Confucian Canon, 593>

The duke said, "Inform the chiefs of the three families of it."
594
Confucius retired, and said, "Following in the rear of the great officers, I did not dare not to represent such a matter,
and my prince says, "Inform the chiefs of the three families of it."
595
He went to the chiefs, and informed them, but they would not act. Confucius then said, "Following in the rear of the
great officers, I did not dare not to represent such a matter."
596
Tsze-lu asked how a ruler should be served. The Master said, "Do not impose on him, and, moreover, withstand him
to his face."
597
The Master said, "The progress of the superior man is upwards; the progress of the mean man is downwards."
598
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."
599
Chu Po-yu sent a messenger with friendly inquiries to Confucius.
600
Confucius sat with him, and questioned him. "What," said he! "is your master engaged in?" The messenger replied, "My
master is anxious to make his faults few, but he has not yet succeeded." He then went out, and the Master said, "A
messenger indeed! A messenger indeed!"
601
The Master said, "He who is not in any particular office has nothing to do with plans for the administration of its
duties."
602
The philosopher Tsang said, "The superior man, in his thoughts, does not go out of his place."
603
The Master said, "The superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions."
604
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.
605
Tsze-kung said, "Master, that is what you yourself say."
606
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."
607
The Master said, "I will not be concerned at men's not knowing me; I will be concerned at my own want of ability."
608
The Master said, "He who does not anticipate attempts to deceive him, nor think beforehand of his not being believed,
and yet apprehends these things readily when they occur;-is he not a man of superior worth?"
609
Wei-shang Mau said to Confucius, "Ch'iu, how is it that you keep roosting about? Is it not that you are an insinuating
talker?
610
Confucius said, "I do not dare to play the part of such a talker, but I hate obstinacy."
611
The Master said, "A horse is called a ch'i, not because of its strength, but because of its other good qualities."
612
Some one said, "What do you say concerning the principle that injury should be recompensed with kindness?"
613
The Master said, "With what then will you recompense kindness?"
614
"Recompense injury with justice, and recompense kindness with kindness."
615
The Master said, "Alas! there is no one that knows me."
Confucian Analects : texts 575 - 615
Confucian Analects : texts 616 - 656
616
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!"
617
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."
618
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?"
619
The Master said, "Some men of worth retire from the world. Some retire from particular states. Some retire because
of disrespectful looks. Some retire because of contradictory language."
620
The Master said, "Those who have done this are seven men."
621
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."
622
The Master was playing, one day, on a musical stone in Weil when a man carrying a straw basket passed door of the
house where Confucius was, and said, "His heart is full who so beats the musical stone."
623
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.'"
624
The Master said, "How determined is he in his purpose! But this is not difficult!"
625
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?"
626
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."
627
The Master said, "When rulers love to observe the rules of propriety, the people respond readily to the calls on them
for service."
628
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."
629
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.
630
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."
631
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."
632
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.
633
When he was in Chan, their provisions were exhausted, and his followers became so in that they were unable to rise.
634
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."
635
The Master said, "Ts'ze, you think, I suppose, that I am one who learns many things and keeps them in memory?"
636
Tsze-kung replied, "Yes,-but perhaps it is not so?"
637
"No," was the answer; "I seek a unity all pervading."
638
The Master said, "Yu I those who know virtue are few."
639
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."
640
Tsze-chang asked how a man should conduct himself, so as to be everywhere appreciated.
641
The Master said, "Let his words be sincere and truthful and his actions honorable and careful;-such conduct may be
practiced among the rude tribes of the South or the North. If his words be not sincere and truthful and his actions not
honorable and carefull will he, with such conduct, be appreciated, even in his neighborhood?
642
"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."