yang ho wished to see confucius, but confucius would not go to see him. onthis, he sent a present of a pig to confucius, who, having chosen a timewhen ho was not at home went to pay his respects for the gift. he met him,however, on the way.
ho said to confucius, "come, let me speak with you." he then asked, "can hebe called benevolent who keeps his jewel in his bosom, and leaves hiscountry to confusion?" confucius replied, "no." "can he be called wise, whois anxious to be engaged in public employment, and yet is constantly losingthe opportunity of being so?" confucius again said, "no." "the days andmonths are passing away; the years do not wait for us." confucius said,"right; i will go into office."the master said, "by nature, men are nearly alike; by practice, they get tobe wide apart."the master said, "there are only the wise of the highest class, and thestupid of the lowest class, who cannot be changed."the master, having come to wu-ch'ang, heard there the sound of stringedinstruments and singing.
well pleased and smiling, he said, "why use an ox knife to kill a fowl?"tsze-yu replied, "formerly, master, i heard you say,-'when the man of highstation is well instructed, he loves men; when the man of low station iswell instructed, he is easily ruled.'"the master said, "my disciples, yen's words are right. what i said was onlyin sport."kung-shan fu-zao, when he was holding pi, and in an attitude of rebellion,invited the master to visit him, who was rather inclined to go.
tsze-lu was displeased. and said, "indeed, you cannot go! why must youthink of going to see kung-shan?"the master said, "can it be without some reason that he has invited me? ifany one employ me, may i not make an eastern chau?"tsze-chang asked confucius about perfect virtue. confucius said, "to beable to practice five things everywhere under heaven constitutes perfectvirtue." he begged to ask what they were, and was told, "gravity,generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness, and kindness. if you are grave,you will not be treated with disrespect. if you are generous, you will winall. if you are sincere, people will repose trust in you. if you areearnest, you will accomplish much. if you are kind, this will enable you toemploy the services of others.
pi hsi inviting him to visit him, the master was inclined to go.
tsze-lu said, "master, formerly i have heard you say, 'when a man in hisown person is guilty of doing evil, a superior man will not associate withhim.' pi hsi is in rebellion, holding possession of chung-mau; if you go tohim, what shall be said?"the master said, "yes, i did use these words. but is it not said, that, ifa thing be really hard, it may be ground without being made thin? is it notsaid, that, if a thing be really white, it may be steeped in a dark fluidwithout being made black?
"am i a bitter gourd? how can i be hung up out of the way of being eaten?"the master said, "yu, have you heard the six words to which are attachedsix becloudings?" yu replied, "i have not.""sit down, and i will tell them to you.
"there is the love of being benevolent without the love of learning;-thebeclouding here leads to a foolish simplicity. there is the love of knowingwithout the love of learning;-the beclouding here leads to dissipation ofmind. there is the love of being sincere without the love of learning;-thebeclouding here leads to an injurious disregard of consequences. there isthe love of straightforwardness without the love of learning;-thebeclouding here leads to rudeness. there is the love of boldness withoutthe love of learning;-the beclouding here leads to insubordination. thereis the love of firmness without the love of learning;-the beclouding hereleads to extravagant conduct."the master said, "my children, why do you not study the book of poetry?
"the odes serve to stimulate the mind.
"they may be used for purposes of self-contemplation.
"they teach the art of sociability.
"they show how to regulate feelings of resentment.
"from them you learn the more immediate duty of serving one's father, andthe remoter one of serving one's prince.
"from them we become largely acquainted with the names of birds, beasts,and plants."the master said to po-yu, "do you give yourself to the chau-nan and theshao-nan. the man who has not studied the chau-nan and the shao-nan is likeone who stands with his face right against a wall. is he not so?" themaster said, "'it is according to the rules of propriety,' they say.-'it isaccording to the rules of propriety,' they say. are gems and silk all thatis meant by propriety? 'it is music,' they say.-'it is music,' they say.
are hers and drums all that is meant by music?"the master said, "he who puts on an appearance of stern firmness, whileinwardly he is weak, is like one of the small, mean people;-yea, is he notlike the thief who breaks through, or climbs over, a wall?"the master said, "your good, careful people of the villages are the thievesof virtue."the master said, to tell, as we go along, what we have heard on the way, isto cast away our virtue."the master said, "there are those mean creatures! how impossible it isalong with them to serve one's prince!
"while they have not got their aims, their anxiety is how to get them. whenthey have got them, their anxiety is lest they should lose them.
"when they are anxious lest such things should be lost, there is nothing towhich they will not proceed."the master said, "anciently, men had three failings, which now perhaps arenot to be found.
"the high-mindedness of antiquity showed itself in a disregard of smallthings; the high-mindedness of the present day shows itself in wildlicense. the stern dignity of antiquity showed itself in grave reserve; thestern dignity of the present day shows itself in quarrelsome perverseness.
the stupidity of antiquity showed itself in straightforwardness; thestupidity of the present day shows itself in sheer deceit."the master said, "fine words and an insinuating appearance are seldomassociated with virtue."the master said, "i hate the manner in which purple takes away the lusterof vermilion. i hate the way in which the songs of chang confound the musicof the ya. i hate those who with their sharp mouths overthrow kingdoms andfamilies."the master said, "i would prefer not speaking."tsze-kung said, "if you, master, do not speak, what shall we, yourdisciples, have to record?"the master said, "does heaven speak? the four seasons pursue their courses,and all things are continually being produced, but does heaven sayanything?"zu pei wished to see confucius, but confucius declined, on the ground ofbeing sick, to see him. when the bearer of this message went out at thedoor, the master took his lute and sang to it, in order that pei might hearhim.
tsai wo asked about the three years' mourning for parents, saying that oneyear was long enough.
"if the superior man," said he, "abstains for three years from theobservances of propriety, those observances will be quite lost. if forthree years he abstains from music, music will be ruined. within a year theold grain is exhausted, and the new grain has sprung up, and, in procuringfire by friction, we go through all the changes of wood for that purpose.
after a complete year, the mourning may stop."the master said, "if you were, after a year, to eat good rice, and wearembroidered clothes, would you feel at ease?" "i should," replied wo.
the master said, "if you can feel at ease, do it. but a superior man,during the whole period of mourning, does not enjoy pleasant food which hemay eat, nor derive pleasure from music which he may hear. he also does notfeel at ease, if he is comfortably lodged. therefore he does not do whatyou propose. but now you feel at ease and may do it."tsai wo then went out, and the master said, "this shows yu's want ofvirtue. it is not till a child is three years old that it is allowed toleave the arms of its parents. and the three years' mourning is universallyobserved throughout the empire. did yu enjoy the three years' love of hisparents?"the master said, "hard is it to deal with who will stuff himself with foodthe whole day, without applying his mind to anything good! are there notgamesters and chess players? to be one of these would still be better thandoing nothing at all."tsze-lu said, "does the superior man esteem valor?" the master said, "thesuperior man holds righteousness to be of highest importance. a man in asuperior situation, having valor without righteousness, will be guilty ofinsubordination; one of the lower people having valor withoutrighteousness, will commit robbery."tsze-kung said, "has the superior man his hatreds also?" the master said,"he has his hatreds. he hates those who proclaim the evil of others. hehates the man who, being in a low station, slanders his superiors. he hatesthose who have valor merely, and are unobservant of propriety. he hatesthose who are forward and determined, and, at the same time, of contractedunderstanding."the master then inquired, "ts'ze, have you also your hatreds?" tsze-kungreplied, "i hate those who pry out matters, and ascribe the knowledge totheir wisdom. i hate those who are only not modest, and think that they arevalorous. i hate those who make known secrets, and think that they arestraightforward."the master said, "of all people, girls and servants are the most difficultto behave to. if you are familiar with them, they lose their humility. ifyou maintain a reserve towards them, they are discontented."the master said, "when a man at forty is the object of dislike, he willalways continue what he is."
阳货篇第十七
17.1 阳货欲见孔子,孔子不见,归孔子豚。孔子时其亡也,而往拜之。遇诸涂。谓孔子曰:“来!予与尔言。”曰:“怀其宝而迷其邦,可谓仁乎?”曰:“不可。”“好从事而亟失时,可谓知乎?”曰:“不可。”“日月逝矣,岁不我与。”孔子曰:“诺。吾将仕矣。”
17.2 子曰:“性相近也,习相远也。”
17.3 子曰:“唯上知与下愚不移。”
17.4 子之武城,闻弦歌之声。夫子莞尔而笑,曰:“割鸡焉用牛刀?”子游对曰:“昔者偃也闻诸夫子曰:‘君子学道则爱人,小人学道则易使也。’”子曰:“二三子!偃之言是也。前言戏之耳。”
17.5 公山弗扰以费畔,召,子欲往。子路不说,曰:“末之也,已,何必公山氏之之也?”子曰:“夫召我者,而岂徒哉?如有用我者,吾其为东周乎?”
17.6 子张问仁于孔子。孔子曰:“能行五者于天下,为仁矣。”“请问之。”曰:“恭宽信敏惠。恭则不侮,宽则得众,信则人任焉,敏则有功,惠则足以使人。”
17.7 佛肸召,子欲往。子路曰:“昔者由也闻诸夫子曰:‘亲于其身为不善者,君子不入也。’佛肸以中牟畔,子之往也,如之何?”子曰:“然。有是言也。不曰坚乎,磨而不磷;不曰白乎,涅而不缁。吾岂匏瓜也哉?焉能系而不食?”
17.8 子曰:“由也!女闻六言六蔽矣乎?”对曰:“未也。”“居!吾语女。好仁不好学,其蔽也愚;好知不好学,其蔽也荡;好信不好学,其蔽也贼;好直不好学,其蔽也绞;好勇不好学,其蔽也乱;好刚不好学,其蔽也狂。”
17.9 子曰:“小子何莫学夫《诗》?诗,可以兴,可以观,可以群,可以怨。迩之事父,远之事君;多识于鸟兽草木之名。”
17.10 子谓伯鱼曰:“女为《周南》、《召南》矣乎?人而不为《周南》、《召南》,其犹正墙面而立也与?”
17.11 子曰:“礼云礼云,玉帛云乎哉?乐云乐云,钟鼓云乎哉?”
17.12 子曰:“色厉而内荏,譬诸小人,其犹穿窬之盗也与?”
17.13 子曰:“乡原,德之贼也。”
17.14 子曰:“道听而涂说,德之弃也。”
17.15 子曰:“鄙夫可与事君也与哉?”其未得之也,患得之,既得之,患失之,苟患失之,无所不至矣。“
17.16 子曰:“古者民有三疾,今也或是之亡也。古之狂也肆,今之狂也荡;古之矜也廉,今之矜也忿戾;古之愚也直,今之愚也诈而已矣。”
17.17 子曰:“巧言令色,鲜矣仁。”
17.18 子曰:“恶紫之夺朱也,恶郑声之乱雅乐也,恶利口之覆邦家者。”
17.19 子曰:“予欲无言。”子贡曰:“子如不言,则小子何述焉?”子曰:“天何言哉?四时行焉,百物生焉。天何言哉?”
17.20 孺悲欲见孔子,孔子辞以疾。将命者出户,取瑟而歌,使之闻之。
17.21 宰我问:“三年之丧,期已久矣。君子三年不为礼,礼必坏;三年不为乐,乐必崩。旧谷既没,新谷既升,钻燧改火,期可已矣。”子曰:“食夫稻,衣夫锦,于女安乎?”曰:“安。”“女安,则为之。夫君子之居丧,食旨不甘,闻乐不乐,居处不安,故不为也。今女安,则为之!”宰我出。子曰:“予之不仁也!子生三年,然后免于父母之怀。夫三年之丧,天下之通丧也。予也有三年之爱于其父母乎?”
17.22 子曰:“饱食终日,无所用心,难矣哉!不有博弈者乎?为之,犹贤乎已。”
17.23 子路曰:“君子尚勇乎!”子曰:“君子义以为上。君子有勇而无义为乱,小人有勇而无义为盗。”
17.24 子贡曰:“君子亦有恶乎!”子曰:“有恶:恶称人之恶者,恶居下流而 上者,恶勇而不礼者,恶果敢而窒者。”曰:“赐也亦有恶乎?”“恶徼以为知者,恶不孙以为勇者,恶讦以为直者。”
17.25 子曰:“唯女子与小人为难养也,近之则不孙,远之则怨。”
17.26 子曰:“年四十而见恶焉,其终也已。”