yen yuan asked about perfect virtue. the master said, "to subdue one's selfand return to propriety, is perfect virtue. if a man can for one day subduehimself and return to propriety, an under heaven will ascribe perfectvirtue to him. is the practice of perfect virtue from a man himself, or isit from others?"yen yuan said, "i beg to ask the steps of that process." the masterreplied, "look not at what is contrary to propriety; listen not to what iscontrary to propriety; speak not what is contrary to propriety; make nomovement which is contrary to propriety." yen yuan then said, "though i amdeficient in intelligence and vigor, i will make it my business to practicethis lesson."chung-kung asked about perfect virtue. the master said, "it is, when you goabroad, to behave to every one as if you were receiving a great guest; toemploy the people as if you were assisting at a great sacrifice; not to doto others as you would not wish done to yourself; to have no murmuringagainst you in the country, and none in the family." chung-kung said,"though i am deficient in intelligence and vigor, i will make it mybusiness to practice this lesson."sze-ma niu asked about perfect virtue.
the master said, "the man of perfect virtue is cautious and slow in hisspeech.""cautious and slow in his speech!" said niu;-"is this what is meant byperfect virtue?" the master said, "when a man feels the difficulty ofdoing, can he be other than cautious and slow in speaking?"sze-ma niu asked about the superior man. the master said, "the superior manhas neither anxiety nor fear.""being without anxiety or fear!" said nui;"does this constitute what wecall the superior man?"the master said, "when internal examination discovers nothing wrong, whatis there to be anxious about, what is there to fear?"sze-ma niu, full of anxiety, said, "other men all have their brothers, ionly have not."tsze-hsia said to him, "there is the following saying which i haveheard-'death and life have their determined appointment; riches and honorsdepend upon heaven.'
"let the superior man never fail reverentially to order his own conduct,and let him be respectful to others and observant of propriety:-then allwithin the four seas will be his brothers. what has the superior man to dowith being distressed because he has no brothers?"tsze-chang asked what constituted intelligence. the master said, "he withwhom neither slander that gradually soaks into the mind, nor statementsthat startle like a wound in the flesh, are successful may be calledintelligent indeed. yea, he with whom neither soaking slander, norstartling statements, are successful, may be called farseeing."tsze-kung asked about government. the master said, "the requisites ofgovernment are that there be sufficiency of food, sufficiency of militaryequipment, and the confidence of the people in their ruler."tsze-kung said, "if it cannot be helped, and one of these must be dispensedwith, which of the three should be foregone first?" "the militaryequipment," said the master.
tsze-kung again asked, "if it cannot be helped, and one of the remainingtwo must be dispensed with, which of them should be foregone?" the masteranswered, "part with the food. from of old, death has been the lot of anmen; but if the people have no faith in their rulers, there is no standingfor the state."chi tsze-ch'ang said, "in a superior man it is only the substantialqualities which are wanted;-why should we seek for ornamentalaccomplishments?"tsze-kung said, "alas! your words, sir, show you to be a superior man, butfour horses cannot overtake the tongue. ornament is as substance; substanceis as ornament. the hide of a tiger or a leopard stripped of its hair, islike the hide of a dog or a goat stripped of its hair."the duke ai inquired of yu zo, saying, "the year is one of scarcity, andthe returns for expenditure are not sufficient;-what is to be done?"yu zo replied to him, "why not simply tithe the people?""with two tenths, said the duke, "i find it not enough;-how could i do withthat system of one tenth?"yu zo answered, "if the people have plenty, their prince will not be leftto want alone. if the people are in want, their prince cannot enjoy plentyalone."tsze-chang having asked how virtue was to be exalted, and delusions to bediscovered, the master said, "hold faithfulness and sincerity as firstprinciples, and be moving continually to what is right,-this is the way toexalt one's virtue.
"you love a man and wish him to live; you hate him and wish him to die.
having wished him to live, you also wish him to die. this is a case ofdelusion. 'it may not be on account of her being rich, yet you come to makea difference.'"the duke ching, of ch'i, asked confucius about government. confuciusreplied, "there is government, when the prince is prince, and the ministeris minister; when the father is father, and the son is son.""good!" said the duke; "if, indeed, the prince be not prince, the notminister, the father not father, and the son not son, although i have myrevenue, can i enjoy it?"the master said, "ah! it is yu, who could with half a word settlelitigations!"tsze-lu never slept over a promise.
the master said, "in hearing litigations, i am like any other body. what isnecessary, however, is to cause the people to have no litigations."tsze-chang asked about government. the master said, "the art of governingis to keep its affairs before the mind without weariness, and to practicethem with undeviating consistency."the master said, "by extensively studying all learning, and keeping himselfunder the restraint of the rules of propriety, one may thus likewise noterr from what is right."the master said, "the superior man seeks to perfect the admirable qualitiesof men, and does not seek to perfect their bad qualities. the mean man doesthe opposite of this."chi k'ang asked confucius about government. confucius replied, "to governmeans to rectify. if you lead on the people with correctness, who will darenot to be correct?"chi k'ang, distressed about the number of thieves in the state, inquired ofconfucius how to do away with them. confucius said, "if you, sir, were notcovetous, although you should reward them to do it, they would not steal."chi k'ang asked confucius about government, saying, "what do you say tokilling the unprincipled for the good of the principled?" confuciusreplied, "sir, in carrying on your government, why should you use killingat all? let your evinced desires be for what is good, and the people willbe good. the relation between superiors and inferiors is like that betweenthe wind and the grass. the grass must bend, when the wind blows acrossit."tsze-chang asked, "what must the officer be, who may be said to bedistinguished?"the master said, "what is it you call being distinguished?"tsze-chang replied, "it is to be heard of through the state, to be heard ofthroughout his clan."the master said, "that is notoriety, not distinction.
"now the man of distinction is solid and straightforward, and lovesrighteousness. he examines people's words, and looks at their countenances.
he is anxious to humble himself to others. such a man will be distinguishedin the country; he will be distinguished in his clan.
"as to the man of notoriety, he assumes the appearance of virtue, but hisactions are opposed to it, and he rests in this character without anydoubts about himself. such a man will be heard of in the country; he willbe heard of in the clan."fan ch'ih rambling with the master under the trees about the rain altars,said, "i venture to ask how to exalt virtue, to correct cherished evil, andto discover delusions."the master said, "truly a good question!
"if doing what is to be done be made the first business, and success asecondary consideration:-is not this the way to exalt virtue? to assailone's own wickedness and not assail that of others;-is not this the way tocorrect cherished evil? for a morning's anger to disregard one's own life,and involve that of his parents;-is not this a case of delusion?"fan ch'ih asked about benevolence. the master said, "it is to love allmen." he asked about knowledge. the master said, "it is to know all men."fan ch'ih did not immediately understand these answers.
the master said, "employ the upright and put aside all the crooked; in thisway the crooked can be made to be upright."fan ch'ih retired, and, seeing tsze-hsia, he said to him, "a little whileago, i had an interview with our master, and asked him about knowledge. hesaid, 'employ the upright, and put aside all the crooked;-in this way, thecrooked will be made to be upright.' what did he mean?"tsze-hsia said, "truly rich is his saying!
"shun, being in possession of the kingdom, selected from among all thepeople, and employed kai-yao-on which all who were devoid of virtuedisappeared. t'ang, being in possession of the kingdom, selected from amongall the people, and employed i yin-and an who were devoid of virtuedisappeared."tsze-kung asked about friendship. the master said, "faithfully admonishyour friend, and skillfully lead him on. if you find him impracticable,stop. do not disgrace yourself."the philosopher tsang said, "the superior man on grounds of culture meetswith his friends, and by friendship helps his virtue."
颜渊篇第十二
12.1 颜渊问仁。子曰：“克已复礼为仁。一日克已复礼，天下归仁焉。为仁由己，而由人乎哉？”颜渊曰：“请问其目。”子曰：“非礼勿视，非礼勿听，非礼勿言，非礼勿动。”颜渊曰：“回虽不敏，请事斯语矣。”
12.2 仲弓问仁。子曰：“出门如见大宾，使民如承大祭。己所不欲，勿施于人。在邦无怨，在家无怨。”仲弓曰：“雍虽不敏，请事斯语矣。”
12.3 司马牛问仁。子曰：“仁者，其言也讱。”曰：“其言也讱，斯谓之仁已乎？”子曰：“为之难，言之得无讱乎？”
12.4 司马牛问君子。子问：“君子不忧不惧。”曰：“不忧不惧，斯谓之君子已乎？”子曰：“内省不疚，夫何忧何惧？”
12.5 司马牛忧曰：“人皆有兄弟，我独亡。”子夏曰：“商闻之矣：死生有命，富贵在天。君子敬而无失，与人恭而有礼，四海之内皆兄弟也。君子何患乎无兄弟也？”
12.6 子张问明。子曰：“浸润之谮，肤受之愬，不行焉，可胃明也已矣。浸润之谮，肤受之愬，不行焉，可谓远也已矣。”
12.7 子贡问政。子曰：“足食，足兵，民信之矣。”子贡曰：“必不得已而去，于斯三者何先？”曰：“去兵。”子贡曰：“必不得已而去，于斯二者何先？”曰：“去食。自古皆有死，民无信不立。”
12.8 棘子成曰：“君子质而已矣，何以文为？”子贡曰：“惜乎，夫子之说君子也！驷不及舌。文犹质也，质犹文也。虎豹之鞟犹犬羊之鞟。”
12.9 哀公问于有若曰：“年饥，用不足，如之何？”有若对曰：“盍彻乎？”曰：“二，吾犹不足，如之何其彻也？”对曰：“百姓足，君孰与不足？百姓不足，君孰与足？”
12.10 子张问崇德辨惑。子曰：“主忠信，徙义，崇德也。爱之欲其生，恶之欲其死。既欲其生，又欲其死，是惑也。‘诚不以富，亦祗以异’。”
12.11 齐景公问政于孔子。孔子对曰：“君君，臣臣，父父，子子。”公曰：“善哉！信如君不君，臣不臣，父不父，子不子，虽有粟，吾得而食诸？”
12.12 子曰：“片言可以折狱者，其由也与？”子路无宿诺。
12.13 子曰：“听讼，吾犹人也。必也使无讼乎？”
12.14 子张问政。子曰：“居之无倦，行之以忠。”
12.15 子曰：“博学于文，约之以礼，亦可以弗畔矣夫！”
12.16 子曰：“君子成人之美，不成人之恶。小人反是。”
12.17 季康子问政于孔子。孔子对曰：“政者，正也。子帅以正，孰敢不正？”
12.18 季康子患盗，问于孔子。孔子对曰：“苟子之不欲，虽赏之不窃。”
12.19 季康子问政于孔子曰：“如杀无道，以就有道，何如？”孔子对曰：“子为政，焉用杀？子欲善而民善矣。君子之德风，小人之德草。草上之风必偃。”
12.20 子张问：“士何如斯可谓之达矣？”子曰：“何哉，尔所谓达者？”子张对曰：“在邦必闻，在家必闻。”子曰：“是闻也，非达也。夫达也者，质直而好义，察言而观色，虑以下人。在邦必达，在家必达。夫闻也者，色取仁而行违，居之不疑。在邦必闻，在家必闻。”
12.21 樊迟从游于舞雩之下，曰：“敢问崇德，修慝，辨惑。”子曰：“善哉问！先事后得，非崇德与？攻其恶，无攻人之恶，非修慝与？一朝之忿，忘其身，以及其亲，非惑与？”
12.22 樊迟问仁。子曰：“爱人。”问知。子曰：“知人。樊迟未达。子曰：”举直错诸枉，能使枉者直。”樊迟退，见子夏曰：“乡也吾见于夫子而问知，子曰：‘举直错诸枉，能使枉者直’，何谓也？”子夏曰：“富哉言乎！舜有天下，选于众，举皋陶，不仁者远矣。汤有天下，选于众，举伊尹，不仁者远矣。”
12.23 子贡问友。子曰：“忠告而善道之，不可则止，毋自辱焉。”
12.24 曾子曰：“君子以文会友，以友辅仁。”