Chapter 6
Chapter 1
- The Master said, “There’s Yung! He has what it takes to sit in a ruler’s seat.” 2. Chung-kung then asked about Tsze-sang Po-tsze. The Master said, “He’ll do. He doesn’t fuss over small matters.” 3. Chung-kung said, “If a man keeps himself inwardly attentive and serious about his duties, and is relaxed only about small matters when governing the people, that’s acceptable. But if he is relaxed in his inner attitude and also relaxed in his actions, isn’t that being too easygoing?” 4. The Master said, “Yung is right.”
Chapter 2
Duke Ai asked which of the disciples loved learning. Confucius answered, “There was Yen Hui—he loved learning. He never took his anger out on someone else, and he never made the same mistake twice. Sadly, his time was short and he died. Since then I have not found anyone like him. I have not heard of anyone who loves learning as he did.”
Chapter 3
- When Tsze-hwa was sent on a mission to Ch’i, the disciple Zan asked for some grain for Tsze-hwa’s mother. The Master said, “Give her a fu.” Zan asked for more. “Then give her an yu,” said the Master. But Zan gave her five ping. 2. The Master said, “When Ch’ih set off for Ch’i, his carriage had well-fed horses and he wore fine furs. I have heard that the superior man helps those in distress but does not add to the wealth of the rich.” 3. When Yuan Sze was made governor of his town by the Master, he was given nine hundred measures of grain, but Sze declined them. 4. The Master said, “Don’t refuse them. Can’t you share them with the neighborhoods, hamlets, towns, and villages around you?”
Chapter 4
Speaking of Chung-kung, the Master said, “If the calf of a brindled cow has a red coat and proper horns, even though people might be unwilling to use it as a sacrifice, would the spirits of the mountains and rivers reject it?”
Chapter 5
The Master said, “Hui was such a man that for three whole months nothing in his mind would go against perfect virtue. The others might manage it for a day or a month—nothing more.”
Chapter 6
Chi K’ang asked whether Chung-yu was fit to serve in government. The Master said, “Yu is decisive—what difficulty would he have in serving in government?” K’ang asked, “Is Ts’ze fit to serve in government?” The Master replied, “Ts’ze is intelligent—what difficulty would he have?” Asked the same about Ch’iu, the Master answered, “Ch’iu has many talents—what difficulty would he have?”
Chapter 7
The head of the Chi family sent someone to ask Min Tsze-ch’ien to be governor of Pi. Min Tsze-ch’ien said, “Please decline politely on my behalf. If anyone comes asking again, I will have to go and live on the banks of the Wen.”
Chapter 8
When Po-niu was ill, the Master went to see him. Taking hold of his hand through the window, he said, “He is being taken from us. It is the will of Heaven, alas! That such a man should have such an illness! That such a man should have such an illness!”
Chapter 9
The Master said, “How admirable Hui’s virtue was! A single bamboo bowl of rice, a single gourd of water, living in a shabby alleyway—others couldn’t have stood the hardship, but he never let it dampen his joy. How admirable Hui’s virtue was!”
Chapter 10
Yen Ch’iu said, “It’s not that I don’t enjoy your teachings—it’s that I don’t have the strength for them.” The Master said, “Those who really lack strength collapse partway down the road. You are just setting limits on yourself.”
Chapter 11
The Master said to Tsze-hsia, “Be a scholar in the style of the superior man, not in the style of the petty man.”
Chapter 12
When Tsze-yu was governor of Wu-ch’ang, the Master said to him, “Have you found any good men there?” He answered, “There is Tan-t’ai Mieh-ming. He never takes shortcuts when walking, and he never comes to my office except on official business.”
Chapter 13
The Master said, “Mang Chih-fan never boasts about his merits. Once, when his side was in retreat, he stayed in the rear. As they were about to enter the gate, he whipped up his horse and said, ‘It wasn’t that I meant to be last—my horse just wouldn’t go any faster.’”
Chapter 14
The Master said, “Without the smooth tongue of the priest T’o and the good looks of Prince Chao of Sung, it is hard to get by in this present age.”
Chapter 15
The Master said, “Who can leave a house except through the door? Why is it that no one will walk by these ways?”
Chapter 16
The Master said, “When solid substance outweighs refinement, you get crudeness. When refinement outweighs substance, you get the manner of a clerk. When substance and refinement are evenly mixed, you have the man of virtue.”
Chapter 17
The Master said, “A person is born for uprightness. If someone loses that uprightness and still goes on living, he has only escaped death by luck.”
Chapter 18
The Master said, “Those who know it are not as good as those who love it; those who love it are not as good as those who delight in it.”
Chapter 19
The Master said, “To those whose abilities are above average, the highest subjects can be taught. To those whose abilities are below average, the highest subjects cannot be taught.”
Chapter 20
Fan Ch’ih asked what wisdom is. The Master said, “To devote oneself earnestly to one’s duties toward people, and, while respecting spirits and gods, to keep them at a distance—this may be called wisdom.” He then asked about perfect virtue. The Master said, “The virtuous person puts the hard work first and worries about the rewards afterward—this may be called perfect virtue.”
Chapter 21
The Master said, “The wise take pleasure in water; the virtuous take pleasure in mountains. The wise are active; the virtuous are calm. The wise are joyful; the virtuous are long-lived.”
Chapter 22
The Master said, “Ch’i, with one reform, would become like Lu. Lu, with one reform, would become a state where true principles prevail.”
Chapter 23
The Master said, “A cornered cup without corners—what kind of cornered cup is that! What kind of cornered cup is that!”
Chapter 24
Tsai Wo asked, “If a benevolent man were told, ‘There’s a person down in the well,’ would he jump in after him?” Confucius said, “Why would he do that? A superior man may be made to go to the well, but he cannot be made to jump down into it. He can be deceived, but he cannot be made a fool of.”
Chapter 25
The Master said, “The superior man who studies learning broadly and keeps himself in check by the rules of propriety is unlikely to go astray.”
Chapter 26
When the Master visited Nan-tsze, Tsze-lu was displeased. The Master swore, “If I have done anything wrong, may Heaven reject me! May Heaven reject me!”
Chapter 27
The Master said, “How perfect is the virtue that follows the Constant Mean! For a long time now it has been rare among the people.”
Chapter 28
- Tsze-kung said, “Suppose there were someone who widely benefited the people and could help everyone—what would you say of him? Could he be called perfectly virtuous?” The Master said, “Why stop at virtue in his case? Wouldn’t he have to be a sage? Even Yao and Shun struggled with this. 2. The truly virtuous person, wanting to stand firm himself, helps others to stand firm; wanting to grow himself, helps others to grow. 3. The ability to take what is close at hand—oneself—as a measure for understanding others: that may be called the practical method of virtue.”
