Those Who Came First先進第十一

The Master said, "Those who came first to ritual and music are called rustics. Those who came to them later are called noble men. But if I were to use them, I would follow those who came first."

The Master said, "Of those who followed me in Chen and Cai, not one is left at my gate." In virtuous conduct there were Yan Yuan, Min Ziqian, Ran Boniu, and Zhonggong. In speech there were Zai Wo and Zigong. In government there were Ran You and Ji Lu. In letters there were Ziyou and Zixia.

The Master said, "Hui is no help to me. There is nothing I say that does not please him."

The Master said, "How filial Min Ziqian is! No one can find fault with what his parents and his brothers say in praise of him."

Nanrong repeated the poem Baigui (白圭) three times a day, and Confucius gave him his elder brother's daughter in marriage.

Ji Kangzi asked, "Which of your disciples loves learning?" Confucius answered, "There was one named Yan Hui who loved learning. His life was short, and he died. Now there is no one."

When Yan Yuan died, Yan Lu asked for the Master's carriage, to make an outer coffin with it. The Master said, "Gifted or not, each man speaks of his own son. When Li (鯉) died, he had a coffin but no outer coffin. I did not go on foot in order to give him an outer coffin. Since I follow in the train of the high officers, I cannot go on foot."

When Yan Yuan died, the Master said, "Alas! Heaven is destroying me! Heaven is destroying me!"

When Yan Yuan died, the Master wailed for him beyond measure. One of those with him said, "Master, you are wailing beyond measure." He said, "Am I? If I do not wail beyond measure for this man, for whom shall I?"

When Yan Yuan died, the disciples wanted to bury him richly. The Master said, "You must not." They buried him richly all the same. The Master said, "Hui looked on me as a father, and I have not been able to look on him as a son. It is not my doing. It is these few men."

Ji Lu asked about serving the spirits. The Master said, "We are not yet able to serve men. How can we serve the spirits?" "May I ask about death?" The Master said, "We do not yet know life. How can we know death?"

Minzi, in attendance at his side, was mild and clear. Zilu was bold. Ran You and Zigong were firm and direct. The Master was pleased. "A man like You, I fear, will not die a natural death."

The men of Lu were rebuilding the Changfu (長府) treasury. Min Ziqian said, "Why not keep to the old way? Must it be rebuilt?" The Master said, "That man seldom speaks, but when he speaks he hits the mark."

The Master said, "Why is You playing that zither at my gate?" The disciples then ceased to respect Zilu. The Master said, "You has climbed to the hall. He has only not yet entered the inner room."

Zigong asked, "Which is the better man, Shi (師) or Shang (商)?" The Master said, "Shi goes too far, and Shang falls short." "Then is Shi the better?" The Master said, "Going too far is the same as falling short."

The Ji family was richer than the Duke of Zhou, and Qiu (求) gathered taxes for them and added to their wealth. The Master said, "He is no disciple of mine. My young friends, beat the drum and denounce him. That would be right."

Chai (柴) is simple. Shen (參) is slow. Shi (師) is one-sided. You (由) is rough.

The Master said, "Hui came near to it, and he was often without food. Ci (賜) did not accept his lot but made money, and his guesses often hit the mark."

Zizhang asked about the way of the good man (善人). The Master said, "If he does not tread in the footsteps, he does not enter the inner room either."

The Master said, "If we side with a man because his words are solid, is he a noble man, or is he only grave in appearance?"

Zilu asked, "Should I act as soon as I hear something?" The Master said, "Your father and elder brothers are alive. How can you act as soon as you hear it?" Ran You asked, "Should I act as soon as I hear something?" The Master said, "Act as soon as you hear it." Gongxi Hua said, "When You asked, 'Should I act as soon as I hear it?' you said, 'Your father and elder brothers are alive.' When Qiu asked, 'Should I act as soon as I hear it?' you said, 'Act as soon as you hear it.' I am puzzled, and I venture to ask." The Master said, "Qiu holds back, so I urged him forward. You outruns other men, so I held him back."

When the Master was in danger at Kuang, Yan Yuan fell behind. The Master said, "I thought you were dead." Yan Yuan said, "While you are alive, how would Hui dare to die?"

Ji Ziran asked, "Can Zhong You and Ran Qiu be called great ministers?" The Master said, "I thought you would ask about something else, and you ask about You and Qiu. What is called a great minister serves his lord by the Way, and when that is not possible he stops. As for You and Qiu, they can be called ministers who fill out the number." "Then would they follow orders in anything?" The Master said, "In the killing of a father or a lord they would not follow."

Zilu made Zigao the head of the town of Bi. The Master said, "You are ruining another man's son." Zilu said, "There are people there and there are altars of the land and grain. Why must a man read books before he can be said to learn?" The Master said, "This is why I hate a glib tongue."

Zilu, Zeng Xi, Ran You, and Gongxi Hua were sitting with the Master. The Master said, "Do not hold back because I am a day older than you. At home you say, 'No one knows me.' If someone did know you, what would you do?" Zilu answered at once, "Give me a state of a thousand chariots, hemmed in between great states, invaded by armies and then struck by famine. If I governed it, in about three years I could make the people brave and make them know the right course as well." The Master smiled. "Qiu, what about you?" "Give me a land of sixty or seventy li square, or of fifty or sixty. If I governed it, in about three years I could make the people well provided. As for ritual and music, I would wait for a noble man." "Chi, what about you?" "I do not say I can do it, but I wish to learn. In the services of the ancestral temple, and at the gatherings of the lords, I would like to wear the ceremonial robe and cap and be a minor assistant." "Dian, what about you?" The sound of his zither died away, and with a ringing note he set the zither down, rose, and answered, "What I would say is not like what these three have said." The Master said, "What harm is there in that? Each is only speaking his own mind." He said, "In late spring, when the spring clothes are ready, with five or six capped men and six or seven boys, I would bathe in the Yi, take the breeze at Wuyu, and come home singing." The Master sighed deeply and said, "I am with Dian!" The three went out, and Zeng Xi stayed behind. Zeng Xi said, "What of what those three said?" The Master said, "Each was only speaking his own mind." "Why did you smile at You?" "A state is governed by ritual, and his words were not modest. That is why I smiled." "Was what Qiu spoke of not a state?" "Where have you seen a land of sixty or seventy li square, or of fifty or sixty, that is not a state?" "Was what Chi spoke of not a state?" "The ancestral temple and the gatherings of the lords — whose business is that but a lord's? If Chi is to be a minor assistant, who can be a great one?"