Chapter 7
Chapter 1
The Master said, “I pass things on but don’t invent them; I trust and love the ancients. In this I dare to compare myself to our old P’ang.”
Chapter 2
The Master said, “Quietly storing up knowledge, learning without ever getting tired of it, and teaching others without growing weary—which of these can I really claim?”
Chapter 3
The Master said, “Failing to cultivate virtue, failing to thoroughly discuss what I’ve learned, being unable to act on what I know to be right, and being unable to correct what is bad in me—these are the things that worry me.”
Chapter 4
When the Master had no business to attend to, his manner was relaxed and his expression cheerful.
Chapter 5
The Master said, “How far I have declined! For a long time now I have not dreamed, as I once did, of seeing the Duke of Chau.”
Chapter 6
- The Master said, “Set your will on the path of duty.
- Hold firmly to every good thing you have gained.
- Live in accord with perfect virtue.
- Find your relaxation and pleasure in the refined arts.”
Chapter 7
The Master said, “From anyone who brought as little as a bundle of dried meat as a teaching-fee, I have never withheld instruction.”
Chapter 8
The Master said, “I do not unfold the truth for someone who isn’t eager to learn, nor do I help out someone who isn’t struggling to express himself. If I show one corner of a subject and the student cannot work out the other three, I don’t go over it again.”
Chapter 9
- When the Master ate beside someone in mourning, he never ate his fill.
- On a day when he had been weeping, he did not sing.
Chapter 10
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The Master said to Yen Yuan, “When called to office, to take up its duties; when not called, to live quietly in retirement—only you and I have managed this.”
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Tsze-lu said, “If you were leading the armies of a great state, who would you want with you?”
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The Master replied, “I wouldn’t want anyone who would attack a tiger barehanded or cross a river without a boat, ready to die without regret. The man I’d partner with is one who approaches action carefully, who likes to think his plans through, and then carries them out.”
Chapter 11
The Master said, “If wealth could be reliably gained by seeking it, I would even take a job as a groom holding a whip to get it. But since it can’t be reliably gained, I’ll pursue what I love.”
Chapter 12
The matters about which the Master was most careful were: fasting, war, and illness.
Chapter 13
When the Master was in Ch’i, he heard the Shao music, and for three months he didn’t notice the taste of meat. “I never imagined,” he said, “that music could be made so wonderful as this.”
Chapter 14
- Yen Yu said, “Does our Master support the ruler of Wei?” Tsze-kung said, “I’ll go ask him.”
- He went in and asked, “What sort of men were Po-i and Shu-ch’i?” “They were worthy men of old,” said the Master. “Did they have any regrets about the path they chose?” The Master replied, “They sought to act virtuously, and they did so. What was there for them to regret?” Tsze-kung came out and said, “Our Master does not support him.”
Chapter 15
The Master said, “With coarse rice to eat, water to drink, and my bent arm for a pillow—I can still find joy in the midst of all this. Wealth and honors gained through wrongdoing are to me like a passing cloud.”
Chapter 16
The Master said, “If a few more years were added to my life, I would give fifty of them to the study of the Yi, and then I might be free of serious faults.”
Chapter 17
The Master’s frequent topics of conversation were the Odes, the History, and the keeping of the Rules of Propriety. On these he spoke often.
Chapter 18
- The Duke of Sheh asked Tsze-lu about Confucius, and Tsze-lu didn’t answer.
- The Master said, “Why didn’t you tell him: he is simply a man who, in his eager pursuit of knowledge, forgets to eat; who, in the joy of finding it, forgets his sorrows; and who doesn’t notice that old age is creeping up on him?”
Chapter 19
The Master said, “I am not someone born already possessing knowledge. I am someone who loves the ancients and is earnest in seeking knowledge from them.”
Chapter 20
The topics the Master did not discuss were: strange occurrences, feats of strength, disorder, and spiritual beings.
Chapter 21
The Master said, “When I walk along with two others, both can serve as my teachers. I pick out their good qualities and follow them, and their bad qualities and avoid them.”
Chapter 22
The Master said, “Heaven produced the virtue that is in me. What can Hwan T’ui do to me?”
Chapter 23
The Master said, “Do you think, my disciples, that I hide things from you? I hide nothing. There is nothing I do that I don’t share with you, my disciples—that is who I am.”
Chapter 24
There were four things the Master taught: literature, conduct, devotion of soul, and truthfulness.
Chapter 25
- The Master said, “A sage—I cannot hope to see one. If I could just see a man of real talent and virtue, that would be enough.”
- The Master said, “A truly good man—I cannot hope to see one. If I could just see a man with constancy, that would be enough.
- Yet when people have nothing but pretend to have, are empty but pretend to be full, are in difficulty but pretend to be at ease—it’s hard for such people to have any constancy.”
Chapter 26
The Master fished with a line, but not with a net. He used a bow, but not at roosting birds.
Chapter 27
The Master said, “There may be those who act without knowing why. I am not like that. To hear much, pick out what is good, and follow it; to see much and keep it in memory—this is the second-best kind of knowledge.”
Chapter 28
- It was hard to have a useful and respectable conversation with the people of Hu-hsiang, so when a boy from there had an audience with the Master, the disciples were puzzled.
- The Master said, “I welcome people’s approach to me without committing myself about what they do after they leave. Why be so harsh? If a man cleans himself up to come see me, I receive him as such, without vouching for his past behavior.”
Chapter 29
The Master said, “Is virtue something far away? I want to be virtuous, and there—virtue is right at hand.”
Chapter 30
- The minister of justice of Ch’an asked whether Duke Chao understood propriety, and Confucius said, “He understood propriety.”
- After Confucius had left, the minister beckoned Wu-ma Ch’i to come closer and said, “I have heard that the superior man is not partial. Can the superior man be partial too? The prince married a woman from the house of Wu, who had the same surname as himself, and called her ‘the Elder Tsze of Wu.’ If this prince understood propriety, who doesn’t?”
- Wu-ma Ch’i reported these remarks, and the Master said, “I am fortunate! Whenever I have a fault, people are sure to notice it.”
Chapter 31
When the Master was in the company of someone singing, if the person sang well, he would have him repeat the song and would join in with his own voice.
Chapter 32
The Master said, “In book-learning I may be the equal of others, but living out the character of the superior man in my conduct—that I have not yet achieved.”
Chapter 33
The Master said, “The sage and the man of perfect virtue—how could I dare to count myself among them? It can only be said of me that I strive to become such without getting tired of it, and that I teach others without weariness.” Kung-hsi Hwa said, “That is exactly what we, your disciples, cannot match.”
Chapter 34
When the Master was very ill, Tsze-lu asked permission to pray for him. He said, “Is this something that’s done?” Tsze-lu replied, “Yes. In the Eulogies it says, ‘Prayer was offered for you to the spirits of heaven above and earth below.’” The Master said, “My praying has been going on for a long time.”
Chapter 35
The Master said, “Extravagance leads to insubordination, and stinginess leads to meanness. But it is better to be mean than insubordinate.”
Chapter 36
The Master said, “The superior man is content and composed; the petty man is always anxious and troubled.”
Chapter 37
The Master was gentle yet dignified, commanding yet not harsh, respectful yet at ease.
