CHAP. XXXV. The Master said, 'A horse is called a ch'i, not
because of its strength, but because of its other good qualities.'
CHAP. 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.'
CHAP. 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 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!' CHAP. XXXVIII. 1. The Kung-po Liao, having slandered Tsze-lu to Chi-sun, Tsze-fu Ching-po informed Confucius of it, saying, 'Our master is certainly being led astray by the Kung-po Liao, but I have still power enough left to cut Liao 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-po Liao do where such ordering is concerned?'
CHAP. XXXIX. 1. The Master said, 'Some men of worth retire
from the world.
2. Some retire from particular states.
3. Some retire because of disrespectful looks.
4. Some retire because of contradictory language.'
CHAP. XL. The Master said, 'Those who have done this are
seven men.'
CHAP. XLI. Tsze-lu happening to pass the night in Shih-man,
the gatekeeper said to him, 'Whom do you come from?' Tsze-lu 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.'
CHAP. 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."' 3. The Master said, 'How determined is he in his purpose! But this is not difficult!' CHAP. XLIII. 1. Tsze-chang said, 'What is meant when the Shu says that Kao-tsung, while observing the usual imperial mourning, was for three years without speaking?' 2. The Master said, 'Why must Kao-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.'
CHAP. XLIV. The Master said, 'When rulers love to observe the rules of propriety, the people respond readily to the calls on them for service.' CHAP. XLV. Tsze-lu asked what constituted the superior man. The Master said, 'The cultivation of himself in reverential carefulness.' 'And is this all?' said Tsze-lu. 'He cultivates himself so as to give rest to others,' was the reply. 'And is this all?' again asked Tsze-lu. 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 Yao and Shun were still solicitous about this.' CHAP. XLVI. 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. CHAP. XLVI. 1. A youth of the village of Ch'ueh 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.
CHAP. 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 Chan, their provisions were exhausted, and his followers became so ill that they were unable to rise. 3. Tsze-lu, 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.'
CHAP. II. 1. The Master said, 'Ts'ze, 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.'
CHAP. III. The Master said, 'Yu, those who know virtue are
few.'
CHAP. 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 royal seat.'
CHAP. V. 1. Tsze-chang asked how a man should conduct
himself, so as to be everywhere appreciated.
2. The Master said, 'Let his words be sincere and truthful, and
his actions honourable and careful;— such conduct may be practised
among the rude tribes of the South or the North. If his words be
not sincere and truthful and his actions not honourable and careful, will he, with such conduct, be appreciated, even in his neighborhood? 3. 'When he is standing, let him see those two things, as it were, fronting him. When he is in a carriage, let him see them attached to the yoke. Then may he subsequently carry them into practice.' 4. Tsze-chang wrote these counsels on the end of his sash. CHAP. VI. 1. The Master said, 'Truly straightforward was the historiographer Yu. When good government prevailed in his State, he was like an arrow. When bad government prevailed, he was like an arrow. 2. A superior man indeed is Chu Po-yu! When good government prevails in his state, he is to be found in office. When bad government prevails, he can roll his principles up, and keep them in his breast.'