The Eight Rows of Dancers八佾第三

Confucius said of the Ji clan, "Eight rows of dancers in their courtyard! If this can be borne, what cannot be borne?"

The three great houses closed their sacrifice with the song Yong (雍). The Master said, "'The lords of the realm assist, and the Son of Heaven sits in solemn stillness.' What has that song to do with the halls of the three houses?"

The Master said, "A man without humaneness, what has he to do with ritual? A man without humaneness, what has he to do with music?"

Lin Fang asked about the root of ritual. The Master said, "A great question indeed! In ritual, better thrift than lavishness. In mourning, better grief than a smooth performance."

The Master said, "The Yi and the Di with a ruler are not the same as the many states of Xia without one."

The Ji clan was about to offer the lü (旅) sacrifice on Mount Tai. The Master said to Ran You, "Can you not stop it?" He answered, "I cannot." The Master said, "Alas! Did they ever think Mount Tai was less than Lin Fang?"

The Master said, "The noble man has nothing to contend for. If he must, it is at archery. He bows and yields as he goes up, and comes down to drink the forfeit. Even his contending is that of a noble man."

Zixia asked, "'A lovely smile with dimples, fine eyes with clear black and white, a plain ground made into a pattern.' What does that mean?" The Master said, "The painting comes after the plain ground." Zixia said, "Then ritual comes after?" The Master said, "It is Shang (商) who lifts me up. Now I can begin to speak of the Book of Songs with you."

The Master said, "I can speak of the ritual of Xia, but Qi is not evidence enough. I can speak of the ritual of Yin, but Song is not evidence enough. It is because the records and the learned men are too few. Were they enough, I could prove it."

The Master said, "In the di (禘) sacrifice, once the libation has been poured, I do not wish to watch any further."

Someone asked the meaning of the di sacrifice. The Master said, "I do not know. To one who knew its meaning, all under Heaven would be like something set out here." And he pointed to his palm.

He sacrificed as though they were present, and sacrificed to the spirits as though the spirits were present. The Master said, "If I do not take part in the sacrifice myself, it is as though I had not sacrificed."

Wangsun Jia asked, "'Better to court the god of the hearth than the god of the inner room.' What does that mean?" The Master said, "Not so. Offend against Heaven and there is nowhere left to pray."

The Master said, "Zhou looked back upon two dynasties. How rich and splendid is its culture! I follow Zhou."

The Master entered the Grand Temple and asked about everything. Someone said, "Who said the son of the man of Zou knows ritual? He enters the Grand Temple and asks about everything." The Master heard it and said, "This is ritual."

The Master said, "In archery, piercing the hide is not the point, for men are not of the same rank in strength. This was the way of old."

Zigong wished to do away with the sheep offered at the announcement of the new moon. The Master said, "Ci, you love that sheep. I love that ritual."

The Master said, "To serve one's lord with full ritual, and men call it flattery."

Duke Ding asked, "How should a lord employ his servants, and a servant serve his lord?" Confucius answered, "The lord should employ his servants by ritual, and the servant should serve his lord by loyalty."

The Master said, "The Guanju is joyful but not excessive, sorrowful but not wounding."

Duke Ai asked Zai Wo about the altar of the earth god. Zai Wo answered, "The house of Xia planted the pine, the men of Yin the cypress, the men of Zhou the chestnut. They say it was to make the people tremble (戰栗)." The Master heard it and said, "What is done is not spoken of, what is finished is not remonstrated against, what is past is not blamed."

The Master said, "How small was Guan Zhong's vessel!" Someone said, "Was Guan Zhong thrifty?" The Master said, "Guan kept the Sangui (三歸), and none of his officers held two posts at once. How was he thrifty?" "Then did Guan Zhong know ritual?" The Master said, "Only the ruler of a state sets a screen wall before his gate, and Guan set up a screen wall too. Only the ruler of a state has a stand for the cups when two rulers meet in friendship, and Guan had such a stand too. If Guan knew ritual, who does not know ritual?"

The Master spoke of music to the grand music master of Lu. He said, "Music can be known. It begins with all the sounds gathering together. As it unfolds it grows harmonious, then clear, then unbroken, and so it is completed."

The border warden of Yi asked to be presented, saying, "Whenever a noble man has come to this place, I have never failed to see him." The followers presented him. He came out and said, "My friends, why should you grieve at his loss of office? All under Heaven has long been without the Way. Heaven is about to make the Master the wooden bell."

The Master said of the Shao (韶), "Wholly beautiful, and wholly good as well." Of the Wu (武) he said, "Wholly beautiful, but not wholly good."

The Master said, "Placed above others and not generous, performing ritual without reverence, attending a funeral without grief, by what am I to look at such a man?"