תמונות בעמוד
PDF
ePub

5. He went to the chiefs, and informed them, but they would not act. Confucius then said, "Following in the rear of the great officers, I did not dare not to represent such a matter."

XXIII. Tsze-loo asked how a sovereign should be served. The Master said, "Do not impose on him, and, moreover, withstand him to his face."

XXIV. The Master said, "The progress of the superior man is upwards; The progress of the mean man is downwards."

XXV. The Master said, "In ancient times, men learned with a view to their own improvement. Nowa-days, men learn with a view to the approbation of others."

XXVI. 1. Keu Pih-yuh sent a messenger with friendly inquiries to Confucius.

2. Confucius sat with him, and questioned him. "What,” said he, " is your master engaged in?" The messenger replied, "My master is anxious to make his faults few, but he has not yet succeeded." He then went out and the Master said, "A messenger indeed! A messenger indeed!"

XXVII. The Master said, "He who is not in any particular office, has nothing to do with plans for the administration of its duties."

XXVIII. The philosopher Tsang said, "The superior man, in his thoughts, does not go out of his place." XXIX. The Master said, "The superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions."

XXX. 1. The Master said, "The way of the superior man is threefold, but I am not equal to it. Virtuous, he is free from anxieties; wise, he is free from perplexities; bold, he is free from fear."

2. Tsze-kung said, "Master, that is what you yourself

say."

XXXI. Tsze-kung was in the habit of comparing

men together.

The Master said, "Tsze must have reached a high pitch of excellence! Now, I have not leisure for this."

XXXII. The Master said, "I will not be concerned at men's not knowing me; I will be concerned at my own want of ability.'

[ocr errors]

XXXIII. The Master said, "He who does not anticipate attempts to deceive him, nor think beforehand of his not being believed, and yet apprehends these things readily when they occur; is he not a man of superior worth?"

XXXIV. 1. We-shang Mow said to Confucius, "K'ew, how is it that you keep roosting about? Is it not that you are an insinuating talker?"

2. Confucius said, "I do not dare to play the part of such a talker, but I hate obstinacy."

XXXV. The Master said, "A horse is called a ke, not because of its strength, but because of its other good qualities."

XXXVI. 1. Some one said, "What do you say concerning the principle that injury should be recompensed with kindness?"

2. The Master said, " With what then will you recompense kindness?

3. "Recompense injury with justice, and recompense kindness with kindness."

XXXVII. 1. The Master said, "Alas! there is no one that knows me."

2. Tsze-kung said, "What do you mean by thus saying-that no one knows you?" The Master replied, "I do not murmer against Heaven. I do not grumble against men. My studies lie low, and my penetration rises high. But there is Heaven;-that knows me!"

XXXVIII. 1. The Kung-pih, Leaou, having slandered Tsze-loo to Ke-sun, Tsze-fuk King-pih informed Confucius of it, saying, "Our master is certainly being

led astray by the Kung-pih, Leaou, but I have still power enough left to cut Leaou off, and expose his corpse in the market and in the court.

2. The Master said, "If my principles are to advance, it is so ordered. If they are to fall to the ground, it is so ordered. What can the Kung-pih, Leaou, do, where such ordering is concerned?"

XXXIX. 1. The Master said, "Some men of worth retire from the world.

2. "Some retire from particular countries.

3. "Some retire because of disrespectful looks.

4. "Some retire because of contradictory language." XL. The Master said, "Those who have done this are seven men."

XLI. Tsze-loo happening to pass the night in Shihmun, the gate-keeper said to him, "Whom do you come from?" Tsze-loo said, "From Mr. K'ung." "It is he,

is it not?"-said the other, "who knows the impracticable nature of the times, and yet will be doing in them."

XLII. 1. The Master was playing, one day, on a musical stone in Wei, when a man, carrying a straw basket, passed the door of the house where Confucius was, and said, "His heart is full who so beats the musical stone."

2. A little while after, he added, " How contemptible is the one-ideaed obstinacy those sounds display! When one is taken no notice of, he has simply at once to give over his wish for public employment. Deep water must be crossed with the clothes on; shallow water may be crossed with the clothes held up.'"

[ocr errors]

3. The Master said, "How determined is he in his purpose! But this is not difficult."

XLIII. 1. Tsze-chang said, "What is meant when the SHOO says that Kaou-tsung, while observing the usual imperial mourning, was for three years without speaking?"

2. The Master said, "Why must Kaou-tsung be referred to as an example of this? The ancients all did So. When the sovereign died, the officers all attended to their several duties, taking instructions from the prime minister for three years.

[ocr errors]

XLIV. The Master said, "When rulers love to observe the rules of propriety, the people respond readily to the calls on them for service."

XLV. Tsze-loo asked what constituted the superior man. The Master said, "The cultivation of himself in reverential carefulness." "And is this all?" said Tszeloo. "He cultivates himself so as to give rest to others," was the reply. "And is this all?" again asked Tszeloo. The Master said, " He cultivates himself so as to give rest to all the people. He cultivates himself so as to give rest to all the people:-even Yaou and Shun were still solicitous about this."

XLVI. Yuen Jang was squatting on his heels, and so waited the approach of the Master, who said to him, "In youth, not humble as befits a junior; in manhood, doing nothing worthy of being handed down; and living on to old age:-this is to be a pest." With this he hit him on the shank with his staff.

XLVII. 1. A youth of the village of K'eueh was employed by Confucius to carry the messages between him and his visitors. Some one asked about him, saying, "I suppose he has made great progress."

2. The Master said, "I observe that he is fond of occupying the seat of a full-grown man; I observe that he walks shoulder to shoulder with his elders. He is not one who is seeking to make progress in learning. He wishes quickly to become a man."

BOOK XV. WEI LING KUNG.

CHAPTER I. 1. The duke Ling of Wei asked Confucius about tactics. Confucius replied, "I have heard all about sacrificial vessels, but I have not learned military matters." On this, he took his departure the next day.

2. When he was in Ch'in, their provisions were exhausted, and his followers became so ill that they were unable to rise.

3. Tsze-loo, with evident dissatisfaction, said, "Has the superior man likewise to endure in this way?" The Master said, "The superior man may indeed have to endure want, but the mean man, when he is in want, gives way to unbridled license."

II. 1. The Master said, "Tsze, you think, I suppose, that I am one who learns many things and keeps them in memory?"

2. Tsze-kung replied, "Yes, but perhaps it is not so?" 3. "No," was the answer; "I seek a unity all-pervading."

III. The Master said, "Yew, those who know virtue are few.”

IV. The Master said, "May not Shun be instanced as having governed efficiently without exertion? What did he do? He did nothing but gravely and reverently occupy his imperial seat."

V. 1. Tsze-chang asked how a man might conduct himself, so as to be everywhere appreciated.

2. The Master said, "Let his words be sincere and truthful, and his actions honorable and careful;—such conduct may be practiced among the rude tribes of the

« הקודםהמשך »