Chapter 15
Chapter 1
- Duke Ling of Wei asked Confucius about military tactics. Confucius replied, “I know a great deal about ceremonial vessels, but I have never studied military matters.” The next day he left.
- While he was in Chan, his supplies ran out, and his followers became so sick they could not get up.
- Tsze-lu, clearly upset, said, “Must even the superior man put up with this kind of hardship?” The Master said, “The superior man can endure hardship; but when the petty man falls into hardship, he loses all self-control.”
Chapter 2
- The Master said, “Ts’ze, I suppose you think I am someone who learns many things and stores them up in memory?”
- Tsze-kung replied, “Yes—or is that not so?”
- “No,” said the Master. “I look for a single thread that runs through everything.”
Chapter 3
The Master said, “Yu, those who truly understand virtue are few.”
Chapter 4
The Master said, “Wasn’t Shun an example of one who ruled effectively without effort? What did he do? He simply sat with dignity and reverence on his throne—that was all.”
Chapter 5
- Tsze-chang asked how a person should behave so as to be respected wherever he goes.
- The Master said, “Let his words be sincere and truthful, and his actions honorable and careful—such conduct will work even among the rough tribes of the South or the North. If his words are not sincere and truthful, and his actions are not honorable and careful, will he be respected even in his own neighborhood?
- “When he is standing, let him picture these qualities standing right in front of him. When he is in a carriage, let him picture them attached to the yoke. Only then can he actually put them into practice.”
- Tsze-chang wrote these words on the end of his sash.
Chapter 6
- The Master said, “How straightforward the historian Yu was! When his state was well governed, he was like an arrow. When it was badly governed, he was still like an arrow.
- “What a superior man Chu Po-yu is! When his state is well governed, he takes office. When it is badly governed, he can roll up his principles and keep them tucked away in his heart.”
Chapter 7
The Master said, “When someone is worth talking with and you do not speak to him, you fail the person. When someone is not worth talking with and you do speak to him, you waste your words. The wise fail neither in regard to the person nor to their words.”
Chapter 8
The Master said, “The determined scholar and the man of virtue will not try to preserve their lives at the cost of harming their virtue. They will even give up their lives in order to keep their virtue whole.”
Chapter 9
Tsze-kung asked about the practice of virtue. The Master said, “A craftsman who wants to do good work must first sharpen his tools. Wherever you live, serve under the worthiest of the high officers, and make friends with the most virtuous of the scholars.”
Chapter 10
- Yen Yuan asked how a country should be governed.
- The Master said, “Follow the calendar of Hsia.
- “Ride in the state carriage of Yin.
- “Wear the ceremonial cap of Chau.
- “Let the music be the Shao, with its dances.
- “Ban the songs of Chang, and keep clear of smooth-talking flatterers. The songs of Chang are licentious; smooth-talking flatterers are dangerous.”
Chapter 11
The Master said, “If a person does not think ahead about the distant future, trouble will be on his doorstep soon enough.”
Chapter 12
The Master said, “It’s hopeless! I have never met anyone who loves virtue the way they love beauty.”
Chapter 13
The Master said, “Wasn’t Tsang Wan someone who had effectively stolen his position? He knew the virtue and talent of Hui of Liu-hsia, yet did nothing to have him appointed alongside him at court.”
Chapter 14
The Master said, “A person who demands much of himself and little of others will avoid being the target of resentment.”
Chapter 15
The Master said, “When someone is not in the habit of asking, ‘What should I make of this? What should I make of this?’—there is really nothing I can do for him.”
Chapter 16
The Master said, “When a group of people sit together all day without their conversation ever turning to what is right, and they enjoy showing off petty cleverness—their case is hopeless indeed.”
Chapter 17
The Master said, “The superior man takes righteousness as the essence of everything he does. He carries it out according to proper form, expresses it with humility, and completes it with sincerity. That is what makes a superior man.”
Chapter 18
The Master said, “The superior man is troubled by his own lack of ability. He is not troubled by others not recognizing him.”
Chapter 19
The Master said, “The superior man hates the thought of dying without his name being remembered.”
Chapter 20
The Master said, “What the superior man looks for, he looks for in himself. What the petty man looks for, he looks for in others.”
Chapter 21
The Master said, “The superior man is dignified but does not quarrel. He is sociable but does not form cliques.”
Chapter 22
The Master said, “The superior man does not promote someone just because of his words, nor does he dismiss good words just because of who said them.”
Chapter 23
Tsze-kung asked, “Is there a single word that can serve as a rule of conduct for one’s whole life?” The Master said, “Wouldn’t it be RECIPROCITY? What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.”
Chapter 24
- The Master said, “In dealing with people, whose faults have I criticized, or whose goodness have I praised, beyond what was fair? If I have ever overpraised someone, it was because I had reasons based on my observation of him.
- “It was this very people that gave the three dynasties the basis on which to walk the straight path.”
Chapter 25
The Master said, “Even in my younger days, I could still see a historian who would leave a blank in his text when uncertain, and people who owned a horse would lend it to others to ride. Sadly, such things are gone now.”
Chapter 26
The Master said, “Smooth talk corrupts virtue. A lack of patience in small matters wrecks great plans.”
Chapter 27
The Master said, “When everyone hates a person, you still need to look into the case yourself. When everyone likes a person, you still need to look into the case yourself.”
Chapter 28
The Master said, “A person can enlarge the principles he follows; the principles do not enlarge the person.”
Chapter 29
The Master said, “To have faults and not correct them—that is what truly counts as having faults.”
Chapter 30
The Master said, “I once went a whole day without eating and a whole night without sleeping, just thinking. It got me nowhere. Better to study.”
Chapter 31
The Master said, “The superior man aims at truth, not at food. You may plow the fields and still go hungry; you may study and find a salary in it. The superior man worries about not attaining truth; he does not worry about poverty.”
Chapter 32
- The Master said, “If someone has enough knowledge to gain something but not enough virtue to hold on to it, he will lose whatever he has gained.
- “If his knowledge is enough to gain it, and his virtue is enough to hold it, but he cannot govern with dignity, the people will not respect him.
- “If his knowledge is enough to gain it, his virtue enough to hold it, and he governs with dignity, but he stirs the people in ways contrary to proper form—even then, full excellence has not been reached.”
Chapter 33
The Master said, “The superior man cannot be judged by small things, but he can be trusted with great responsibilities. The petty man cannot be trusted with great responsibilities, but he can be judged by small things.”
Chapter 34
The Master said, “Virtue matters more to people than water or fire. I have seen people die from stepping into water and fire, but I have never seen anyone die from walking the path of virtue.”
Chapter 35
The Master said, “Let everyone treat virtue as his own personal responsibility. He should not yield its practice even to his own teacher.”
Chapter 36
The Master said, “The superior man is firm in the right way, not merely stubborn.”
Chapter 37
The Master said, “A minister serving his ruler attends to his duties with reverence and treats his salary as a secondary matter.”
Chapter 38
The Master said, “In teaching, there should be no distinction of social class.”
Chapter 39
The Master said, “People who follow different paths cannot make plans together.”
Chapter 40
The Master said, “In language, all that is required is that it gets the meaning across.”
Chapter 41
- The blind music-master Mien came to visit. When they reached the steps, the Master said, “Here are the steps.” When they reached the guest’s mat, he said, “Here is the mat.” When everyone was seated, the Master told him, “So-and-so is here; so-and-so is here.”
- After the music-master Mien had left, Tsze-chang asked, “Is that the proper way to speak with a music-master?”
- The Master said, “Yes. That is certainly the proper way to guide someone who is blind.”
