Chapter 1
Chapter 1
- The Master said, “Isn’t it a pleasure to learn something and then keep practicing it steadily?” 2. “Isn’t it a delight when friends come to visit from far away?” 3. “Isn’t he a person of complete virtue who isn’t upset when others fail to notice him?”
Chapter 2
- The philosopher Yu said, “People who are devoted to their parents and respectful to their elder brothers are rarely the kind who like to defy their superiors. And there has never been anyone who, disliking defiance of superiors, was fond of stirring up rebellion. 2. The superior person concentrates on the roots. Once the roots are firmly in place, the right ways of acting naturally grow from them. Filial devotion and respect for elder brothers—aren’t these the very root of a benevolent life?”
Chapter 3
The Master said, “Smooth words and an ingratiating manner are rarely signs of true virtue.”
Chapter 4
The philosopher Tsang said, “Every day I examine myself on three things: whether, in handling matters for others, I have been unfaithful; whether, in dealings with friends, I have been insincere; and whether I have failed to absorb and put into practice what my teacher has taught me.”
Chapter 5
The Master said, “To govern a state of a thousand chariots, you need careful attention to affairs and sincerity, restraint in spending and care for the people, and the employment of the people only at appropriate times.”
Chapter 6
The Master said, “A young man should be devoted to his parents at home and respectful to his elders when he is out in the world. He should be conscientious and truthful. He should have a wide-ranging love for everyone and seek the friendship of those who are good. When he has done all this and still has time and energy, he should spend it on cultivated studies.”
Chapter 7
Tsze-hsia said, “If a person turns his attention away from the love of beauty and directs it with equal sincerity to the love of virtuous people; if, in serving his parents, he gives his fullest effort; if, in serving his ruler, he is ready to give his life; and if, in dealings with friends, his words are sincere—then even if others say he has had no education, I would certainly say that he has.”
Chapter 8
- The Master said, “If a scholar lacks seriousness, he won’t inspire respect, and his learning won’t be solid. 2. Hold faithfulness and sincerity as your guiding principles. 3. Don’t keep as friends people who are not your equals in character. 4. When you have made mistakes, don’t be afraid to correct them.”
Chapter 9
The philosopher Tsang said, “Let people take care to perform the funeral rites for their parents, and let them keep up the ceremonies of sacrifice long after their parents are gone—then the virtue of the people will return to its proper level.”
Chapter 10
- Tsze-ch’in asked Tsze-kung, “Whenever our master arrives in any country, he always learns about how it is governed. Does he ask for this information, or is it given to him?” 2. Tsze-kung said, “Our master is gentle, upright, courteous, restrained, and accommodating, and that is how he obtains his information. The way our master asks for information—isn’t it quite different from how other people ask?”
Chapter 11
The Master said, “While a man’s father is alive, observe what he intends; after his father has died, observe what he actually does. If for three years he does not depart from his father’s ways, he can be called filial.”
Chapter 12
- The philosopher Yu said, “In practicing the rules of propriety, a natural ease is what is most valuable. In the ways the ancient kings laid down, this was the excellent quality, and we follow them in matters both small and great. 2. Yet this doesn’t apply in every case. If someone, knowing the value of such ease, displays it without regulating it through the rules of propriety, that also won’t do.”
Chapter 13
The philosopher Yu said, “When promises are made in line with what is right, they can actually be kept. When respect is shown in line with what is proper, one stays clear of shame and disgrace. When the people one relies on are the right sort to be close to, one can take them as guides and teachers.”
Chapter 14
The Master said, “Someone who aims at complete virtue does not, in his eating, try to satisfy his appetite, nor, in where he lives, look for comforts and conveniences. He is diligent in his work and careful in his speech, and he keeps the company of principled people in order to correct himself. Such a person can truly be said to love learning.”
Chapter 15
- Tsze-kung said, “What would you say about a poor man who doesn’t flatter, and a rich man who isn’t arrogant?” The Master replied, “They’ll do—but they aren’t as good as a poor man who is still cheerful, or a rich man who loves the rules of propriety.” 2. Tsze-kung said, “The Book of Poetry says, ‘As you cut and then file, as you carve and then polish.’ I take it the meaning is the same as what you have just said.” 3. The Master said, “With someone like Ts’ze, I can finally start discussing the odes. I tell him one thing, and he understands what follows from it.”
Chapter 16
The Master said, “I won’t be troubled that others don’t know me; I will be troubled that I don’t know others.”
