The Analects
Book 14 · Xian Asks
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Xian Asks · 14.1
Xian asked about shame. The Master said, “When the state follows the Way, accept a salary. When the state does not follow the Way, to accept a salary is shameful.”
Xian Asks · 14.2
“If competitiveness, boasting, resentment, and greed are never put into practice, may that be called humaneness?” The Master said, “It may be called difficult to achieve. Whether it is humaneness, I do not know.”
Xian Asks · 14.3
The Master said, “A person of service who cherishes a life of ease is not worthy of the name.”
Xian Asks · 14.4
The Master said, “When the state follows the Way, be upright in speech and conduct. When the state does not follow the Way, remain upright in conduct, but be modest and cautious in speech.”
Xian Asks · 14.5
The Master said, “Those with virtue are sure to have fitting words, but those with words do not necessarily have virtue. The humane are sure to be courageous, but the courageous are not necessarily humane.”
Xian Asks · 14.6
Nangong Kuo asked Confucius, “Yi was skilled at archery, and Ao could push a boat with his strength, yet neither met a peaceful death. Yu and Ji worked the fields themselves, yet came to possess all under Heaven.” The Master did not answer. After Nangong Kuo went out, the Master said, “What an exemplary person he is! How he honors virtue!”
Xian Asks · 14.7
The Master said, “There may be exemplary people who fail in humaneness, but there has never been a petty person who is humane.”
Xian Asks · 14.8
The Master said, “If you love someone, can you spare them all effort and hardship? If you are devoted to someone, can you refrain from teaching them?”
Xian Asks · 14.9
The Master said, “In preparing a diplomatic communication, Pi Chen made the first draft; Shi Shu examined and discussed it; the envoy Ziyu revised it; and Zichan of Dongli gave it its final polish.”
Xian Asks · 14.10
Someone asked about Zichan. The Master said, “A man who benefited others.” He asked about Zixi. The Master said, “That man! That man!” He asked about Guan Zhong. The Master said, “That man took from the Bo family its three hundred households at Pian. Bo ate coarse food for the rest of his life, yet never uttered a complaint.”
Xian Asks · 14.11
The Master said, “To be poor without resentment is difficult. To be rich without arrogance is easy.”
Xian Asks · 14.12
The Master said, “Meng Gongchuo would be more than adequate as chief retainer to the Zhao or Wei family, but he could not serve as a great officer in Teng or Xue.”
Xian Asks · 14.13
Zilu asked about a fully developed person. The Master said, “Someone with Zang Wuzhong's wisdom, Gongchuo's freedom from greed, Bian Zhuangzi's courage, and Ran Qiu's accomplishments, refined through rites and music, could be called fully developed.”
He added, “But why must a fully developed person today have all that? Seeing gain, think of rightness; seeing danger, be ready to give one's life; through prolonged hardship, do not forget the promises made in ordinary times. Such a person too may be called fully developed.”
Xian Asks · 14.14
The Master asked Gongming Jia about Gongshu Wenzi: “Is it true that he does not speak, does not laugh, and does not take anything?”
Gongming Jia replied, “Whoever told you that went too far! He speaks only when the time is right, so people do not tire of his words. He laughs only when he is happy, so people do not tire of his laughter. He takes only what is right, so people do not resent what he takes.”
The Master said, “Is that so? Could it really be so?”
Xian Asks · 14.15
The Master said, “Zang Wuzhong used his possession of Fang to ask Lu to establish a successor for him. Even if someone says he was not coercing his ruler, I do not believe it.”
Xian Asks · 14.16
The Master said, “Duke Wen of Jin was crafty and not upright. Duke Huan of Qi was upright and not crafty.”
Xian Asks · 14.17
Zilu said, “Duke Huan killed Prince Jiu. Shao Hu died for the prince, but Guan Zhong did not.” He asked, “Did he lack humaneness?”
The Master said, “Duke Huan brought the lords together repeatedly without recourse to war chariots. That was Guan Zhong's achievement. Such was his humaneness! Such was his humaneness!”
Xian Asks · 14.18
Zigong said, “Was Guan Zhong not lacking in humaneness? When Duke Huan killed Prince Jiu, he did not die for the prince, but instead became Huan's chief minister.”
The Master said, “As Duke Huan's chief minister, Guan Zhong made him leader of the lords and restored order to all under Heaven. The people still benefit from his achievements today. Without Guan Zhong, we might now be wearing our hair loose and fastening our robes on the left! Was he supposed to be like ordinary men and women who cling to a narrow notion of fidelity, hanging themselves in a ditch with no one knowing of it?”
Xian Asks · 14.19
Zhuan, a retainer of Gongshu Wenzi, rose together with Wenzi to serve at the duke's court. Hearing of it, the Master said, “He deserves to be called ‘cultivated’!”
Xian Asks · 14.20
The Master spoke of Duke Ling of Wei's failure to follow the Way. Kangzi said, “If he is like that, why does his state not perish?”
Confucius said, “Zhongshu Yu manages visiting envoys, Zhu Tuo manages the ancestral temple, and Wangsun Jia manages the army. With men like these, why should it perish?”
Xian Asks · 14.21
The Master said, “When someone speaks without embarrassment, carrying those words out will be difficult indeed!”
Xian Asks · 14.22
Chen Chengzi murdered Duke Jian. Confucius bathed and went to court, reporting to Duke Ai: “Chen Heng has murdered his ruler. I ask that he be punished.”
The duke said, “Tell the heads of the three families.”
Confucius said, “Having served among the great officers, I did not dare fail to report it. Yet the ruler says, ‘Tell the heads of the three families’!”
He went and reported it to the three family heads, but they refused to act. Confucius said, “Having served among the great officers, I did not dare fail to report it!”
Xian Asks · 14.23
Zilu asked about serving a ruler. The Master said, “Do not deceive him, and be willing to confront him.”
Xian Asks · 14.24
The Master said, “The exemplary person reaches upward; the petty person reaches downward.”
Xian Asks · 14.25
The Master said, “In antiquity, people learned to cultivate themselves. Today, people learn to make an impression on others.”
Xian Asks · 14.26
Qu Boyu sent a messenger to Confucius. Confucius invited him to sit and asked, “What is your master doing?” He replied, “My master wishes to reduce his faults, but has not yet succeeded.” After the messenger went out, the Master said, “What a messenger! What a messenger!”
Xian Asks · 14.27
The Master said, “If you do not occupy an office, do not plan its affairs.”
This saying also appears in Book VIII, section 14.
Xian Asks · 14.28
Master Zeng said, “The exemplary person's thoughts do not go beyond the responsibilities of his position.”
Xian Asks · 14.29
The Master said, “The exemplary person is ashamed when his words exceed his actions.”
Xian Asks · 14.30
The Master said, “The way of the exemplary person has three aspects, none of which I have mastered: the humane do not worry, the wise are not confused, and the courageous do not fear.” Zigong said, “The Master is describing himself!”
Xian Asks · 14.31
Zigong was comparing and judging other people. The Master said, “Ci, are you already so worthy? For my part, I have no time for that!”
Xian Asks · 14.32
The Master said, “Do not worry that others do not recognize you. Worry that you lack ability.”
Xian Asks · 14.33
The Master said, “Without anticipating deceit or suspecting untrustworthiness, yet discerning them early when they occur—is that not a worthy person?”
Xian Asks · 14.34
Weisheng Mu said to Confucius, “Qiu, why are you so restless, going from place to place? Are you perhaps trying to display your clever speech?” Confucius said, “I would not presume to display clever speech. I simply detest obstinate narrowness.”
Xian Asks · 14.35
The Master said, “A fine horse is praised not for its strength, but for its character.”
Xian Asks · 14.36
Someone asked, “What about repaying resentment with kindness?” The Master said, “Then with what would you repay kindness? Repay resentment with uprightness, and repay kindness with kindness.”
Xian Asks · 14.37
The Master said, “No one understands me!” Zigong said, “Why do you say that no one understands you?”
The Master said, “I do not resent Heaven or blame people. I learn from ordinary things below and reach toward what is above. The one who understands me—perhaps it is Heaven!”
Xian Asks · 14.38
Gongbo Liao slandered Zilu to Jisun. Zifu Jingbo reported this to Confucius, saying, “Our master has indeed been confused by Gongbo Liao. But I still have the power to have his corpse displayed in the marketplace.”
The Master said, “Whether the Way is to be practiced depends on the mandate. Whether the Way is to be abandoned also depends on the mandate. What can Gongbo Liao do against the mandate?”
Xian Asks · 14.39
The Master said, “The worthy withdraw from an age without the Way; next are those who withdraw from a particular place; next, those who withdraw at an unfriendly expression; and next, those who withdraw at offensive words.”
Xian Asks · 14.40
The Master said, “There have already been seven who withdrew in this way.”
Xian Asks · 14.41
Zilu stayed overnight at Stone Gate. The gatekeeper asked, “Where have you come from?” Zilu said, “From the house of Confucius.” The gatekeeper said, “Is he the one who knows it cannot be done, yet keeps trying?”
Xian Asks · 14.42
The Master was playing a stone chime in Wei. A man carrying a basket passed his gate and said, “There is a heart behind that chime playing!” Then he said, “How petty, that stubborn insistence! If no one understands you, simply stop! ‘When the water is deep, wade through with your clothes on; when it is shallow, lift your robes.’”
The Master said, “How decisive he is! That way, nothing would be difficult.”
Xian Asks · 14.43
Zizhang said, “The Documents says, ‘Gaozong remained in mourning and did not speak for three years.’ What does this mean?”
The Master said, “Why speak only of Gaozong? All the ancients did this. When a ruler died, the officials each attended to their duties and took orders from the chief minister for three years.”
Xian Asks · 14.44
The Master said, “When those above love ritual propriety, the people are easy to direct.”
Xian Asks · 14.45
Zilu asked about the exemplary person. The Master said, “Cultivate oneself through reverence.”
“Is that all?”
“Cultivate oneself to bring peace to others.”
“Is that all?”
“Cultivate oneself to bring peace to the people. Even Yao and Shun might have found it difficult to cultivate themselves so as to bring peace to all the people!”
Xian Asks · 14.46
Yuan Rang waited for the Master while sitting with his legs spread out. The Master said, “As a child, you were neither modest nor respectful to your elders. As an adult, you achieved nothing worth recounting. Now you are old and still will not die! Such a person is a pest.” He tapped Yuan Rang's shin with his staff.
Xian Asks · 14.47
A boy from Qu village carried messages. Someone asked, “Is he making progress?” The Master said, “I have seen him sitting in an adult's place, and I have seen him walking alongside his elders. He is not seeking steady improvement; he wants to become accomplished in a hurry.”
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