On Governing爲政第二

The Master said, "To govern by virtue is like the North Star. It stays in its place, and the host of stars turns toward it."

The Master said, "The three hundred Songs, if one phrase covers them all, it is this: no twisted thoughts."

The Master said, "Lead them by decrees and order them by punishments, and the people will only try to escape, with no sense of shame. Lead them by virtue and order them by ritual, and they will know shame and become upright."

The Master said, "At fifteen I set my heart on learning. At thirty I stood firm. At forty I was no longer confused. At fifty I knew the mandate of Heaven. At sixty my ear was compliant. At seventy I could follow what my heart desired without overstepping the measure."

Meng Yizi asked about filial duty. The Master said, "Never go against." When Fanchi was driving the carriage, the Master told him, "Mengsun asked me about filial duty, and I answered, 'Never go against.'" Fanchi said, "What does that mean?" The Master said, "While they live, serve them by ritual. When they die, bury them by ritual and offer to them by ritual."

Meng Wubo asked about filial duty. The Master said, "Your father and mother worry only that you may fall ill."

Ziyou asked about filial duty. The Master said, "What is called filial duty these days means being able to feed one's parents. But even dogs and horses are fed. Without reverence, how do you tell them apart?"

Zixia asked about filial duty. The Master said, "The face is the hard part. When there is work, the young take the labour on themselves. When there is wine and food, they set it before their elders. Has that ever been enough to be called filial duty?"

The Master said, "I talk with Hui all day long, and he never disagrees, as though he were a fool. But when he withdraws and I look at his life apart from me, he is well able to bring it all out. Hui is no fool."

The Master said, "Look at what a man does, watch what he follows, weigh where he rests content. How can a man hide himself? How can a man hide himself?"

The Master said, "Warm up the old and know the new, and you are fit to be a teacher."

The Master said, "The noble man is not a vessel."

Zigong asked about the noble man. The Master said, "He acts on his words first, and then lets his words follow his deeds."

The Master said, "The noble man joins with all and takes no side. The small man takes sides and does not join with all."

The Master said, "Learning without thought is darkness. Thought without learning is danger."

The Master said, "To dig into strange doctrines brings nothing but harm."

The Master said, "You (由), shall I teach you what knowing is? To call what you know knowing, and to call what you do not know not knowing, that is knowing."

Zizhang wanted to learn how to seek a salary. The Master said, "Hear much, leave aside what is doubtful, and speak the rest with care, and your faults will be few. See much, leave aside what is risky, and do the rest with care, and your regrets will be few. When your words have few faults and your deeds few regrets, a salary lies within it."

Duke Ai asked, "What should I do to make the people submit?" Confucius answered, "Raise up the straight and set them above the crooked, and the people will submit. Raise up the crooked and set them above the straight, and the people will not submit."

Ji Kangzi asked, "What should I do to make the people reverent and loyal and diligent?" The Master said, "Face them with dignity and they will be reverent. Be filial and kind and they will be loyal. Raise up the able and teach those who are not, and they will be diligent."

Someone said to Confucius, "Why does the Master not take part in government?" The Master said, "The Book of Documents says, 'Filial, only be filial, and a friend to your brothers.' To spread this through the conduct of affairs is also governing. Why should holding office alone be called governing?"

The Master said, "A man without trust, I do not know what he is good for. If a large cart has no crossbar pin and a small cart has no yoke pin, what is to make it go?"

Zizhang asked, "Can ten generations ahead be known?" The Master said, "Yin took over the ritual of Xia, and what it cut away and added can be known. Zhou took over the ritual of Yin, and what it cut away and added can be known. If any follows after Zhou, then even a hundred generations ahead can be known."

The Master said, "To offer sacrifice to a spirit that is not one's own is flattery. To see what is right and not do it is want of courage."