The Analects
Book 8 · Tai Bo
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Tai Bo · 8.1
The Master said, “Tai Bo may indeed be called a person of the highest virtue! Three times he yielded the world, yet the people had no way to find words of praise for him.”
Tai Bo · 8.2
The Master said, “Respectfulness without ritual becomes exhausting; caution without ritual becomes timidity; courage without ritual becomes disorder; uprightness without ritual becomes harshness. When exemplary people are deeply devoted to their kin, the people rise toward humaneness. When old associates are not neglected, the people do not become indifferent.”
Tai Bo · 8.3
Zengzi was ill and summoned his disciples, saying, “Uncover my feet! Uncover my hands! The Odes say, ‘Be apprehensive and watchful, as though approaching a deep abyss, as though treading on thin ice.’ From now on, my young friends, I know that I have escaped bodily harm!”
Tai Bo · 8.4
Zengzi was ill, and Meng Jingzi came to inquire after him. Zengzi said, “When a bird is about to die, its cry is sorrowful; when a person is about to die, the words are good. There are three things the exemplary person values in the Way: in bearing and movement, keep violence and arrogance far away; in expression, come close to trustworthiness; in words and tone, keep coarseness and impropriety far away. As for the affairs of sacrificial baskets and vessels, there are officials for those.”
Tai Bo · 8.5
Zengzi said, “Though capable, to ask those who are not; though possessing much, to ask those who possess little; having something, to act as though one had nothing; being full, to act as though empty; being offended, not to retaliate—a friend of mine once devoted himself to these things.”
Tai Bo · 8.6
Zengzi said, “Someone to whom a young orphan could be entrusted, to whom the fate of a state a hundred li across could be committed, and who could not be shaken at a great crisis—is such a person exemplary? Such a person is exemplary indeed!”
Tai Bo · 8.7
Zengzi said, “An aspiring scholar must be broad in spirit and firm in resolve: the burden is heavy and the road long. Taking humaneness as one's own responsibility—is that not heavy? Stopping only at death—is that not a long road?”
Tai Bo · 8.8
The Master said, “Be stirred by the Odes, take your stand through ritual, and reach completion through music.”
Tai Bo · 8.9
The Master said, “The people can be made to follow it, but cannot be made to understand it.”
Tai Bo · 8.10
The Master said, “Loving courage while hating poverty leads to disorder. Hating a person who lacks humaneness too intensely also leads to disorder.”
Tai Bo · 8.11
The Master said, “Even if someone had talents as splendid as the Duke of Zhou's, if that person were arrogant and miserly, the rest would not be worth looking at.”
Tai Bo · 8.12
The Master said, “Someone who has studied for three years without turning his thoughts to an official salary is not easy to find.”
Tai Bo · 8.13
The Master said, “Be firm in trust and devoted to learning; preserve the good Way even to death. Do not enter a state in danger or remain in a state in disorder. When the world has the Way, appear in public service; when it lacks the Way, remain hidden. When the state has the Way, poverty and low station are shameful. When the state lacks the Way, wealth and rank are shameful.”
Tai Bo · 8.14
The Master said, “If you do not occupy the position, do not plan its administration.”
Tai Bo · 8.15
The Master said, “From the music master Zhi's opening to the concluding movement of The Ospreys—how rich and full the sound was, filling the ears!”
Tai Bo · 8.16
The Master said, “Ambitious yet not upright, simple yet not sincere, apparently earnest yet not trustworthy—I do not understand people like that.”
Tai Bo · 8.17
The Master said, “Learn as though you could not catch up, and still fear that you might lose what you have learned.”
Tai Bo · 8.18
The Master said, “How lofty were Shun and Yu! They possessed the world, yet did not involve themselves in it for personal ends.”
Tai Bo · 8.19
The Master said, “How great Yao was as a ruler! How lofty! Heaven alone is great, and Yao alone took heaven as his model. How vast his achievement, beyond the people's ability to name! How lofty the work he accomplished, and how radiant his cultural order!”
Tai Bo · 8.20
Shun had five ministers, and the world was well governed. King Wu said, “I have ten ministers who bring order.” Confucius said, “‘Talent is hard to find’—is that not so? From the age of Tang and Yu onward, talent was most abundant at that time. Yet one of the ten was a woman, leaving only nine men. Zhou possessed two-thirds of the world and still served Yin. Zhou's virtue may indeed be called the highest virtue!”
Tai Bo · 8.21
The Master said, “I can find no fault with Yu. His food and drink were plain, yet he showed the fullest filial devotion to the spirits. His ordinary clothing was poor, yet his ceremonial robes and cap were splendid. His palace and rooms were lowly, yet he devoted all his strength to irrigation channels. I can find no fault with Yu!”
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