Book 18 · Weizi 微子
18.1
微子去之，箕子為之奴，比干諫而死。
孔子曰：「殷有三仁焉！」
The Viscount of Wei left him, the Viscount of Ji became a slave, and Bi Gan remonstrated and died.1
Confucius said, “The Yin had three humane men!”
18.2
柳下惠為士師，三黜。
人曰：「子未可以去乎？」
曰：「直道而事人，焉往而不三黜！
枉道而事人，何必去父母之邦！」
Liuxia Hui served as chief judge and was dismissed three times.
Someone said, “Is it not time for you to leave?”
He said, “If I serve others by the straight Way, where could I go and not be dismissed three times?
If I serve others by a crooked way, why should I leave the land of my father and mother?”
18.3
齊景公待孔子曰：「若季氏則吾不能，以季、孟之間待之。」
曰：「吾老矣。
不能用也。」
孔子行。
Duke Jing of Qi, discussing how to treat Confucius, said, “I cannot treat him as the Ji are treated in Lu. I will treat him as between the Ji and the Meng.”
Then he said, “I am old.
I cannot make use of him.”
Confucius left.
18.4
齊人歸女樂，季桓子受之，三日不朝，孔子行。
The men of Qi sent a present of singing girls. Ji Huanzi2 accepted them, and for three days no court was held. Confucius left.
18.5
楚狂接輿，歌而過孔子曰：「鳳兮！
鳳兮！
何德之衰？
往者不可諫，來者猶可追。
已而！
已而！
今之從政者殆而！」
孔子下，欲與之言。
趨而辟之，不得與之言。
Jieyu, the madman of Chu,3 passed Confucius, singing, “Phoenix!
Phoenix!
How your virtue has declined!
What is past cannot be corrected; what is to come can still be caught up with.
Give it up!
Give it up!
Those in government today are in peril!”
Confucius got down, wanting to speak with him.
But he hurried off to avoid him, and Confucius could not speak with him.
18.6
長沮桀溺耦而耕。
孔子過之，使子路問津焉。
長沮曰：「夫執輿者為誰？」
子路曰：「為孔丘。」
曰：「是魯孔丘與？」
曰：「是也。」
曰：「是知津矣！」
問於桀溺，桀溺曰：「子為誰？」
曰：「為仲由。」
曰：「是魯孔丘之徒與？」
對曰：「然。」
曰：「滔滔者，天下皆是也，而誰以易之？
且而與其從辟人之士也，豈若從辟世之士哉？」
耰而不輟。
子路行以告，夫子憮然曰：「鳥獸不可與同群，吾非斯人之徒與而誰與？
天下有道，丘不與易也。」
Changju and Jieni4 were ploughing side by side.
Confucius passed by and sent Zilu to ask them where the ford was.
Changju said, “Who is that holding the reins?”
Zilu said, “That is Kong Qiu.”
He said, “Kong Qiu of Lu?”
He said, “Yes.”
He said, “Then he knows where the ford is!”
Zilu asked Jieni. Jieni said, “Who are you?”
He said, “I am Zhong You.”
He said, “A follower of Kong Qiu of Lu?”
He replied, “Yes.”
He said, “The whole world is a flood rushing on. Who is there to change it with?
And you, rather than follow a man who avoids this man and that, would you not do better to follow one who avoids the world?”
He went on covering the seed and did not stop.
Zilu went and reported this. The Master said, crestfallen, “One cannot flock with birds and beasts. If I am not to be with these, my fellow men, then with whom?
If the world had the Way, I would not be trying to change it.”
18.7
子路從而後，遇丈人，以杖荷蓧，子路問曰：「子見夫子乎？」
丈人曰：「四體不勤，五穀不分，孰為夫子！」
植其杖而芸。
子路拱而立。
止子路宿，殺雞為黍而食之，見其二子焉。
明日，子路行以告。
子曰：「隱者也。」
使子路反見之。
至，則行矣。
子路曰：「不仕無義，長幼之節，不可廢也。
君臣之義，如之何其廢之？
欲潔其身，而亂大倫。
君子之仕也，行其義也，道之不行，已知之矣！」
Zilu was following the Master and fell behind. He met an old man carrying a basket on his staff. Zilu asked, “Have you seen my Master?”
The old man said, “Your four limbs do no work, and you cannot tell the five grains apart. Who is your Master?”
He planted his staff in the ground and began to weed.
Zilu stood with his hands clasped.
The old man kept Zilu for the night, killed a chicken and cooked millet to feed him, and presented his two sons to him.
The next day Zilu went on and reported this.
The Master said, “He is a recluse.”
He had Zilu go back to see him.
When he arrived, the man had gone.
Zilu said, “Not to take office is not right. If the proper order between old and young cannot be set aside,
how can the duty between ruler and minister be set aside?
Wishing to keep himself clean, he throws the great relations of men into disorder.
The gentleman takes office to do what is right. That the Way does not prevail, he knows already!”
18.8
逸民：伯夷、叔齊、虞仲、夷逸、朱張、柳下惠、少連。
子曰：「不降其志，不辱其身，伯夷叔齊與？」
謂柳下惠、少連：「降志辱身矣；
言中倫，行中慮，其斯而已矣！」
謂虞仲、夷逸：「隱居放言，身中清，廢中權。」
「我則異於是，無可無不可。」
Men who withdrew from the world: Bo Yi, Shu Qi, Yu Zhong, Yi Yi, Zhu Zhang, Liuxia Hui, and Shao Lian.5
The Master said, “Not lowering their aims and not disgracing their persons: was that not Bo Yi and Shu Qi?”
He said of Liuxia Hui and Shao Lian, “They lowered their aims and disgraced their persons;
but their words kept to the proper order, and their conduct kept to what was well considered. That was all.”
He said of Yu Zhong and Yi Yi, “They lived in seclusion and spoke freely; in their persons they kept clean, and in withdrawing they weighed the times.”
“I am different from all of these. There is nothing I must do and nothing I must not do.”
18.9
大師摯適齊，亞飯干適楚，三飯繚適蔡，四飯缺適秦；
鼓方叔，入於河；
播鼗武，入於漢；
少師陽，擊磬襄，入於海。
The Grand Music Master Zhi went to Qi; Gan, music master of the second meal, went to Chu; Liao, of the third meal, went to Cai; Que, of the fourth meal, went to Qin;
Fangshu the drummer went to the region of the Yellow River;
Wu, player of the hand drum, went to the region of the Han;
Yang, the assistant music master, and Xiang, player of the stone chimes, went to the sea.6
18.10
周公謂魯公曰：「君子不施其親，不使大臣，怨乎不以。
故舊無大故，則不棄也。
無求備於一人。」
The Duke of Zhou said to the Duke of Lu,7 “The gentleman does not neglect his kin and does not give his great ministers cause to resent not being used.
Old friends he does not abandon without grave cause.
He does not expect everything of one man.”
18.11
周有八士：伯達、伯适、仲突、仲忽、叔夜、叔夏、季隨、季騧。
The Zhou had eight men of service: Boda, Bokuo, Zhongtu, Zhonghu, Shuye, Shuxia, Jisui, and Jigua.8
Notes
1. The three were kinsmen of Zhou, the last king of the Shang (Yin). The Viscount of Wei left the court, the Viscount of Ji feigned madness and was enslaved, and Bi Gan was put to death for his remonstrance.
2. Ji Sun Si, head of the Ji family, chief minister of Lu when Confucius held office.
3. Jieyu is often taken as the name of the madman, though it may mean the one who passed the carriage.
4. Two recluses; their names, Tall Marshman and Stout Drowner, may be descriptions rather than names.
5. Yu Zhong, the brother of Taibo (8.1); of Yi Yi, Zhu Zhang, and Shao Lian little is known.
6. The music masters of the court of Lu, who scattered as its music declined. Each meal of the ruler was accompanied by its own music.
7. The Duke of Lu is Boqin, son of the Duke of Zhou, the first ruler of Lu.
8. Four pairs of brothers, perhaps twins, of whom nothing else is known.