Yong雍也第六

The Master said, "Yong (雍) could be set facing south." Zhonggong asked about Zisang Bozi. The Master said, "He will do. He is plain." Zhonggong said, "To bear oneself with reverence and to act plainly in dealing with the people, is that not good? But to bear oneself plainly and also to act plainly, is that not plainness overdone?" The Master said, "Yong's words are right."

Duke Ai asked, "Which of your disciples loves learning?" Confucius answered, "There was one Yan Hui who loved learning. He did not carry his anger over to another, and he did not make the same fault twice. Sadly his years were short and he died. Now there is no one. I have not heard of anyone who loves learning."

Zihua was sent on a mission to Qi, and Ranzi asked for grain for his mother. The Master said, "Give her a fu (釜)." He asked for more. "Give her a yu (庾)." Ranzi gave her five bing (秉) of grain. The Master said, "When Chi went to Qi he rode sleek horses and wore light furs. I have heard that the noble man helps the hard pressed and does not add to the rich." When Yuan Si was made steward of his house, he was given nine hundred measures of grain and declined them. The Master said, "Do not decline. Share them out among your neighbors and your village."

The Master said of Zhonggong, "If the calf of a brindled ox is red haired and its horns are well formed, then though men may not wish to use it, will the spirits of the hills and rivers let it go?"

The Master said, "Hui, his heart goes three months without going against humaneness. The rest reach it once in a day or once in a month, and that is all."

Ji Kangzi asked, "Can Zhong You be given a part in government?" The Master said, "You is a man of decision. What difficulty would he have in government?" "Can Ci (賜) be given a part in government?" "Ci sees into things. What difficulty would he have in government?" "Can Qiu (求) be given a part in government?" "Qiu is full of skill. What difficulty would he have in government?"

The Ji clan wanted to make Min Ziqian steward of Bi. Min Ziqian said, "Decline it well for me. If anyone comes for me again, I shall surely be up on the Wen."

Boniu fell sick. The Master went to ask after him, took his hand through the window, and said, "It cannot be. It is his fate! Such a man, and he has such a sickness! Such a man, and he has such a sickness!"

The Master said, "How worthy is Hui! One bowl of rice, one gourd of water, living in a mean lane. Others could not bear the misery of it, and Hui does not let it change his joy. How worthy is Hui!"

Ran Qiu said, "It is not that I do not delight in the Master's Way. My strength is not enough." The Master said, "The one whose strength is not enough stops halfway along the road. You are drawing your line before you start."

The Master said to Zixia, "Be a scholar of the noble kind. Do not be a scholar of the small kind."

Ziyou was made steward of Wucheng. The Master said, "Have you found a man there?" He answered, "There is one Tantai Mieming. He takes no short cuts when he walks, and he has never come to my room except on public business."

The Master said, "Meng Zhifan does not boast. When the army fled he held the rear, and as he was about to enter the gate he whipped his horse and said, 'It was not that I dared to stay behind. My horse would not go forward.'"

The Master said, "Without the ready tongue of Zhu Tuo, and with only the good looks of Song Chao, it is hard to keep out of trouble in the world of today."

The Master said, "Who can go out except by the door? Why then does no one go by this Way?"

The Master said, "When substance beats polish, the man is rustic. When polish beats substance, the man is a clerk. Only when polish and substance are in balance is he a noble man."

The Master said, "A man lives by being straight. The crooked man who lives on has only been spared by luck."

The Master said, "Knowing a thing is not as good as loving it, and loving it is not as good as delighting in it."

The Master said, "To those above the middle sort you may speak of higher things. To those below the middle sort you may not speak of higher things."

Fanchi asked about wisdom. The Master said, "To work at what is right for the people, and to revere the spirits and keep them at a distance, may be called wisdom." He asked about humaneness. The Master said, "The humane man takes the hard part first and the gain after. That may be called humaneness."

The Master said, "The wise delight in water, the humane delight in mountains. The wise move, the humane are still. The wise live in joy, the humane live long."

The Master said, "Let Qi change once and it reaches Lu. Let Lu change once and it reaches the Way."

The Master said, "A gu (觚) with no corners. Is that a gu? Is that a gu?"

Zai Wo asked, "If someone tells a humane man, 'A person has fallen into the well,' will he go in after him?" The Master said, "Why would he do that? A noble man may be made to go, but not to fall in. He may be deceived, but he cannot be made a fool of by what does not stand to reason."

The Master said, "If the noble man learns widely in letters and holds himself in by ritual, he may also keep from going astray."

The Master saw Nanzi (南子), and Zilu was not pleased. The Master swore to him, "If there is anything wrong in me, may Heaven turn from me! May Heaven turn from me!"

The Master said, "The virtue of the mean, how high it is! And it has long been rare among the people."

Zigong said, "If a man could give broadly to the people and bring help to the many, what of him? Could he be called humane?" The Master said, "Why stop at humane? Surely he would be a sage. Even Yao and Shun found this hard. The humane man, wishing to stand himself, helps others to stand. Wishing to arrive himself, he helps others to arrive. To be able to take what is near at hand as a likeness, that may be called the way to humaneness."