The Analects
attributed to
Confucius
translated by James Legge (1815-1897)
1. The Master [Confucius] said, "Is it not pleasant to learn
with a constant perseverance and application?
"Is it not delightful to have friends coming from
distant quarters?
"Is he not a man of complete virtue, who feels
no discomposure though men may take no note of
him?"
5. The Master said, "To rule a country of a thousand chariots,
there must be reverent attention to business, and sincerity; economy in
expenditure, and love for men; and the employment of the people at the proper
seasons."
8. The Master said, "If the scholar be
not grave, he will not call forth any veneration, and his learning will not be
solid.
"Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first
principles.
"Have no friends not equal to
yourself.
"When you have faults, do not fear to abandon
them."
11. The Master said, "While a man's father is alive, look at
the bent of his will; when his father is dead, look at his conduct. If for
three years he does not alter from the way of his father, he may be called filial."
16. The Master said, "I will not be afflicted at men's not
knowing me; I will be afflicted that I do not know men."
Book II.
1. The Master said, "He who exercises government by
means of his virtue may be compared to the north polar star, which keeps its
place and all the stars turn towards it."
3. The Master said, "If the people be led by laws, and
uniformity sought to be given them by punishments, they will try to avoid the
punishment, but have no sense of shame.
"If they be led by virtue, and uniformity
sought to be given them by the rules of propriety, they will have the sense of
shame, and moreover will become good."
5. Mang I asked what filial piety was.
The Master said, "It is not being disobedient." . . . .
.
14. The Master said, "The superior man is catholic and not partisan.
The mean man is partisan and not catholic."
15. The Master said, "Learning without thought is labor lost;
thought without learning is perilous."
17. The Master said, "Yu, shall I teach you what knowledge is? When
you know a thing, to hold that you know it; and when you do not know a thing,
to allow that you do not know it;—this is knowledge."
18. Tsze-chang was learning with a view to
official emolument.
The Master said, "Hear much and put aside the
points of which you stand in doubt, while you speak cautiously at the same time
of the others:—then you will afford few occasions for blame. . . ."
19. The Duke Ai asked, saying, "What should be done in order to
secure the submission of the people?" Confucius replied, "Advance the
upright and set aside the crooked, then the people will submit. Advance the
crooked and set aside the upright, then the people will not submit."
20. Chi K'ang asked how to cause the people to
reverence their ruler, to be faithful to him, and to go on to nerve themselves
to virtue. The Master said, "Let him preside over them with gravity;—then
they will reverence him. Let him be final and kind to all;—then they will be
faithful to him. Let him advance the good and teach the incompetent;—then they
will eagerly seek to be
virtuous."
Book IV.
1. The Master said, "It is virtuous manners which
constitute the excellence of a neighborhood. If a man in selecting a residence do not fix on one where such prevail, how can he
be wise?"
2. The Master said, "Those who are without virtue cannot
abide long either in a condition of poverty and hardship, or in a condition of
enjoyment. The virtuous rest in virtue; the wise desire
virtue."
3. The Master said, "It is only the truly virtuous man,
who can love, or who can hate, others."
6. The Master said, "I have not seen a person who loved
virtue, or one who hated what was not virtuous. He who
loved virtue, would esteem nothing above it. He who hated what is not virtuous,
would practice virtue in such a way that he would not allow anything that is
not virtuous to approach his person.
10. The Master said, "The superior man, in the world, does not set
his mind either for anything, or against anything; what is right he will
follow."
11. The Master said, "The superior man thinks of virtue; the small
man thinks of comfort. The superior man thinks of the sanctions of law; the
small man thinks of favors which he may receive."
16. The Master said, "The mind of the superior man is conversant
with righteousness; the mind of the mean man is conversant with gain."
Book V.
12. Tsze-kung said, "The Master's personal
displays of his principles and ordinary descriptions of them may be heard. His
discourses about man's nature, and the way of Heaven, cannot be heard."
15. The Master said of Tsze-ch'an that he had
four of the characteristics of a superior man—in his conduct of himself, he was
humble; in serving his superior, he was respectful; in nourishing the people,
he was kind; in ordering the people, he was
just."
25. . . . . Tsze-lu then said, "I should
like, sir, to hear your wishes." The Master said, "They are, in
regard to the aged, to give them rest; in regard to friends, to show them
sincerity; in regard to the young, to treat them tenderly."
26. The Master said, "It is all over. I have not yet seen one
who could perceive his faults, and inwardly accuse himself."
Book VI.
19. The Master said, "To those whose talents are above mediocrity,
the highest subjects may be announced. To those who are below mediocrity, the
highest subjects may not be announced."
25. Tsai Wo asked,
saying, "A benevolent man, though it be told him,—'There is a man in the
well" will go in after him, I suppose." Confucius said, "Why
should he do so?" A superior man may be made and keeping himself under the
restraint of the rules of propriety, may thus likewise not overstep what is
right."
27. The Master said, "Perfect is the virtue which is according
to the Constant Mean! Rare for a long time has been its practice among the
people."
28. Tsze-kung said, "Suppose the
case of a man extensively conferring benefits on the people, and able to assist
all, what would you say of him? Might he be called perfectly virtuous?"
The Master said, "Why speak only of virtue in connection with him? Must he
not have the qualities of a sage? . . . . .
Book VII.
1. The Master said, "A transmitter and not a
maker, believing in and loving the ancients, I venture to compare myself with
our old P'ang."
7. The Master said, "From the man bringing his bundle of
dried flesh for my teaching upwards, I have never refused instruction to any
one."
8. The Master said, "I do not open up the truth to one who is
not eager to get knowledge, nor help out any one who is not anxious to explain himself. When I have presented one corner of a subject to
any one, and he cannot from it learn the other three, I do not repeat my
lesson."
16. The Master said, "If some years were added to my life, I would
give fifty to the study of the Yi, and then I might come to be without great
faults."
19. The Master said, "I am not one who was born in the possession of
knowledge; I am one who is fond of antiquity, and earnest in seeking it
there."
20. The subjects on which the Master did not talk, were—extraordinary
things, feats of strength, disorder, and spiritual beings.
21. The Master said, "When I walk along with two others, they may
serve me as my teachers. I will select their good qualities and follow them,
their bad qualities and avoid them."
24. There were four things which the Master taught,—letters, ethics,
devotion of soul, and truthfulness.
25. The Master said, "A sage it is not mine to see; could I see a
man of real talent and virtue, that would satisfy
me."
The Master said, "A good man it is not mine to
see; could I see a man possessed of constancy, that would satisfy me.
"Having not and yet affecting to have, empty
and yet affecting to be full, straitened and yet affecting to be at ease:—it is
difficult with such characteristics to have
constancy."
33. The Master said, "The sage and the man of perfect virtue;—how
dare I rank myself with them? It may simply be said of me, that I strive to
become such without satiety, and teach others without weariness." Kung-hsi Hwa said, "This is just
what we, the disciples, cannot imitate you in."
35. The Master said, "Extravagance leads to insubordination, and
parsimony to meanness. It is better to be mean than to
be insubordinate."
36. The Master said, "The superior man is satisfied and composed;
the mean man is always full of distress."
37. The Master was mild, and yet dignified; majestic, and yet not fierce;
respectful, and yet easy.
Book IX.
1. The subjects of which the Master seldom spoke
were—profitableness, and also the appointments of Heaven, and perfect virtue.
4. There were four things from which the Master was entirely free.
He had no foregone conclusions, no arbitrary predeterminations, no obstinacy,
and no egoism.
7. The Master said, "Am I indeed possessed of knowledge? I am not knowing. But if a mean person,
who appears quite empty—like, ask anything of me, I set it forth from one end
to the other, and exhaust it."
17. The Master said, "I have not seen one who loves virtue as he
loves beauty."
21. The Master said, "There are cases in which the blade springs,
but the plant does not go on to flower! There are cases where it flowers but
fruit is not subsequently produced!"
24. The Master said, "Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first
principles. Have no friends not equal to yourself.
When you have faults, do not fear to abandon them."
28. The Master said, "The wise are free from perplexities; the
virtuous from anxiety; and the bold from
fear."
Book XI.
11. Chi Lu asked about serving the spirits of the dead. The
Master said, "While you are not able to serve men, how can you serve their
spirits?" Chi Lu added, "I venture to ask about death?" He was
answered, "While you do not know life, how can you know about death?"
15. Tsze-kung asked which of the two,
Shih or Shang, was the superior.
The Master said, "Shih goes beyond the due mean, and Shang
does not come up to it."
"Then," said Tsze-kung,
"the superiority is with Shih, I suppose."
The Master said, "To go beyond is as wrong as
to fall short."
19. Tsze-chang asked what were the characteristics of the good man. The Master said,
"He does not tread in the footsteps of others, but moreover, he does not
enter the chamber of the sage."
23. . . . The Master said, . . ."What
is called a great minister, is one who serves his prince according to what is
right, and when he finds he cannot do so, retires. . . . "
Book XII.
1. Yen Yuan asked about perfect virtue. The Master said,
"To subdue one's self and return to propriety, is perfect virtue. If a man
can for one day subdue himself and return to
propriety, all under heaven will ascribe perfect virtue to him. Is the practice
of perfect virtue from a man himself, or is it from others?"
2. Yen Yuan said, "I beg to ask the steps of that
process. Chung-kung asked about perfect virtue. The Master said, "It is,
when you go abroad, to behave to every one as if you were receiving a great
guest; to employ the people as if you were assisting at a great sacrifice; not
to do to others as you would not wish done to yourself; to have no murmuring
against you in the country, and none in the family." . . .
3. Sze-ma Niu
asked about perfect virtue.
The Master said, "The man of perfect virtue is
cautious and slow in his speech."
"Cautious and slow in his speech!" said Niu;—"is this what is meant
by perfect virtue?" The Master said, "When a man feels the difficulty
of doing, can he be other than cautious and slow in speaking?"
4 Sze-ma Niu asked about the superior man. The Master said,
"The superior man has neither anxiety nor fear."
"Being without anxiety or fear!" said Nui; "does this constitute what we call the superior
man?"
The Master said, "When internal examination
discovers nothing wrong, what is there to be anxious about, what is there to
fear?"
7. Tsze-kung asked about
government. The Master said, "The requisites of government are that there be sufficiency of food, sufficiency of military equipment,
and the confidence of the people in their ruler."
Tsze-kung said, "If
it cannot be helped, and one of these must be dispensed with, which of the
three should be foregone first?" "The military equipment," said
the Master.
Tsze-kung again asked,
"If it cannot be helped, and one of the remaining two must be dispensed
with, which of them should be foregone?" The Master answered, "Part
with the food. From of old, death has been the lot of all men; but if the
people have no faith in their rulers, there is no standing for the state."
11. The Duke Ching, of Ch'i,
asked Confucius about government. Confucius replied, "There is government,
when the prince is prince, and the minister is minister; when the father is
father, and the son is son." . . .
13. The Master said, "In hearing litigations, I am like any other
body. What is necessary, however, is to cause the people to have no
litigations."
16. The Master said, "The superior man seeks to perfect the
admirable qualities of men, and does not seek to perfect their bad qualities.
The mean man does the opposite of this."
19. Chi K'ang asked Confucius about government,
saying, "What do you say to killing the
unprincipled for the good of the principled?" Confucius replied,
"Sir, in carrying on your government, why should you use killing at all?
Let your evinced desires be for what is good, and the people will be good. The
relation between superiors and inferiors is like that between the wind and the
grass. The grass must bend, when the wind blows across it."
22. Fan Ch'ih asked about benevolence. The
Master said, "It is to love all men." 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 this way, the crooked will be made to be upright.' .
. ."
XIII.
2. Chung-kung, being chief minister to the head of the Chi
family, asked about government. The Master said, "Employ first the
services of your various officers, pardon small faults, and raise to office men
of virtue and talents."
3. Tsze-lu said, "The ruler of Wei has been waiting for you, in order with you to
administer the government. What will you consider the first thing to be
done?"
The Master replied, "What is necessary is to
rectify names."
"So! indeed!"
said Tsze-lu. "You are wide of the mark! Why
must there be such rectification?"
The Master said, "How uncultivated you are, Yu!
A superior man, in regard to what he does not know, shows a cautious reserve.
"If names be not correct, language is not in
accordance with the truth of things. If language be not in accordance with the
truth of things, affairs cannot be carried on to success.
"When affairs cannot be carried on to success,
proprieties and music do not flourish. When proprieties and music do not
flourish, punishments will not be properly awarded. When punishments are not
properly awarded, the people do not know how to move hand or foot.
"Therefore a superior man considers it
necessary that the names he uses may be spoken appropriately,
and also that what he speaks may be carried out appropriately. What the
superior man requires is just that in his words there may be nothing
incorrect."
4. . . . [T]he Master said, ". . . If a
superior man love propriety, the people will not dare not to be
reverent. If he love righteousness, the people will
not dare not to submit to his example. If he love good
faith, the people will not dare not to be sincere. Now, when these things
obtain, the people from all quarters will come to him, bearing their children
on their backs . . . ."
10. The Master said, "If there were any of the princes who would
employ me, in the course of twelve months, I should have done something
considerable. In three years, the government would be perfected."
11. The Master said, "'If good men were to
govern a country in succession for a hundred years, they would be able to
transform the violently bad, and dispense with capital punishments.' True
indeed is this saying!"
20. . . . Tsze-kung finally inquired,
"Of what sort are those of the present day, who engage in
government?" The Master said "Pooh! they are
so many pecks and hampers, not worth being taken into account."
23. The Master said, "The superior man is affable, but not
adulatory; the mean man is adulatory, but not affable."
25. The Master said, "The superior man is easy to serve and
difficult to please. If you try to please him in any way which is not accordant
with right, he will not be pleased. But in his employment of men, he uses them
according to their capacity. The mean man is difficult to serve, and easy to
please. If you try to please him, though it be in a
way which is not accordant with right, he may be pleased. But in his employment
of men, he wishes them to be equal to everything."
26. The Master said, "The superior man has a dignified ease without
pride. The mean man has pride without a dignified ease."
XIV.
5. The Master said, "The virtuous will be sure to speak
correctly, but those whose speech is good may not always be virtuous. Men of
principle are sure to be bold, but those who are bold may not always be men of
principle."
7. The Master said, "
8. The Master said, "Can there be love which does not lead to
strictness with its object? Can there be loyalty which does not lead to the
instruction of its object?"
13. . . . Tsze-lu asked what constituted
a COMPLETE man. The Master said, . . . "But what
is the necessity for a complete man of the present day to have all these
things? The man, who in the view of gain, thinks of righteousness; who in the
view of danger is prepared to give up his life; and who does not forget an old
agreement however far back it extends:—such a man may be reckoned a COMPLETE
man."
24. The Master said, "The progress of the superior man is upwards;
the progress of the mean man is downwards."
25. The Master said, "In ancient times, men learned with a view to
their own improvement. Nowadays, men learn with a view to the approbation of
others."
29. The Master said, "The superior man is modest in his speech, but
exceeds in his actions."
30. 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. . . ."
31. 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."
32. The Master said, "I will not be concerned at men's not knowing
me; I will be concerned at my own want of ability."
37. The Master said, "Alas! there is no one
that knows me."
Tsze-kung said, "What
do you mean by thus saying—that no one knows you?" The Master replied,
"I do not murmur against Heaven. I do not grumble against men. My studies lie low, and my penetration rises high. But there is
Heaven;—that knows me!"
44. The Master said, "When rulers love to observe the rules of
propriety, the people respond readily to the calls on them for service."
46. Yuan Zang 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.
XV.
7. The Master said, "When a man may be spoken with, not to
speak to him is to err in reference to the man. When a man may not be spoken
with, to speak to him is to err in reference to our words. The wise err neither
in regard to their man nor to their words."
11. The Master said, "If a man take no
thought about what is distant, he will find sorrow near at hand."
12. The Master said, "It is all over! I have not seen one who loves
virtue as he loves beauty."
17. The Master said, "The superior man in everything considers
righteousness to be essential. He performs it according to the rules of
propriety. He brings it forth in humility. He completes it with sincerity. This
is indeed a superior man."
18. The Master said, "The superior man is distressed by his want of
ability. He is not distressed by men's not knowing him."
20. The Master said, "What the superior man seeks,
is in himself. What the mean man seeks, is in
others."
21. The Master said, "The superior man is dignified, but does not
wrangle. He is sociable, but not a partisan."
22. The Master said, "The superior man does not promote a man simply
on account of his words, nor does he put aside good words because of the
man."
23. Tzu Kung asked: "Is there a single concept that we can take as a
guide for the actions of our whole life?" Confucius said, "What about
'fairness' ? What you don't like done to yourself,
don't do to others." [Muller translation]
27. The Master said, "When the multitude hate a man, it is necessary
to examine into the case. When the multitude like a man, it is necessary to
examine into the case."
29. The Master said, "To have faults and not to reform them,—this,
indeed, should be pronounced having faults."
30. The Master said, "I have been the whole day without eating, and
the whole night without sleeping:—occupied with thinking. It was of no use. The
better plan is to learn."
31. The Master said, "The object of the superior man is truth. Food
is not his object. There is plowing;—even in that there is sometimes want. So
with learning;—emolument may be found in it. The superior man is anxious lest
he should not get truth; he is not anxious lest poverty should come upon
him."
33. The Master said, "The superior man cannot be known in little
matters; but he may be entrusted with great concerns. The small man may not be
entrusted with great concerns, but he may be known in little matters."
36. The Master said, "The superior man is correctly firm, and not
firm merely."
XVII.
3. The Master said, "There are only the wise of the
highest class, and the stupid of the lowest class, who cannot be changed."
6. Tsze-chang asked Confucius about
perfect virtue. Confucius said, "To be able to practice five things
everywhere under heaven constitutes perfect virtue." 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 win all. If you are sincere, people
will repose trust in you. If you are earnest, you will accomplish much. If you
are kind, this will enable you to employ the services of others.
24. 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. He hates the man who, being in a low
station, slanders his superiors. He hates those who have valor merely, and are
unobservant of propriety. He hates those who are forward and determined, and,
at the same time, of contracted understanding." . . . . .
25. The Master said, "Of all people, girls and servants are the most
difficult to behave to. If you are familiar with them, they lose their
humility. If you maintain a reserve towards them, they are discontented."
Edited by J. Carl Mickelsen
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