Chapter 17

Chapter 1

1. Yang Ho wanted Confucius to visit him, but Confucius would not go. So Yang Ho sent him a pig as a gift. Confucius picked a time when Yang Ho was out and went to thank him for the gift. But they happened to meet on the road. 2. Yang Ho said to Confucius, “Come here, I want to talk with you.” Then he asked, “Can a man be called benevolent if he keeps his treasure tucked away while letting his country fall into chaos?” Confucius replied, “No.” “Can he be called wise if he keeps wanting public office but keeps missing his chance?” Again Confucius said, “No.” “The days and months slip by; the years don’t wait for us.” Confucius said, “You’re right. I will take office.”

Chapter 2

The Master said, “By nature, people are much alike; by habit they grow far apart.”

Chapter 3

The Master said, “Only the wisest of the wise and the dullest of the dull cannot be changed.”

Chapter 4

1. When the Master arrived at Wu-ch’ang, he heard the sound of stringed instruments and singing there. 2. Pleased and smiling, he said, “Why use an ox-cleaver to kill a chicken?” 3. Tsze-yu replied, “Master, I once heard you say, ‘When those in high position are well taught, they care for people; when those in low position are well taught, they are easy to govern.’” 4. The Master said, “My disciples, Yen is right. What I said just now was only a joke.”

Chapter 5

1. Kung-shan Fu-zao, while holding the city of Pi in rebellion, invited the Master to visit, and the Master was inclined to go. 2. Tsze-lu was displeased and said, “You really shouldn’t go! Why would you even think of visiting Kung-shan?” 3. The Master said, “He must have some reason for inviting me. If anyone would actually employ me, couldn’t I create an Eastern Chau here?”

Chapter 6

Tsze-chang asked Confucius about perfect virtue. Confucius said, “To be able to practice five things everywhere under heaven is perfect virtue.” Asked what they were, he answered, “Dignity, generosity, sincerity, diligence, and kindness. If you are dignified, you won’t be treated with contempt. If you are generous, you will win everyone over. If you are sincere, people will trust you. If you are diligent, you will get much done. If you are kind, you will be able to direct others’ efforts.”

Chapter 7

1. Pi Hsi invited him to visit, and the Master was inclined to go. 2. Tsze-lu said, “Master, I once heard you say, ‘When a man is personally doing evil, a superior man will not associate with him.’ Pi Hsi is in rebellion, holding Chung-mau. If you go to him, what will people say?” 3. The Master said, “Yes, I did say that. But isn’t it also said that what is truly hard cannot be ground thin, and what is truly white cannot be turned black by being soaked in dark dye? 4. Am I a bitter gourd, only fit to hang on a string and never be eaten?”

Chapter 8

1. The Master said, “Yu, have you heard about the six sayings and the six clouded outcomes?” Yu replied, “No, I haven’t.” 2. “Sit down, and I’ll tell you. 3. To love benevolence without loving learning—the cloud here is foolish naivety. To love knowledge without loving learning—the cloud here is an unfocused mind. To love sincerity without loving learning—the cloud here is harmful disregard of consequences. To love straightforwardness without loving learning—the cloud here is rudeness. To love boldness without loving learning—the cloud here is insubordination. To love firmness without loving learning—the cloud here is reckless behavior.”

Chapter 9

1. The Master said, “My children, why don’t you study the Book of Poetry? 2. The Odes stir the mind. 3. They can be used for self-reflection. 4. They teach the art of being sociable. 5. They show how to channel feelings of resentment. 6. From them you learn the close duty of serving your father and the wider duty of serving your prince. 7. And from them you learn the names of many birds, beasts, and plants.”

Chapter 10

The Master said to Po-yu, “Devote yourself to the Chau-nan and the Shao-nan. A person who has not studied the Chau-nan and the Shao-nan is like someone standing with his face against a wall, isn’t he?”

Chapter 11

The Master said, “‘It’s a matter of propriety,’ people say—‘It’s a matter of propriety.’ But are jade ornaments and silk all that propriety means? ‘It’s music,’ they say—‘It’s music.’ But are bells and drums all that music means?”

Chapter 12

The Master said, “Someone who puts on a stern, firm front while being weak inside is like one of the petty, base people—isn’t he like a thief who breaks through or climbs over a wall?”

Chapter 13

The Master said, “Those well-meaning, respectable folk in the villages are the thieves of virtue.”

Chapter 14

The Master said, “To repeat along the road what we just heard along the road is to throw away our virtue.”

Chapter 15

1. The Master said, “What petty creatures they are! It’s impossible to serve a prince alongside them. 2. Before they get what they want, they worry about getting it. Once they have it, they worry about losing it. 3. And when they worry about losing it, there is nothing they won’t do.”

Chapter 16

1. The Master said, “In ancient times, people had three failings, which today perhaps no longer exist in the same form. 2. The boldness of antiquity showed itself in disregard for small things; the boldness of today shows itself in wild license. The sternness of antiquity showed itself in grave reserve; the sternness of today shows itself in quarrelsome contrariness. The simple-mindedness of antiquity showed itself in straightforwardness; the simple-mindedness of today shows itself in plain deceit.”

Chapter 17

The Master said, “Smooth talk and a fawning look are rarely linked with virtue.”

Chapter 18

The Master said, “I hate the way purple steals the brightness from vermilion. I hate the way the songs of Chang confuse the music of the Ya. I hate those whose sharp tongues overthrow kingdoms and families.”

Chapter 19

1. The Master said, “I would rather not speak.” 2. Tsze-kung said, “If you, Master, don’t speak, what will we, your disciples, have to pass on?” 3. The Master said, “Does Heaven speak? The four seasons run their course, and all things are continually produced—yet does Heaven say anything?”

Chapter 20

Zu Pei wanted to see Confucius, but Confucius declined on the grounds of illness. As the messenger was going out the door, the Master picked up his lute and sang to it, so that Pei would hear him.

Chapter 21

1. Tsai Wo asked about the three years’ mourning for parents, saying that one year was long enough. 2. “If a superior man,” he said, “goes three years without practicing the rites of propriety, those rites will be lost. If for three years he gives up music, music will be ruined. 3. Within a year the old grain is gone and the new grain has come up; and in making fire by friction we go through the cycle of all the different woods. After one full year, mourning could end.” 4. The Master said, “If, after one year, you ate fine rice and wore embroidered clothes, would you feel at ease?” “I would,” Wo replied. 5. The Master said, “If you can feel at ease, then do it. But during the whole mourning period, a superior man takes no pleasure in tasty food, nor enjoyment in music he might hear. He doesn’t even feel at ease in comfortable lodging. That’s why he doesn’t do what you suggest. But since you feel at ease, go ahead.” 6. After Tsai Wo went out, the Master said, “This shows Yu’s lack of virtue. It isn’t until a child is three years old that it leaves its parents’ arms. The three years’ mourning is observed everywhere in the empire. Did Yu not enjoy three years of love from his parents?”

Chapter 22

The Master said, “Hard to do anything with the man who stuffs himself with food all day and never applies his mind to anything worthwhile. Aren’t there gamblers and chess players? Even being one of those would be better than doing nothing at all.”

Chapter 23

Tsze-lu said, “Does the superior man value courage?” The Master said, “The superior man considers righteousness to be supreme. A man in high position who has courage without righteousness will cause rebellion; a man of the lower classes who has courage without righteousness will become a robber.”

Chapter 24

1. Tsze-kung said, “Does the superior man also have things he hates?” The Master said, “He does. He hates those who broadcast other people’s faults. He hates those in low positions who slander their superiors. He hates those who have courage but no regard for propriety. He hates those who are bold and decisive but narrow-minded.” 2. The Master then asked, “Ts’ze, do you also have things you hate?” Tsze-kung replied, “I hate those who pry into things and then pass off the knowledge as their own insight. I hate those who confuse a lack of modesty with courage. I hate those who expose others’ secrets and call it being straightforward.”

Chapter 25

The Master said, “Of all people, girls and servants are the hardest to deal with. If you are familiar with them, they lose their humility. If you keep your distance, they grow resentful.”

Chapter 26

The Master said, “If a man is still disliked at forty, he will remain that way to the end.”