Excerpts from the Analects of Confucius
(translation by A. Charles Muller)
[2:2] The Master said: “The 300 verses of the Book of Odes can be summed up in a single phrase: ‘Don’t think in an evil way.’”
[2:3] The Master said: “If you govern the people legalistically and control them by punishment, they will avoid crime, but have no personal sense of shame. If you govern them by means of virtue and control them with propriety, they will gain their own sense of shame, and thus correct themselves.”
[2:4] The Master said: “At fifteen my heart was set on learning; at thirty I stood firm; at forty I was unperturbed; at fifty I knew the mandate of heaven; at sixty my ear was obedient; at seventy I could follow my heart’s desire without transgressing the norm.”
[2:5] Mengyi Zi asked about the meaning of filial piety. Confucius said, “It means ‘not diverging (from your parents).’” Later, when Fan Chi was driving him, Confucius told Fan Chi, “Mengsun asked me about the meaning of filial piety, and I told him ‘not diverging.’” Fan Chi said, “What did you mean by that?” Confucius said, “When your parents are alive, serve them with propriety; when they die, bury them with propriety, and then worship them with propriety.”
[2:7] Zi You asked about the meaning of filial piety. Confucius said, “Nowadays filial piety means being able to feed your parents. But everyone does this for even horses and dogs. Without respect, what’s the difference?”
[2:8] Zi Xia asked about filial piety. Confucius said, “What is important is the expression you show in your face. You should not understand ‘filial’ to mean merely the young doing physical tasks for their parents, or giving them food and wine when it is available.”
[2:13] Zi Gong asked about the character of the noble man. Confucius said, “First he practices what he preaches and then he follows it.”
[2:14] The Master said: “The noble man is all-embracing and not partial. The inferior man is partial and not all-embracing.”
[2:15] The Master said: “To study and not think is a waste. To think and not study is dangerous.”
[2:17] The Master said: “You, shall I teach you about knowledge? What you know, you know, what you don’t know, you don’t know. This is knowledge.”
[2:19] The Duke of Ai asked: “How can I make the people follow me?” Confucius replied: “Advance the upright and set aside the crooked, and the people will follow you. Advance the crooked and set aside the upright, and the people will not follow you.”
[2:20] Ji Kang Zi asked: “How can I make the people reverent and loyal, so they will work positively for me?” Confucius said, “Approach them with dignity, and they will be reverent. Be filial and compassionate and they will be loyal. Promote the able and teach the incompetent, and they will work positively for you.”
[7:4] During the Master’s leisure time he was relaxed and enjoyed himself.
[7:16] The Master said: “I can live with coarse rice to eat, water for drink and my arm as a pillow and still be happy. Wealth and honors that one possesses in the midst of injustice are like floating clouds.”
[7:17] The Master said: “If I could add several years to my life, I would have studied the Changes from the age of fifty and become free of error.”
[7:18] Topics which the Teacher regularly discussed were the Book of Odes, the Book of History, and the maintenance of propriety. These were the topics which he regularly discussed.
[7:19] The Duke of Sheh asked Zi Lu about Confucius. Zi Lu didn’t answer him. The Teacher said, “Why didn’t you just tell him that I am a man who in eagerness for study forgets to eat, in his enjoyment of it, forgets his problems and who is unaware of old age setting in?”
[7:20] The Master said: “I was not born with wisdom. I love the ancient teachings and have worked hard to attain to their level.”
[7:21] The master never discussed strange phenomena, physical exploits, disorder or ghost stories.
[7:22] The Master said: “When doing something together as a threesome, there must be one who will have something to teach me. I pick out people’s good and follow it. When I see their bad points, I correct them in myself.”
[7:26] The Master said: “I have not yet been able to meet a sage, but I would be satisfied to meet a noble man. I have not yet met a man of true goodness, but would be satisfied to meet a man of constancy. Lacking, yet possessing; empty, yet full; in difficulty yet at ease. How difficult it is to have constancy!”
[7:37] The Master said: “The noble man is always at ease with himself. The inferior man is always anxious.”
[11:24] Zi Lu (You), Zi Xi (Qiu), Zan You (Chi) and Gong Xihua (Dian) were sitting with the Master. Confucius said, “Although I am a day or so older than you fellows, forget about it for the time being. You are all always saying: ‘Our talents are unrecognized.’ Suppose your abilities were fully acknowledged. What would you do then?”
Zi Lu jumped to reply first, saying: “I would like to be in the position of the charge of a thousand-carriage state (a relatively small state) which was being threatened by the armies of the surrounding larger states, and suffering from crop failure. If I were in this position, within three years my people would be fearless and know how to take care of themselves.”
Confucius laughed at him.
He turned to Qiu and said, “What about you?”
Qiu said, “Let me have the government of a territory of 60 to 70 li, or maybe 50 to 60 li, for three years, and the people would have all they need. As for handling the affairs of ritual and music, I would seek the services of a noble man.”
“Chi, what about you?”
Chi said, “I cannot say I am capable of what the other two have proposed, though I would like to work toward it. At the services at the ancestral hall, or at the audiences with the Prince, I would like to serve as a minor assistant, dressed in the ceremonial gown and cap.”
“Dian, what about you?”
Dian set his lute down with its strings still ringing, and stood up. “What I would like to do,”he said, “is quite different from these three.”The Master said, “What harm can there be? Please speak as the others have.”
Dian said, “At the height of spring, all decked out in spring clothes, I would like to take five or six young men, and six or seven youngsters to go for a swim in the Yi river, enjoying the cool breeze at the Rain Dance Festival, and make our way back home, singing.”
Confucius sighed, and said, “Ah, lovely. I am with you, Dian (i.e. you are the man after my own heart).”
[4:9] “A shi (scholar, noble man) who is set on the way, but is ashamed of old clothes and coarse food, is not worth consulting.”
[8:21] The Master said: “Yu was flawless in character. Surviving on the simplest food and drink, yet perfect in his piety to the ancestral spirits. Normally wearing coarse clothing, he looked magnificent in his ceremonial cap and gown. Living in a humble abode, he exhausted himself in the excavation of drainage ways and canals. I cannot find a flaw in his character!”
[12:7] Zi Gong asked about government.
The Master said, “Enough food, enough weapons and the confidence of the people.”
Zi Gong said, “Suppose you had no alternative but to give up one of these three, which one would be let go of first?”
The Master said, “Weapons.”
Zi Gong said “What if you had to give up one of the remaining two which one would it be?”
The Master said, “Food. From ancient times, death has come to all men, but a people without confidence in its rulers will not stand.”
[13:10] The Master said: “If any of the rulers were to employ me, I would have control of the situation within a month, and would have everything straightened out within three years.”
[13:11] The Master said: “If good men were to govern a country for a hundred years, they could overcome cruelty and do away with killing. How true this saying is!”
[13:15] Duke Ding asked if there were a single phrase which could uplift a country.
Confucius replied: “Words in themselves cannot have such an effect. Nonetheless, there is a proverb which says, ‘Being a ruler is difficult, and being a minister is not easy.’ If you really understand the difficulties of rulership, might this not be enough to uplift a country?”
The Duke asked further: “Is this not close to the saying ‘there a single phrase which could ruin a country?’”
Confucius answered, “Again, words in themselves cannot have such an effect, but the people also have a proverb which says: ‘I do not enjoy ruling; I only enjoy people not disagreeing with me.’ Now if you are a good man and no one disagrees with you, it is fine. But if you are evil, and no one disagrees with you, perhaps you could destroy the country with a single utterance.”
[13:16] The Duke of She asked about government. Confucius said, “If you do it right, then those close to you will be happy, and those who are far away will come to you.”
[8:13] The Master said: “Be of unwavering good faith and love learning. Be steadfast unto death in pursuit of the good Way. Do not enter a state which is in peril, nor reside in one which people have rebelled. When the Way prevails in the world, show yourself. When it does not, then hide. When the Way prevails in your own state, to be poor and obscure is a disgrace. But when the Way does not prevail in your own state, to be rich and honored is a disgrace.”
[9:4] There were four things the master had eliminated from himself: imposing his will, arbitrariness, stubbornness and egotism.
[9:5] There was fear for the Master’s life when he was in the district of Guang. He said, “King Wen has already died, but his learning abides within me. If Heaven intended to destroy this ‘culture,’ then it would have been unattainable for later generations. If Heaven does not want to destroy this learning, what can the men of Guang do to me?”
[6:11] The Master said: “Hui was indeed a worthy! With a single bamboo bowl of rice and gourd-cup of water he lived in a back alley. Others could not have endured his misery, but Hui never changed from his happy disposition. Hui was a worthy indeed!”
[4:1] The Master said: “As for a neighborhood, it is its ren that makes it beautiful. If you choose to live in a place that lacks ren, how can you grow in wisdom?”
[4:5] Confucius said, “Riches and honors are what all men desire. But if they cannot be attained in accordance with the Way they should not be kept. Poverty and low status are what all men hate. But if they cannot be avoided while staying in accordance with the Way, you should not avoid them. If a noble man departs from his fundamental goodness, how can he be worthy of that name? A noble man never leaves his fundamental goodness for even the time of a single meal. In moments of haste he acts according to it. In times of difficulty or confusion he acts according to it.”
[4:11] The Master said: “The noble man cares about virtue; the inferior man cares about material things. The noble man seeks discipline; the inferior man seeks favors.”
[8:8] The Master said: “Be aroused by poetry; structure yourself with propriety, refine yourself with music.”
[8:9] The Master said: “You might force people act according a certain principle, but you won’t be able to force them to understand it.”
[4:15] The Master said: “Shan, my Way is penetrated by a single thread.” Ceng Zi said, “Yes.” When the Master left, some disciples asked what he meant. Ceng Zi said, “Our master’s Way is to be loyal and have a sense of reciprocity, and that’s it.”
[4:16] The Master said: “The noble man is aware of fairness, the inferior man is aware of advantage.”
[4:17] The Master said: “When you see a good person, think of becoming like her/him. When you see someone not so good, reflect on your own weak points.”
[4:18] The Master said: “When you serve your mother and father it is okay to try to correct them once in a while. But if you see that they are not going to listen to you, keep your respect for them and don’t distance yourself from them. Work without complaining.”
[12:2] Zhong Gong asked about the meaning of ren. The Master said: “When you are out in the world, act as if meeting an important guest. Employ the people as if you were assisting at a great ceremony. What you don’t want done to yourself, don’t do to others. Live in your town without stirring up resentments, and live in your household without stirring up resentments.” Zhong Gong said, “Although I am not so smart, I will apply myself to this teaching.”
[17:5] Zi Zhang asked Confucius about fundamental human goodness. Confucius said, “If you can practice these five things with all the people, you can be called a fundamentally good person.”
Zi Zhang asked what they were.
Confucius said, “Courtesy, generosity, honesty, persistence, and kindness. If you are courteous, you will not be disrespected; if you are generous, you will gain everything. If you are honest, people will rely on you. If you are persistent you will get results. If you are kind, you can employ people.”
[17:6] The Master said: “You, have you heard the six phrases about the six distortions?” You answered that he hadn’t. “Then stay a moment,” Confucius said, “and I will tell you.”
If you love being kind to others, but don’t like to study, then your kindness will be distorted into simplicity.
If you love wisdom, but don’t like to study, then your wisdom will be distorted into aimlessness.
If you love trustworthiness, but don’t like to study, then your trust will be distorted into harm.
If you love candor, but don’t like to study, your candor will be distorted into rudeness.
If you love boldness, but don’t like to study, your boldness will be distorted into unruliness.
If you love persistence, but don’t like to study, your persistence will be distorted into rashness.
[14:34] Someone said: “What do you think of the saying: ‘Repay harm with virtue’?”
Confucius replied, “Then how will you repay virtue? Repay harm with justice and repay virtue with virtue.”
[3:17] Zi Gong wanted to do away with the sacrifice of the sheep on the first of the month. Confucius said, “Ci, you love the sheep; I love the ceremony.”
[13:18] The Duke of She told Confucius: “In my land, there are righteous men. If a father steals a sheep, the son will testify against him.”
Confucius said, “The righteous men in my land are different from this. The father conceals the wrongs of his son, and the son conceals the wrongs of his father. This is the correct way!”
[11:12] Chi Lu asked about serving the spirits. Confucius said, “If you can’t yet serve men, how can you serve the spirits?”
Lu said, “May I ask about death?” Confucius said, “If you don’t understand what life is, how will you understand death?”
[17:15] The Master said: “Skillful speech and flattering expressions are seldom indicative of true goodness. ”
[17:17] The Master said: “I wish I could avoid talking.”
Zi Gong said, “Master, if you didn’t speak, what would we disciples have to pass on?”
Confucius said, “Does Heaven speak? Yet the four seasons continue to change, and all things are born. Does Heaven speak?”