The Analects of Confucius | Page 5

Tsze-kung
said, 'What do you pronounce concerning the poor man who yet does not flatter, and the
rich man who is not proud?' The Master replied, 'They will do; but they are not equal to
him, who, though poor, is yet cheerful, and to him, who, though rich, loves the rules of
propriety.' 2. Tsze-kung replied, 'It is said in the Book of Poetry, "As you cut and then
file, as you carve and then polish."-- The meaning is the same, I apprehend, as that which
you have just expressed.' 3. The Master said, 'With one like Ts'ze, I can begin to talk
about the odes. I told him one point, and he knew its proper sequence.' CHAP. XVI. The
Master said, 'I will not be afflicted at men's not knowing me; I will be afflicted that I do

not know men.'
BOOK II. WEI CHANG.
CHAP. I. The Master said, 'He who exercises government by means of his virtue may be
compared to the north polar star, which keeps its place and all the stars turn towards it.'
CHAP. II. The Master said, 'In the Book of Poetry are three hundred pieces, but the
design of them all may be embraced in one sentence-- "Having no depraved thoughts."'
CHAP. III. 1. The Master said, 'If the people be led by laws, and uniformity sought to be
given them by punishments, they will try to avoid the punishment, but have no sense of
shame. 2. 'If they be led by virtue, and uniformity sought to be given them by the rules of
propriety, they will have the sense of shame, and moreover will become good.' CHAP. IV.
1. The Master said, 'At fifteen, I had my mind bent on learning. 2. 'At thirty, I stood firm.
3. 'At forty, I had no doubts. 4. 'At fifty, I knew the decrees of Heaven.
5. 'At sixty, my ear was an obedient organ for the reception of truth. 6. 'At seventy, I
could follow what my heart desired, without transgressing what was right.' CHAP. V. 1.
Mang I asked what filial piety was. The Master said, 'It is not being disobedient.' 2. Soon
after, as Fan Ch'ih was driving him, the Master told him, saying, 'Mang-sun asked me
what filial piety was, and I answered him,-- "not being disobedient."' 3. Fan Ch'ih said,
'What did you mean?' The Master replied, 'That parents, when alive, be served according
to propriety; that, when dead, they should be buried according to propriety; and that they
should be sacrificed to according to propriety.'
CHAP. VI. Mang Wu asked what filial piety was. The Master said, 'Parents are anxious
lest their children should be sick.' CHAP. VII. Tsze-yu asked what filial piety was. The
Master said, 'The filial piety of now-a-days means the support of one's parents. But dogs
and horses likewise are able to do something in the way of support;-- without reverence,
what is there to distinguish the one support given from the other?' CHAP. VIII. Tsze-hsia
asked what filial piety was. The Master said, 'The difficulty is with the countenance. If,
when their elders have any troublesome affairs, the young take the toil of them, and if,
when the young have wine and food, they set them before their elders, is THIS to be
considered filial piety?'
CHAP. IX. The Master said, 'I have talked with Hui for a whole day, and he has not made
any objection to anything I said;-- as if he were stupid. He has retired, and I have
examined his conduct when away from me, and found him able to illustrate my teachings.
Hui!-- He is not stupid.' CHAP. X. 1. The Master said, 'See what a man does. 2. 'Mark his
motives. 3. 'Examine in what things he rests. 4. 'How can a man conceal his character? 5.
How can a man conceal his character?' CHAP. XI. The Master said, 'If a man keeps
cherishing his old knowledge, so as continually to be acquiring new, he may be a teacher
of others.'
CHAP. XII. The Master said, 'The accomplished scholar is not a utensil.' CHAP. XIII.
Tsze-kung asked what constituted the superior man. The Master said, 'He acts before he
speaks, and afterwards speaks according to his actions.' CHAP. XIV. The Master said,
'The superior man is catholic and no partisan. The mean man is partisan and not catholic.'

CHAP. XV. The Master said, 'Learning without thought is labour lost; thought without
learning is perilous.' CHAP. XVI. The Master said, 'The study of strange doctrines is
injurious indeed!'
CHAP. XVII. The Master said, 'Yu, shall I teach you what knowledge is? When you
know a thing, to hold that you know it; and when you do not know a thing, to allow that
you do not know it;-- this is