Book 14 · Xian Wen 憲問
14.1
憲問恥。
子曰：「邦有道穀，邦無道穀，恥也。」
Xian1 asked about shame.
The Master said, “When the state has the Way, to draw a salary; when the state is without the Way, to draw a salary: that is shameful.”
14.2
「克伐怨欲，不行焉，可以為仁矣。」
子曰：「可以為難矣，仁則吾不知也。」
“If a man refrains from love of winning, boasting, resentment, and greed, can that be counted humaneness?”2
The Master said, “It can be counted hard. Whether it is humaneness I do not know.”
14.3
子曰：「士而懷居，不足以為士矣！」
The Master said, “A man of service who cherishes his comforts is not worthy to be a man of service!”
14.4
子曰：「邦有道，危言危行；
邦無道，危行言孫。」
The Master said, “When the state has the Way, speak boldly and act boldly;
when the state is without the Way, act boldly but speak with deference.”
14.5
子曰：「有德者必有言，有言者不必有德。
仁者必有勇，勇者不必有仁。」
The Master said, “One who has virtue is sure to have something to say, but one who has something to say does not necessarily have virtue.
The humane are sure to have courage, but the courageous do not necessarily have humaneness.”
14.6
南宮适問於孔子曰：「羿善射，奡盪舟，俱不得其死然。
禹稷躬稼而有天下。」
夫子不答。
南宮适出，子曰：「君子哉若人！
尚德哉若人！」
Nangong Kuo asked Confucius, “Yi was a fine archer, and Ao could push a boat over dry land, yet neither died a natural death.
Yu and Ji worked the fields with their own hands and came to possess the world.”3
The Master did not answer.
When Nangong Kuo had gone out, the Master said, “What a gentleman this man is!
How he honors virtue, this man!”
14.7
子曰：「君子而不仁者有矣夫，未有小人而仁者也。」
The Master said, “There are gentlemen who are not humane, but there has never been a petty man who was humane.”
14.8
子曰：「愛之，能勿勞乎？
忠焉，能勿誨乎？」
The Master said, “If you love someone, can you fail to work him hard?
If you are conscientious toward someone, can you fail to instruct him?”
14.9
子曰：「為命：裨諶草創之，世叔討論之，行人子羽修飾之，東里子產潤色之。」
The Master said, “In drafting a state document, Pi Chen made the first draft, Shishu examined and discussed it, Ziyu the master of envoys polished it, and Zichan of Dongli gave it its final luster.”4
14.10
或問「子產」，子曰：「惠人也。」
問「子西」，曰：「彼哉彼哉！」
問「管仲」，曰：「人也，奪伯氏駢邑三百，飯疏食，沒齒無怨言。」
Someone asked about Zichan. The Master said, “A generous man.”
He asked about Zixi.5 The Master said, “That one! That one!”
He asked about Guan Zhong. The Master said, “A real man. He took three hundred households of the town of Pian from the head of the Bo family, who lived on coarse rice and to the end of his days spoke no word of resentment.”
14.11
子曰：「貧而無怨難，富而無驕易。」
The Master said, “To be poor without resentment is hard; to be rich without arrogance is easy.”
14.12
子曰：「孟公綽為趙魏老則優，不可以為滕薛大夫。」
The Master said, “Meng Gongchuo6 would be more than equal to being chief retainer of the Zhao or the Wei, but he could not be a high officer of Teng or Xue.”
14.13
子路問「成人」。
子曰：「若臧武仲之知，公綽之不欲，卞莊子之勇，冉求之藝，文之以禮樂，亦可以為成人矣！」
曰：「今之成人者，何必然？
見利思義，見危授命，久要不忘平生之言，亦可以為成人矣！」
Zilu asked about the complete man.
The Master said, “Take the wisdom of Zang Wuzhong, the freedom from desire of Gongchuo, the courage of Zhuangzi of Bian, and the accomplishments of Ran Qiu,7 refine them with ritual and music, and he can be counted a complete man!”
He said, “But for a complete man today, why must it be so?
One who at the sight of gain thinks of what is right, who in the face of danger is ready to give his life, and who does not forget the words of his whole life, however long ago the promise was made, can be counted a complete man!”
14.14
子問「公叔文子」於公明賈，曰：「信乎？
夫子不言不笑不取乎？」
公明賈對曰：「以告者過也！
夫子時然後言，人不厭其言；
樂然後笑，人不厭其笑；
義然後取，人不厭其取。」
子曰：「其然！
豈其然乎？」
The Master asked Gongming Jia about Gongshu Wenzi,8 saying, “Is it true?
Your master did not speak, did not laugh, and did not take?”
Gongming Jia replied, “Those who told you that went too far!
My master spoke when it was time, so no one tired of his speaking;
he laughed when he was happy, so no one tired of his laughing;
he took when it was right, so no one tired of his taking.”
The Master said, “So that is how it was!
But could it really have been so?”
14.15
子曰：「臧武仲以防，求為後於魯，雖曰不要君，吾不信也。」
The Master said, “Zang Wuzhong held Fang and from there asked that an heir of his be appointed in Lu. Though they say he did not coerce his ruler, I do not believe it.”9
14.16
子曰：「晉文公譎而不正，齊桓公正而不譎。」
The Master said, “Duke Wen of Jin was crafty and not correct; Duke Huan of Qi was correct and not crafty.”10
14.17
子路曰：「桓公殺公子糾，召忽死之，管仲不死。」
曰：「未仁乎！」
子曰：「桓公九合諸侯，不以兵車，管仲之力也。
如其仁！
如其仁！」
Zilu said, “When Duke Huan killed Prince Jiu, Shao Hu died for him, but Guan Zhong did not die.”
He said, “Was he not lacking in humaneness?”
The Master said, “Duke Huan gathered the lords together nine times, and not by force of war chariots. That was Guan Zhong’s doing.
Such was his humaneness!
Such was his humaneness!”11
14.18
子貢曰：「管仲非仁者與？
桓公殺公子糾，不能死，又相之。」
子曰：「管仲相桓公，霸諸侯，一匡天下，民到于今受其賜。
微管仲，吾其被髮左衽矣！
豈若匹夫匹婦之為諒也，自經於溝瀆，而莫之知也！」
Zigong said, “Surely Guan Zhong was not humane?
When Duke Huan killed Prince Jiu, he could not die for him, and what is more, he became Duke Huan’s chief minister.”
The Master said, “Guan Zhong as chief minister to Duke Huan made him leader of the lords and set the whole world in order, and down to this day the people receive the benefit.
Were it not for Guan Zhong, we would be wearing our hair loose and folding our robes to the left!12
Would he do as a common man or woman does for the sake of petty faithfulness, and hang himself in a ditch with no one ever knowing?”
14.19
公叔文子之臣大夫僎，與文子同升諸公。
子聞之曰：「可以為文矣！」
The high officer Zhuan, who had been a retainer of Gongshu Wenzi, rose with Wenzi to the duke’s court.
Hearing of it, the Master said, “He deserved to be called Wen!”
14.20
子言衛靈公之無道也，康子曰：「夫如是，奚而不喪？」
孔子曰：「仲叔圉治賓客，祝鮀治宗廟，王孫賈治軍旅，夫如是，奚其喪？」
The Master spoke of Duke Ling of Wei’s lack of the Way. Kangzi said, “If he is like that, why has he not lost his state?”
Confucius said, “Zhongshu Yu attends to guests and envoys, the priest Tuo attends to the ancestral temple, and Wangsun Jia attends to the army. With men like these, how should he lose it?”
14.21
子曰：「其言之不怍，則為之也難！」
The Master said, “One who speaks without shame will find it hard to live up to his words!”
14.22
陳成子弒簡公。
孔子沐浴而朝，告於哀公曰：「陳恒弒其君，請討之。」
公曰：「告夫三子。」
孔子曰：「以吾從大夫之後，不敢不告也！
君曰『告夫三子』者！」
之三子告，不可。
孔子曰：「以吾從大夫之後，不敢不告也！」
Chen Chengzi murdered Duke Jian.13
Confucius bathed and went to court, and reported to Duke Ai, “Chen Heng has murdered his ruler. I ask that you send a punitive force against him.”
The duke said, “Report it to the three lords.”
Confucius said, “Because I follow in the rank of high officer, I did not dare not to report it!
And my ruler says, ‘Report it to the three lords’!”
He went to the three lords and reported it, and they would not.
Confucius said, “Because I follow in the rank of high officer, I did not dare not to report it!”
14.23
子路問「事君」。
子曰：「勿欺也，而犯之。」
Zilu asked about serving a ruler.
The Master said, “Do not deceive him, but stand up to him.”
14.24
子曰：「君子上達，小人下達。」
The Master said, “The gentleman goes upward to what is high; the petty man goes downward to what is low.”
14.25
子曰：「古之學者為己，今之學者為人。」
The Master said, “The learners of old learned for their own sake; the learners of today learn for the sake of others.”
14.26
蘧伯玉使人於孔子，孔子與之坐而問焉。
曰：「夫子何為？」
對曰：「夫子欲寡其過而未能也。」
使者出。
子曰：「使乎！
使乎！」
Qu Boyu14 sent a messenger to Confucius. Confucius sat with him and asked,
“What is your master doing?”
He replied, “My master wishes to make his faults fewer, but he has not yet been able to.”
The messenger went out.
The Master said, “What a messenger!
What a messenger!”
14.27
子曰：「不在其位，不謀其政。」
The Master said, “One who does not hold the office does not plan its government.”
14.28
曾子曰：「君子思不出其位。」
Master Zeng said, “The gentleman’s thoughts do not go beyond his office.”
14.29
子曰：「君子恥其言而過其行。」
The Master said, “The gentleman is ashamed when his words outrun his deeds.”
14.30
子曰：「君子道者三，我無能焉：仁者不憂，知者不惑，勇者不懼。」
子貢曰：「夫子自道也！」
The Master said, “There are three things in the Way of the gentleman, and I am capable of none of them: the humane do not worry, the wise are not perplexed, the brave do not fear.”
Zigong said, “The Master is speaking of himself!”
14.31
子貢方人。
子曰：「賜也，賢乎哉？
夫我則不暇！」
Zigong was in the habit of comparing people.
The Master said, “Ci, you must be very worthy!
I have no time for that!”
14.32
子曰：「不患人之不己知，患其不能也。」
The Master said, “Do not worry that others do not know you; worry that you lack ability.”
14.33
子曰：「不逆詐，不億不信。
抑亦先覺者，是賢乎？」
The Master said, “Not to anticipate deceit and not to presume bad faith,
yet to be the first to see it, is that not worthiness?”
14.34
微生畝謂孔子曰：「丘何為是栖栖者與？
無乃為佞乎？」
孔子曰：「非敢為佞也，疾固也。」
Weisheng Mu15 said to Confucius, “Qiu, why are you forever bustling about like this?
Is it not to show off your glibness?”
Confucius said, “I would not dare to be glib. It is that I hate obstinacy.”
14.35
子曰：「驥不稱其力，稱其德也。」
The Master said, “A fine horse is not praised for its strength but for its virtue.”
14.36
或曰：「以德報怨，何如？」
子曰：「何以報德？
以直報怨，以德報德。」
Someone said, “To repay resentment with virtue, what of that?”
The Master said, “Then with what would you repay virtue?
Repay resentment with uprightness, and repay virtue with virtue.”
14.37
子曰：「莫我知也夫！」
子貢曰：「何為其莫知子也？」
子曰：「不怨天，不尤人，下學而上達。
知我者，其天乎！」
The Master said, “No one knows me!”
Zigong said, “Why is it that no one knows you?”
The Master said, “I do not resent Heaven, I do not blame men. I learn what is below and reach up to what is above.
The one who knows me, is it not Heaven?”
14.38
公伯寮愬子路於季孫，子服景伯以告曰：「夫子固有惑志於公伯寮，吾力猶能肆諸市朝。」
子曰：「道之將行也與？
命也！
道之將廢也與？
命也！
公伯寮其如命何！」
Gongbo Liao spoke against Zilu to Ji Sun. Zifu Jingbo16 reported it, saying, “My master has certainly been led astray by Gongbo Liao, but I still have strength enough to have his corpse displayed in the marketplace.”
The Master said, “If the Way is to prevail,
it is fate!
If the Way is to be cast aside,
it is fate!
What can Gongbo Liao do against fate?”
14.39
子曰：「賢者辟世，其次辟地，其次辟色，其次辟言。」
The Master said, “The worthiest withdraw from the world; the next withdraw from a place; the next withdraw from a look; the next withdraw from a word.”
14.40
子曰：「作者七人矣！」
The Master said, “Seven men have done this!”17
14.41
子路宿於石門。
晨門曰：「奚自？」
子路曰：「自孔氏。」
曰：「是知其不可而為之者與？」
Zilu spent the night at Shimen.
The gatekeeper said, “Where are you from?”
Zilu said, “From the house of Kong.”
He said, “Is that the one who knows it cannot be done and does it anyway?”
14.42
子擊磬於衛。
有荷蕢而過孔氏之門者，曰：「有心哉，擊磬乎！」
既而曰：「鄙哉，硜硜乎！
莫己知也，斯已而已矣！
『深則厲，淺則揭。』」
子曰：「果哉！
末之難矣！」
The Master was playing the stone chimes in Wei.
A man carrying a basket passed the gate of the house of Kong and said, “There is heart in that playing of the chimes!”
After a while he said, “How vulgar, that ding, ding!
When no one knows you, then just stop, that is all!
‘Where the water is deep, wade in your clothes; where it is shallow, hitch them up.’”18
The Master said, “How decisive!
There is nothing hard in that!”
14.43
子張曰：「書云：『高宗諒陰，三年不言』何謂也？」
子曰：「何必高宗？
古之人皆然。
君薨，百官總己以聽於冢宰三年。」
Zizhang said, “The Documents say, ‘Gaozong, in the mourning hut, did not speak for three years.’19 What does that mean?”
The Master said, “Why only Gaozong?
The men of old all did so.
When the ruler died, all the officials attended to their own duties and took their orders from the chief minister for three years.”
14.44
子曰：「上好禮，則民易使也。」
The Master said, “When those above love ritual, the people are easy to employ.”
14.45
子路問「君子」。
子曰：「修己以敬。」
曰：「如斯而已乎？」
曰：「修己以安人。」
曰：「如斯而已乎？」
曰：「修己以安百姓。
修己以安百姓，堯舜其猶病諸。」
Zilu asked about the gentleman.
The Master said, “He cultivates himself in reverence.”
He said, “Is that all?”
He said, “He cultivates himself to bring peace to others.”
He said, “Is that all?”
He said, “He cultivates himself to bring peace to the common people.
To cultivate oneself to bring peace to the common people, even Yao and Shun found that hard.”
14.46
原壤夷俟。
子曰：「幼而不孫弟，長而無述焉，老而不死是為賊。」
以杖叩其脛。
Yuan Rang20 sat waiting with his legs sprawled.
The Master said, “As a child not humble or respectful to elders, grown up and with nothing worth mentioning, old and still not dead: this is a pest.”
He tapped him on the shin with his staff.
14.47
闕黨，童子將命。
或問之曰：「益者與？」
子曰：「吾見其居於位也，見其與先生並行也；
非求益者也，欲速成者也。」
A boy from the village of Que was carrying messages.
Someone asked about him, “Is he one who is making progress?”
The Master said, “I see him sitting in a grown man’s place, and I see him walking side by side with his elders;
he is not one seeking progress, but one in a hurry to be grown.”
Notes
1. Yuan Xian, Yuan Si (6.3).
2. The question has no speaker in the Chinese; Zhu Xi takes it as Xian’s, continuing 14.1.
3. Yi, a legendary archer and usurper of the Xia; Ao, a strongman of the same age; both were killed. Ji, Lord Millet, the ancestor of the Zhou, taught farming. Nangong Kuo is Nan Rong (5.1).
4. Pi Chen, Shishu (You Ji), and Ziyu (Gongsun Hui) were officers of Zheng under Zichan. Dongli was where Zichan lived.
5. Probably Gongsun Xia, a minister of Zheng, Zichan’s kinsman; some say Prince Shen of Chu.
6. A high officer of Lu, of the Meng family. Zhao and Wei were great families of Jin; Teng and Xue were small states.
7. Zang Wuzhong, a high officer of Lu known for his cleverness; Zhuangzi, a warrior of the town of Bian in Lu.
8. Gongsun Ba, a high officer of Wei, given the posthumous name Wen; Gongming Jia was of his household.
9. Fang was Zang Wuzhong’s fief. After he fled Lu in 550 BC, he held it while he asked that a member of his family succeed him.
10. Duke Wen of Jin (reigned 636–628 BC) and Duke Huan of Qi (reigned 685–643 BC), the two great hegemons of the Spring and Autumn period.
11. Prince Jiu was Duke Huan’s half brother and rival for the throne of Qi. Guan Zhong and Shao Hu had served him; after his death Shao Hu killed himself, and Guan Zhong took service with Duke Huan.
12. Marks of the barbarians, who did not dress their hair or fold their robes right over left.
13. Chen Heng, a minister of Qi, killed Duke Jian of Qi in 481 BC.
14. Qu Yuan, a high officer of Wei, with whom Confucius lodged in Wei.
15. A recluse, perhaps an older man, since he calls Confucius by his personal name.
16. Gongbo Liao, a retainer of the Ji, said by some to have been a disciple; Zifu Jingbo, a high officer of Lu.
17. Who the seven were, and what they did, is not known; this is commonly read with 14.39 as withdrawal from the world.
18. Lines of the ode “Pao You Ku Ye” in the Songs.
19. Gaozong, King Wu Ding of the Shang; the line is in the “Wu Yi” chapter of the Documents.
20. An old acquaintance of Confucius.