving his
prince, he can devote his life; if, in his intercourse with his friends,
his words are sincere:-although men say that he has not learned, I
will certainly say that he has.
The Master said, "If the scholar be not grave, he will not call forth
any veneration, and his learning will not be solid.
"Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first principles.
"Have no friends not equal to yourself.
"When you have faults, do not fear to abandon them."
The philosopher Tsang said, "Let there be a careful attention to perform
the funeral rites to parents, and let them be followed when long gone
with the ceremonies of sacrifice;-then the virtue of the people will
resume its proper excellence."
Tsze-ch'in asked Tsze-kung saying, "When our master comes to any country,
he does not fail to learn all about its government. Does he ask his
information? or is it given to him?"
Tsze-kung said, "Our master is benign, upright, courteous, temperate,
and complaisant and thus he gets his information. The master's mode
of asking information,-is it not different from that of other men?"
The Master said, "While a man's father is alive, look at the bent
of his will; when his father is dead, look at his conduct. If for
three years he does not alter from the way of his father, he may be
called filial."
The philosopher Yu said, "In practicing the rules of propriety, a
natural ease is to be prized. In the ways prescribed by the ancient
kings, this is the excellent quality, and in things small and great
we follow them.
"Yet it is not to be observed in all cases. If one, knowing how such
ease should be prized, manifests it, without regulating it by the
rules of propriety, this likewise is not to be done."
The philosopher Yu said, "When agreements are made according to what
is right, what is spoken can be made good. When respect is shown according
to what is proper, one keeps far from shame and disgrace. When the
parties upon whom a man leans are proper persons to be intimate with,
he can make them his guides and masters."
The Master said, "He who aims to be a man of complete virtue in his
food does not seek to gratify his appetite, nor in his dwelling place
does he seek the appliances of ease; he is earnest in what he is doing,
and careful in his speech; he frequents the company of men of principle
that he may be rectified:-such a person may be said indeed to love
to learn."
Tsze-kung said, "What do you pronounce concerning the poor man who
yet does not flatter, and the rich man who is not proud?" The Master
replied, "They will do; but they are not equal to him, who, though
poor, is yet cheerful, and to him, who, though rich, loves the rules
of propriety."
Tsze-kung replied, "It is said in the Book of Poetry, 'As you cut
and then file, as you carve and then polish.'-The meaning is the same,
I apprehend, as that which you have just expressed."
The Master said, "With one like Ts'ze, I can begin to talk about the
odes. I told him one point, and he knew its proper sequence."
The Master said, "I will not be afflicted at men's not knowing me;
I will be afflicted that I do not know men."
Part 2
The Master said, "He who exercises government by means of his virtue
may be compared to the north polar star, which keeps its place and
all the stars turn towards it."
The Master said, "In the Book of Poetry are three hundred pieces,
but the design of them all may be embraced in one sentence 'Having
no depraved thoughts.'"
The Master said, "If the people be led by laws, and uniformity sought
to be given them by punishments, they will try to avoid the punishment,
but have no sense of shame.
"If they be led by virtue, and uniformity sought to be given them
by the rules of propriety, they will have the sense of shame, and
moreover will become good."
The Master said, "At fifteen, I had my mind bent on learning.
"At thirty, I stood firm.
"At forty, I had no doubts.
"At fifty, I knew the decrees of Heaven.
"At sixty, my ear was an obedient organ for the reception of truth.
"At seventy, I could follow what my heart desired, without transgressing
what was right."
Mang I asked what filial piety was. The Master said, "It is not being
disobedient."
Soon after, as Fan Ch'ih was driving him, the Master told him, saying,
"Mang-sun asked me what filial piety was, and I answered him,-'not
being disobedient.'"
Fan Ch'ih said, "What did you mean?" The Master replied, "That parents,
when alive, be served according to propriety; that, when dead, they
should be buried according to propriety; and that they should be sacrificed
to according to propriety."
Mang Wu asked what filial piety was. The Master said, "Parents are
anxious lest their children should be sick."
Tsze-yu asked what filial piety was. The Master said, "The filial
piety nowadays means the support of one's parents. But dogs and horses
likewise are able to do something in the way of support;-without reverence,
what is there to distinguish the one support given from the other?"
Tsze-hsia asked what filial piety was. The Master said, "The difficulty
is with the countenance. If, when their elders have any troublesome
affairs, the young take the toil of them, and if, when the young have
wine and food, they set them before their elders, is THIS to be considered
filial piety?"
The Master said, "I have talked with Hui for a whole day, and he has
not made any objection to anything I said;-as if he were stupid. He
has retired, and I have examined his conduct when away from me, and
found him able to illustrate my teachings. Hui!-He is not stupid."
The Master said, "See what a man does.
"Mark his motives.
"Examine in what things he rests.
"How can a man conceal his character? How can a man conceal his character?"
The Master said, "If a man keeps cherishing his old knowledge, so
as continually to be acquiring new, he may be a teacher of others."
The Master said, "The accomplished scholar is not a utensil."
Tsze-kung asked what constituted the superior man. The Master said,
"He acts before he speaks, and afterwards speaks according to his
actions."
The Master said, "The superior man is catholic and not partisan. The
mean man is partisan and not catholic."
The Master said, "Learning without thought is labor lost; thought
without learning is perilous."
The Master said, "The study of strange doctrines is injurious indeed!"
The Master said, "Yu, shall I teach you what knowledge is? When you
know a thing, to hold that you know it; and when you do not know a
thing, to allow that you do not know it;-this is knowledge."
Tsze-chang was learning with a view to official emolument.
The Master said, "Hear much and put aside the points of which you
stand in doubt, while you speak cautiously at the same time of the
others:-then you will afford few occasions for blame. See much and
put aside the things which seem perilous, while you are cautious at
the same time in carrying the others into practice: then you will
have few occasions for repentance. When one gives few occasions for
blame in his words, and few occasions for repentance in his conduct,
he is in the way to get emolument."
The Duke Ai asked, saying, "What should be done in order to secure
the submission of the people?" Confucius replied, "Advance the upright
and set aside the crooked, then the people will submit. Advance the
crooked and set aside the upright, then the people will not submit."
Chi K'ang asked how to cause the people to reverence their ruler,
to be faithful to him, and to go on to nerve themselves to virtue.
The Master said, "Let him preside over them with gravity;-then they
will reverence him. Let him be final and kind to all;-then they will
be faithful to him. Let him advance the good and teach the incompetent;-then
they will eagerly seek to be virtuous."
Some one addressed Confucius, saying, "Sir, why are you not engaged
in the government?"
The Master said, "What does the Shu-ching say of filial piety?-'You
are final, you discharge your brotherly duties. These qualities are
displayed in government.' This then also constitutes the exercise
of government. Why must there be THAT-making one be in the government?"
The Master said, "I do not know how a man without truthfulness is
to get on. How can a large carriage be made to go without the crossbar
for yoking the oxen to, or a small carriage without the arrangement
for yoking the horses?"
Tsze-chang asked whether the affairs of ten ages after could be known.
Confucius said, "The Yin dynasty followed the regulations of the Hsia:
wherein it took from or added to them may be known. The Chau dynasty
has followed the regulations of Yin: wherein it took from or added
to them may be known. Some other may follow the Chau, but though it
should be at the distance of a hundred ages, its affairs may be known."
The Master said, "For a man to sacrifice to a spirit which does not
belong to him is flattery.
"To see what is right and not to do it is want of courage."
Part 3
Confucius said of the head of the Chi family, who had eight rows of
pantomimes in his area, "If he can bear to do this, what may he not
bear to do?"
The three families used the Yungode, while the vessels were being
removed, at the conclusion of the sacrifice. The Master said, "'Assisting
are the princes;-the son of heaven looks profound and grave';-what
application can these words have in the hall of the three families?"
The Master said, "If a man be without the virtues proper to humanity,
what has he to do with the rites of propriety? If a man be without
the virtues proper to humanity, what has he to do with music?"
Lin Fang asked what was the first thing to be attended to in ceremonies.
The Master said, "A great question indeed!
"In festive ceremonies, it is better to be sparing than extravagant.
In the ceremonies of mourning, it is better that there be deep sorrow
than in minute attention to observances."
The Master said, "The rude tribes of the east and north have their
princes, and are not like the States of our great land which are without
them."
The chief of the Chi family was about to sacrifice to the T'ai mountain.
The Master said to Zan Yu, "Can you not save him from this?" He answered,
"I cannot." Confucius said, "Alas! will you say that the T'ai mountain
is not so discerning as Lin Fang?"
The Master said, "The student of virtue has no contentions. If it
be said he cannot avoid them, shall this be in archery? But he bows
complaisantly to his competitors; thus he ascends the hall, descends,
and exacts the forfeit of drinking. In his contention, he is still
the Chun-tsze."
Tsze-hsia asked, saying, "What is the meaning of the passage-'The
pretty dimples of her artful smile! The well-defined black and white
of her eye! The plain ground for the colors?'"
The Master said, "The business of laying on the colors follows the
preparation of the plain ground."
"Ceremonies then are a subsequent thing?" The Master said, "It is
Shang who can bring out my meaning. Now I can begin to talk about
the odes with him."
The Master said, "I could describe the ceremonies of the Hsia dynasty,
but Chi cannot sufficiently attest my words. I could describe the
ceremonies of the Yin dynasty, but Sung cannot sufficiently attest
my words. They cannot do so because of the insufficiency of their
records and wise men. If those were sufficient, I could adduce them
in support of my words."
The Master said, "At the great sacrifice, after the pouring out of
the libation, I have no wish to look on."
Some one asked the meaning of the great sacrifice. The Master said,
"I do not know. He who knew its meaning would find it as easy to govern
the kingdom as to look on this"-pointing to his palm.
He sacrificed to the dead, as if they were present. He sacrificed
to the spirits, as if the spirits were present.
The Master said, "I consider my not being present at the sacrifice,
as if I did not sacrifice."
Wang-sun Chia asked, saying, "What is the meaning of the saying, 'It
is better to pay court to the furnace then to the southwest corner?'"
The Master said, "Not so. He who offends against Heaven has none to
whom he can pray."
The Master said, "Chau had the advantage of viewing the two past dynasties.
How complete and elegant are its regulations! I follow Chau."
The Master, when he entered the grand temple, asked about everything.
Some one said, "Who say that the son of the man of Tsau knows the
rules of propriety! He has entered the grand temple and asks about
everything." The Master heard the remark, and said, "This is a rule
of propriety."
The Master said, "In archery it is not going through the leather which
is the principal thing;-because people's strength is not equal. This
was the old way."
Tsze-kung wished to do away with the offering of a sheep connected
with the inauguration of the first day of each month.
The Master said, "Ts'ze, you love the sheep; I love the ceremony."
The Master said, "The full observance of the rules of propriety in
serving one's prince is accounted by people to be flattery."
The Duke Ting asked how a prince should employ his ministers, and
how ministers should serve their prince. Confucius replied, "A prince
should employ his minister according to according to the rules of
propriety; ministers should serve their prince with faithfulness."
The Master said, "The Kwan Tsu is expressive of enjoyment without
being licentious, and of grief without being hurtfully excessive."
The Duke Ai asked Tsai Wo about the altars of the spirits of the land.
Tsai Wo replied, "The Hsia sovereign planted the pine tree about them;
the men of the Yin planted the cypress; and the men of the Chau planted
the chestnut tree, meaning thereby to cause the people to be in awe."
When the Master heard it, he said, "Things that are done, it is needless
to speak about; things that have had their course, it is needless
to remonstrate about; things that are past, it is needless to blame."
The Master said, "Small indeed was the capacity of Kwan Chung!"
Some one said, "Was Kwan Chung parsimonious?" "Kwan," was the reply,
"had the San Kwei, and his officers performed no double duties; how
can he be considered parsimonious?"
"Then, did Kwan Chung know the rules of propriety?" The Master said,
"The princes of States have a screen intercepting the view at their
gates. Kwan had likewise a screen at his gate. The princes of States
on any friendly meeting between two of them, had a stand on which
to place their inverted cups. Kwan had also such a stand. If Kwan
knew the rules of propriety, who does not know them?"
The Master instructing the grand music master of Lu said, "How to
play music may be known. At the commencement of the piece, all the
parts should sound together. As it proceeds, they should be in harmony
while severally distinct and flowing without break, and thus on to
the conclusion."
The border warden at Yi requested to be introduced to the Master,
saying, "When men of superior virtue have come to this, I have never
been denied the privilege of seeing them." The followers of the sage
introduced him, and when he came out from the interview, he said,
"My friends, why are you distressed by your master's loss of office?
The kingdom has long been without the principles of truth and right;
Heaven is going to use your master as a bell with its wooden tongue."
The Master said of the Shao that it was perfectly beautiful and also
perfectly good. He said of the Wu that it was perfectly beautiful
but not perfectly good.
The Master said, "High station filled without indulgent generosity;
ceremonies performed without reverence; mourning conducted without
sorrow;-wherewith should I contemplate such ways?"
Part 4
The Master said, "It is virtuous manners which constitute the excellence
of a neighborhood. If a man in selecting a residence do not fix on
one where such prevail, how can he be wise?"
The Master said, "Those who are without virtue cannot abide long either
in a condition of poverty and hardship, or in a condition of enjoyment.
The virtuous rest in virtue; the wise desire virtue."
The Master said, "It is only the truly virtuous man, who can love,
or who can hate, others."
The Master said, "If the will be set on virtue, there will be no practice
of wickedness."
The Master said, "Riches and honors are what men desire. If they cannot
be obtained in the proper way, they should not be held. Poverty and
meanness are what men dislike. If they cannot be avoided in the proper
way, they should not be avoided.
"If a superior man abandon virtue, how can he fulfill the requirements
of that name?
"The superior man does not, even for the space of a single meal, act
contrary to virtue. In moments of haste, he cleaves to it. In seasons
of danger, he cleaves to it."
The Master said, "I have not seen a person who loved virtue, or one
who hated what was not virtuous. He who loved virtue, would esteem
nothing above it. He who hated what is not virtuous, would practice
virtue in such a way that he would not allow anything that is not
virtuous to approach his person.
"Is any one able for one day to apply his strength to virtue? I have
not seen the case in which his strength would be insufficient.
"Should there possibly be any such case, I have not seen it."
The Master said, "The faults of men are characteristic of the class
to which they belong. By observing a man's faults, it may be known
that he is virtuous."
The Master said, "If a man in the morning hear the right way, he may
die in the evening hear regret."
The Master said, "A scholar, whose mind is set on truth, and who is
ashamed o