Speech言語篇

Confucius said, "To people above the middle sort you may speak of higher things. To people below the middle sort you may not speak of higher things. When a man is worth speaking with and you do not speak with him, you lose the man. When a man is not worth speaking with and you speak with him, you lose your words. The wise lose neither the man nor their words."

On the ritual of scholars meeting one another, the Liji says, "When you speak with a ruler, speak of how to employ subjects. When you speak with a great officer, speak of how to serve the ruler. When you speak with an old man, speak of how to direct his disciples. When you speak with a child, speak of filial duty and respect toward father and elder brother. When you speak with the many, speak of loyalty and trust and kindness. When you speak with one who holds office, speak of loyalty and trust."

Confucius said, "This man seldom speaks, but when he speaks he surely hits the mark."

Liu Hui said, "Words that do not fit reason are worse than no words at all. If one word misses, a thousand words are useless."

The Jingxing lu says, "Among a crowd of people in a wide hall, one slip of a word or one wrong turn of the face brings regret and shame at once."

Confucius said, "Petty disputing harms rightness. Small talk breaks the Way."

Junping said, "The mouth and the tongue are the gate of trouble and grief, and the axe that destroys the body."

The Four Hoary Heads (四皓) said to Zifang (Zhang Liang), "To play the zither before a beast is only to waste the sound. To wound a man with words gives a pain like a knife or a spear."

Xunzi said, "A good word to another is warm as hemp and silk. A word that wounds another goes in deep as a spear point."

The Lisao jing says, "Sweet words are like honey. Harsh words are like a blade. A man does not count many words a gain, and a dog is not counted good for barking well."

A wound from a knife heals easily. A harsh word is hard to wear away.

A word that helps another is warm as cotton. A word that wounds another is sharp as thorns. One word, or half a phrase, is worth a thousand pieces of gold. Wound a man with one word, and the pain is like a cut from a knife.

The mouth is an axe that wounds people. The lips are a knife that cuts the tongue. Shut your mouth and hide your tongue deep, and wherever you set your body it will be safe.

Zigong said, "By one word a man is thought wise, and by one word he is thought unwise. Words cannot be careless."

The Analects says, "One word can raise a state. One word can lose a state."

The Zang jing says, "When a man is in a sudden and troubled hour and makes good use of one good word, he helps his ancestors above and shelters his children and grandchildren below."

When you meet a man, say only three parts in ten. Do not throw down the whole of your heart. A tiger opening three mouths is not to be feared. Fear only that a man carries two hearts.

Confucius said, "In clever words and a made-up face, benevolence is rare."

With a friend who knows you, a thousand cups of wine are few. When minds do not meet, half a word is too much.

One who speaks and talks well and sets others at ease has a generous breast and a large heart.

Xunzi says, "To give another one word is as weighty as gold and stone and pearl and jade. To urge another with words is as fair as a poem or a piece of writing. To listen to another's words is as joyful as bells and drums and zithers."

Confucius said, "It is hard to speak with an evil man. Step aside humbly and work at yourself instead."

To hear a thing on the road and tell it on the road is to throw away virtue.

An earlier scholar said, "To act well and speak poorly does no harm to one's conduct. To speak well and not act is worse than not speaking at all."

Before a sick man, do not say that so and so has died. Before a greedy man, do not speak of your own honesty. There may be no meaning in the words, but the hearer will surely hate them.

The words of women are not to be listened to. The words of maidservants and concubines are still less to be listened to.

To speak of the nature and destiny (性命), even without being true to it, is better than to speak of lust. To speak of the Way and virtue, even without acting on it, is better than to talk of vulgar affairs.

Master Gu Dongqiao said, "To love disputing and so call down blame is not so good as to keep silent and nourish your nature. To boast of your powers and so draw envy is not so good as to hide your brightness and seem clumsy."