Confucian Canon, 469>

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.
470
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 an men; but if
the people have no faith in their rulers, there is no standing for the state."
471
Chi Tsze-ch'ang said, "In a superior man it is only the substantial qualities which are wanted;-why should we seek for
ornamental accomplishments?"
472
Tsze-kung said, "Alas! Your words, sir, show you to be a superior man, but four horses cannot overtake the tongue.
Ornament is as substance; substance is as ornament. The hide of a tiger or a leopard stripped of its hair, is like the hide
of a dog or a goat stripped of its hair."
473
The Duke Ai inquired of Yu Zo, saying, "The year is one of scarcity, and the returns for expenditure are not
sufficient;-what is to be done?"
474
Yu Zo replied to him, "Why not simply tithe the people?"
475
"With two tenths, said the duke, "I find it not enough;-how could I do with that system of one tenth?"
476
Yu Zo answered, "If the people have plenty, their prince will not be left to want alone. If the people are in want, their
prince cannot enjoy plenty alone."
477
Tsze-chang having asked how virtue was to be exalted, and delusions to be discovered, the Master said, "Hold
faithfulness and sincerity as first principles, and be moving continually to what is right,-this is the way to exalt one's
virtue.
478
"You love a man and wish him to live; you hate him and wish him to die. Having wished him to live, you also wish him
to die. This is a case of delusion. 'It may not be on account of her being rich, yet you come to make a difference.'"
479
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."
480
"Good!" said the duke; "if, indeed, the prince be not prince, the not minister, the father not father, and the son not son,
although I have my revenue, can I enjoy it?"
481
The Master said, "Ah! it is Yu, who could with half a word settle litigations!"
482
Tsze-lu never slept over a promise.
483
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."
484
Tsze-chang asked about government. The Master said, "The art of governing is to keep its affairs before the mind
without weariness, and to practice them with undeviating consistency."
485
The Master said, "By extensively studying all learning, and keeping himself under the restraint of the rules of propriety,
one may thus likewise not err from what is right."
486
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."
487
Chi K'ang asked Confucius about government. Confucius replied, "To govern means to rectify. If you lead on the
people with correctness, who will dare not to be correct?"
488
Chi K'ang, distressed about the number of thieves in the state, inquired of Confucius how to do away with them.
Confucius said, "If you, sir, were not covetous, although you should reward them to do it, they would not steal."
489
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."
490
Tsze-chang asked, "What must the officer be, who may be said to be distinguished?"
491
The Master said, "What is it you call being distinguished?"
492
Tsze-chang replied, "It is to be heard of through the state, to be heard of throughout his clan."
Confucian Analects : texts 452 - 492
Confucian Analects : texts 493 - 533
493
The Master said, "That is notoriety, not distinction.
494
"Now the man of distinction is solid and straightforward, and loves righteousness. He examines people's words, and
looks at their countenances. He is anxious to humble himself to others. Such a man will be distinguished in the country;
he will be distinguished in his clan.
495
"As to the man of notoriety, he assumes the appearance of virtue, but his actions are opposed to it, and he rests in this
character without any doubts about himself. Such a man will be heard of in the country; he will be heard of in the clan."
496
Fan Ch'ih rambling with the Master under the trees about the rain altars, said, "I venture to ask how to exalt virtue, to
correct cherished evil, and to discover delusions."
497
The Master said, "Truly a good question!
498
"If doing what is to be done be made the first business, and success a secondary consideration:-is not this the way to
exalt virtue? To assail one's own wickedness and not assail that of others;-is not this the way to correct cherished evil?
For a morning's anger to disregard one's own life, and involve that of his parents;-is not this a case of delusion?"
499
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."
500
Fan Ch'ih did not immediately understand these answers.
501
The Master said, "Employ the upright and put aside all the crooked; in this way the crooked can be made to be
upright."
502
Fan Ch'ih retired, and, seeing Tsze-hsia, he said to him, "A Little while ago, I had an interview with our Master, and
asked him about knowledge. He said, 'Employ the upright, and put aside all the crooked;-in this way, the crooked will
be made to be upright.' What did he mean?"
503
Tsze-hsia said, "Truly rich is his saying!
504
"Shun, being in possession of the kingdom, selected from among all the people, and employed Kai-yao-on which all
who were devoid of virtue disappeared. T'ang, being in possession of the kingdom, selected from among all the
people, and employed I Yin-and an who were devoid of virtue disappeared."
505
Tsze-kung asked about friendship. The Master said, "Faithfully admonish your friend, and skillfully lead him on. If you
find him impracticable, stop. Do not disgrace yourself."
506
The philosopher Tsang said, "The superior man on grounds of culture meets with his friends, and by friendship helps his
virtue."
507
Tsze-lu asked about government. The Master said, "Go before the people with your example, and be laborious in their
affairs."
508
He requested further instruction, and was answered, "Be not weary in these things."
509
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."
510
Chung-kung said, "How shall I know the men of virtue and talent, so that I may raise them to office?" He was
answered, "Raise to office those whom you know. As to those whom you do not know, will others neglect them?"
511
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?"
512
The Master replied, "What is necessary is to rectify names."
513
"So! indeed!" said Tsze-lu. "You are wide of the mark! Why must there be such rectification?"
514
The Master said, "How uncultivated you are, Yu! A superior man, in regard to what he does not know, shows a
cautious reserve.
515
"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.
516
"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.
517
"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."
518
Fan Ch'ih requested to be taught husbandry. The Master said, "I am not so good for that as an old husbandman." He
requested also to be taught gardening, and was answered, "I am not so good for that as an old gardener."
519
Fan Ch'ih having gone out, the Master said, "A small man, indeed, is Fan Hsu! 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; what need has he of a knowledge of husbandry?"
520
The Master said, "Though a man may be able to recite the three hundred odes, yet if, when intrusted with a
governmental charge, he knows not how to act, or if, when sent to any quarter on a mission, he cannot give his replies
unassisted, notwithstanding the extent of his learning, of what practical use is it?"
521
The Master said, "When a prince's personal conduct is correct, his government is effective without the issuing of
orders. If his personal conduct is not correct, he may issue orders, but they will not be followed."
522
The Master said, "The governments of Lu and Wei are brothers."
523
The Master said of Ching, a scion of the ducal family of Wei, that he knew the economy of a family well. When he
began to have means, he said, "Ha! here is a collection-!" When they were a little increased, he said, "Ha! this is
complete!" When he had become rich, he said, "Ha! this is admirable!"
524
When the Master went to Weil Zan Yu acted as driver of his carriage.
525
The Master observed, "How numerous are the people!"
526
Yu said, "Since they are thus numerous, what more shall be done for them?" "Enrich them, was the reply.
527
"And when they have been enriched, what more shall be done?" The Master said, "Teach them."
528
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."
529
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!"
530
The Master said, "If a truly royal ruler were to arise, it would stir require a generation, and then virtue would prevail."
531
The Master said, "If a minister make his own conduct correct, what difficulty will he have in assisting in government? If
he cannot rectify himself, what has he to do with rectifying others?"
532
The disciple Zan returning from the court, the Master said to him, "How are you so late?" He replied, "We had
government business." The Master said, "It must have been family affairs. If there had been government business,
though I am not now in office, I should have been consulted about it."
533
The Duke Ting asked whether there was a single sentence which could make a country prosperous. Confucius replied,
"Such an effect cannot be expected from one sentence.
Confucian Analects : texts 493 - 533
Confucian Analects : texts 534 - 574
534
"There is a saying, however, which people have -'To be a prince is difficult; to be a minister is not easy.'
535
"If a ruler knows this,-the difficulty of being a prince,-may there not be expected from this one sentence the prosperity
of his country?"
536
The duke then said, "Is there a single sentence which can ruin a country?" Confucius replied, "Such an effect as that
cannot be expected from one sentence. There is, however, the saying which people have-'I have no pleasure in being a
prince, but only in that no one can offer any opposition to what I say!'
537
"If a ruler's words be good, is it not also good that no one oppose them? But if they are not good, and no one opposes
them, may there not be expected from this one sentence the ruin of his country?"
538
The Duke of Sheh asked about government.