Yan Yuan顏淵第十二

Yan Yuan asked about humaneness. The Master said, "To master yourself and return to ritual is humaneness. If for one day a man masters himself and returns to ritual, all under Heaven will turn to humaneness. Humaneness comes from oneself. Could it come from others?" Yan Yuan said, "May I ask what it takes?" The Master said, "Do not look at what is against ritual. Do not listen to what is against ritual. Do not speak what is against ritual. Do not stir at what is against ritual." Yan Yuan said, "Though Hui is slow, he will work at these words."

Zhonggong asked about humaneness. The Master said, "Outside your gate, act as though you were meeting a great guest. In setting the people to work, act as though you were serving at a great sacrifice. Do not do to others what you do not want for yourself. Then there will be no resentment in the state and no resentment in the household." Zhonggong said, "Though Yong is slow, he will work at these words."

Sima Niu asked about humaneness. The Master said, "The humane man is careful in his words." He said, "If a man is careful in his words, is he then called humane?" The Master said, "It is hard to do. How could a man speak of it without care?"

Sima Niu asked about the noble man. The Master said, "The noble man does not grieve and does not fear." He said, "If a man does not grieve and does not fear, is he then called a noble man?" The Master said, "He looks within and finds nothing to blame. What is there to grieve over, what is there to fear?"

Sima Niu said in grief, "Other men all have brothers. I alone have none." Zixia said, "I have heard this: 'Death and life are fixed by fate, wealth and rank rest with Heaven.' If the noble man is reverent and lets nothing slip, and is courteous to others and keeps to ritual, then all within the four seas are his brothers. Why should the noble man grieve at having no brothers?"

Zizhang asked about clear sight. The Master said, "When slander that seeps in like water and pleading that presses on the skin do not get through, a man may be called clear sighted. When slander that seeps in like water and pleading that presses on the skin do not get through, a man may be called far sighted."

Zigong asked about government. The Master said, "Enough food, enough arms, and the people's trust." Zigong said, "If one of the three had to go, which should be given up first?" The Master said, "Give up the arms." Zigong said, "If one of the two had to go, which should be given up first?" The Master said, "Give up the food. From of old there has always been death, but without the trust of the people nothing stands."

Ji Zicheng said, "The noble man needs only substance. What use has he for adornment?" Zigong said, "What a pity that you should speak so of the noble man. A team of four horses cannot catch the tongue. Adornment matters as much as substance, and substance as much as adornment. Strip the hair from the hide of a tiger or a leopard, and it is like the hide of a dog or a sheep."

Duke Ai asked You Ruo, "The harvest has failed and I do not have enough for my needs. What should I do?" You Ruo answered, "Why not take one part in ten?" The Duke said, "Two parts in ten are still not enough for me. How could I take one?" You Ruo answered, "If the people have enough, with whom will my lord lack? If the people do not have enough, with whom will my lord have enough?"

Zizhang asked how to raise virtue high and how to tell delusion apart. The Master said, "Hold to loyalty and trust, and move toward what is right. That raises virtue high. When you love a man you want him to live, and when you hate him you want him to die. To want him to live and then to want him to die, that is delusion." (Truly it is not for riches, it is only for the sake of something new.)

Duke Jing of Qi asked Confucius about government. Confucius answered, "Let the ruler be a ruler, the minister a minister, the father a father, the son a son." The Duke said, "Well said. Truly, if the ruler is not a ruler, the minister not a minister, the father not a father, the son not a son, then though there be grain, shall I get to eat it?"

The Master said, "The man who can settle a case after hearing one side alone, that is You!" Zilu never let a promise wait overnight.

The Master said, "In hearing lawsuits I am no better than other men. What is needed is to bring it about that there are no lawsuits at all."

Zizhang asked about government. The Master said, "In office, never grow slack. In what you do, act with a loyal heart."

The Master said, "Learn widely in letters and hold yourself in by ritual, and you may also keep from going astray."

The Master said, "The noble man brings out what is beautiful in others and does not bring out what is bad in them. The small man does the opposite."

Ji Kangzi asked Confucius about government. Confucius answered, "To govern (政) is to set straight (正). If you lead them with what is straight, who will dare not to be straight?"

Ji Kangzi was troubled by thieves and asked Confucius about it. Confucius answered, "If you yourself truly did not covet, the people would not steal even if you paid them to."

Ji Kangzi asked Confucius about government and said, "What if I put the lawless to death and so draw the people toward the Way?" Confucius answered, "You are governing. What need have you of killing? If you desire what is good, the people will be good. The virtue of the noble man is the wind, and the virtue of the small man is the grass. When the wind blows over the grass, the grass must bend."

Zizhang asked, "What must a gentleman be like to be called one who has got through?" The Master said, "What do you mean by getting through?" Zizhang answered, "To be talked about in the state and talked about in the household." The Master said, "That is being talked about, not getting through. To get through is to be straight in substance and to love what is right, to weigh men's words and watch their faces, and to think of putting oneself below others. Such a man gets through in the state and gets through in the household. To be talked about is to take on the look of humaneness while acting against it, and to live that way without a doubt. Such a man is talked about in the state and talked about in the household."

Fanchi was walking with the Master below the Wuyu altar and said, "May I ask how to raise virtue high, how to mend what is crooked in oneself, and how to tell delusion apart?" The Master said, "A good question! To put the work first and the gain after, is that not raising virtue high? To attack the bad in oneself and not attack the bad in others, is that not mending what is crooked? In the anger of one morning to forget yourself, and to bring harm even upon your parents, is that not delusion?"

Fanchi asked about humaneness. The Master said, "Love others." He asked about knowing. The Master said, "Know others." Fanchi did not take his meaning. The Master said, "Raise up the straight and set them above the crooked, and you can make the crooked straight." Fanchi withdrew, went to see Zixia, and said, "A while ago I saw the Master and asked about knowing. He said, 'Raise up the straight and set them above the crooked, and you can make the crooked straight.' What does that mean?" Zixia said, "How rich those words are! When Shun held all under Heaven, he chose from among the many and raised up Gao Yao, and those who were not humane kept their distance. When Tang held all under Heaven, he chose from among the many and raised up Yi Yin, and those who were not humane kept their distance."

Zigong asked about friends. The Master said, "Tell them the truth in good faith and lead them well, but if that fails, stop, and do not bring shame on yourself."

Zengzi said, "The noble man gathers friends through learning, and through his friends he helps humaneness grow."