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Analects 9.13

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Original Text:

子贡曰有美玉于斯韫椟而藏诸求善贾而沽诸子曰沽之哉沽之哉我待贾者也

Translation:

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Zigong said, “If you possessed a piece of beautiful jade, would you hide it away in a locked box, or would you try to sell it at a good price?”
The Master responded, “Oh, I would sell it! I would sell it! I am just waiting for the right offer.”
Confucius, & Slingerland, E. (2003). Analects: With selections from traditional commentaries. Hackett Publishing.

Zigong said, Suppose here is a beautiful piece of jade. Better to put it in a box and store it away? Or to find someone willing to pay a good price and sell it?
The Master said, Sell it! Sell it! I’m waiting for a buyer.
Confucius, & Watson, B. (2007). The Analects of Confucius. Columbia University Press.

Analects 9.12

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Original Text:

子疾病子路使门人为臣病间曰久矣哉由之行诈也无臣而为有臣吾谁欺欺天乎且予与其死于臣之手也无宁死于二三子之手乎且予纵不得大葬予死于道路乎

Translation:

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The Master was gravely ill, and Zilu instructed his fellow disciples to attend Confucius as if the disciples were his ministers.
During a remission in his illness, the Master [became aware of what was happening and] rebuked Zilu, saying, “It has been quite some time now, has it not, that you have been carrying out this charade! If I have no ministers and yet you act as if I have, who do you think I am going to fool? Am I going to fool Heaven? Moreover, would I not rather die in the arms of a few of my disciples than in the arms of ministers? Even if I do not merit a grand funeral, it is not as if I would be left to die by the side of the road!”
Confucius, & Slingerland, E. (2003). Analects: With selections from traditional commentaries. Hackett Publishing.

The Master was gravely ill. Zilu directed the disciples to attend him in the manner of retainers.
When the Master had recovered somewhat, he said, How long you go on, You, practicing these deceptions! To pretend that I have retainers when I have no retainers—who would I be deceiving? Would I be deceiving Heaven? Moreover, rather than dying in the hands of retainers, isn’t it better that I die in the hands of you, my disciples? And although I may not be entitled to a grand funeral, it’s not as though I were dying by the roadside, is it?
Confucius, & Watson, B. (2007). The Analects of Confucius. Columbia University Press.

Analects 9.11

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Original Text:

颜渊喟然叹曰仰之弥高钻之弥坚瞻之在前忽焉在后夫子循循然善诱人博我以文约我以礼欲罢不能既竭吾才如有所立卓尔虽欲从之末由也已

Translation:

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With a great sigh Yan Hui lamented, “The more I look up at it the higher it seems; the more I delve into it, the harder it becomes. Catching a glimpse of it before me, I then find it suddenly at my back.
“The Master is skilled at gradually leading me on, step by step. He broadens me with culture and restrains me with the rites, so that even if I wanted to give up I could not. Having exhausted all of my strength, it seems as if there is still something left, looming up ahead of me. Though I desire to follow it, there seems to be no way through.”
Confucius, & Slingerland, E. (2003). Analects: With selections from traditional commentaries. Hackett Publishing.

Yan Yuan, sighing, exclaimed, Look up and it’s higher than ever, bore into it and it’s harder still. I see it in front of me, then suddenly it’s behind. Our Master—step by step, how skillfully he leads others along! He broadens me with culture, reins me in with ritual. I want to give up but cannot. Already he has exhausted my ability, yet I see him standing tall before me. But although I want to follow him, I’ve no way to do so.
Confucius, & Watson, B. (2007). The Analects of Confucius. Columbia University Press.

Analects 9.10

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Original Text:

子见齐衰者冕衣裳者与瞽者见之虽少必作过之必趋

Translation:

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Whenever the Master saw someone who was wearing mourning clothes, was garbed in full official dress, or was blind, he would always rise to his feet, even if the person was his junior. When passing such a person, he would always hasten his step.
Confucius, & Slingerland, E. (2003). Analects: With selections from traditional commentaries. Hackett Publishing.

If the Master saw a person in mourning clothes, in ceremonial cap and robe, or a blind person, though the person might be younger in age, he would invariably rise to his feet and, if passing the person, would invariably quicken his steps.
Confucius, & Watson, B. (2007). The Analects of Confucius. Columbia University Press.

Analects 9.9

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Original Text:

子曰凤鸟不至河不出图吾已矣夫

Translation:

Other Translations:

The Master said, “The phoenix has not appeared, the [Yellow] River has not produced its chart—it is all over for me, is it not?”
Confucius, & Slingerland, E. (2003). Analects: With selections from traditional commentaries. Hackett Publishing.

The Master said, The phoenix does not appear; the river puts forth no chart. It is all over with me, is it not?
Confucius, & Watson, B. (2007). The Analects of Confucius. Columbia University Press.

Analects 9.8

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Original Text:

子曰吾有知乎哉无知也有鄙夫问于我空空如也我叩其两端而竭焉

Translation:

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The Master said, “Do I possess wisdom? No, I do not. [For example, recently] a common fellow asked a question of me, and I came up completely empty. But I discussed the problem with him from beginning to end until we finally got to the bottom of it.”
Confucius, & Slingerland, E. (2003). Analects: With selections from traditional commentaries. Hackett Publishing.

The Master said, Do I have knowledge? I have no special knowledge. But if an uneducated fellow comes to me with a question, I attack it with all sincerity, exploring it from end to end until I’ve exhausted it.
Confucius, & Watson, B. (2007). The Analects of Confucius. Columbia University Press.

Analects 9.7

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Original Text:

牢曰子云吾不试故艺

Translation:

Other Translations:

Lao said, “The Master once remarked, ‘I have not been employed, and therefore have become accomplished in the arts.’ ”
Confucius, & Slingerland, E. (2003). Analects: With selections from traditional commentaries. Hackett Publishing.

Lao reports that the Master said, I have never been given a proper trial—hence these “accomplishments.”
Confucius, & Watson, B. (2007). The Analects of Confucius. Columbia University Press.

Analects 9.6

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Original Text:

太宰问于子贡曰夫子圣者与何其多能也子贡曰固天纵之将圣又多能也子闻之曰太宰知我乎吾少也贱故多能鄙事君子多乎哉不多也

Translation:

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The Prime Minister asked Zigong, “Your Master is a sage, is he not? How is it, then, that he is skilled at so many menial tasks?”
Zigong replied, “Surely Heaven not only not intends him for sagehood, but also gave him many other talents.”
When the Master heard of this, he remarked, “How well the Prime Minister knows me! In my youth, I was of humble status, so I became proficient in many menial tasks. Is the gentleman broadly skilled in trivial matters? No, he is not.”
Confucius, & Slingerland, E. (2003). Analects: With selections from traditional commentaries. Hackett Publishing.

The prime minister questioned Zigong, saying, The Master—is he a sage? He has so many capabilities!
Zigong said, Indeed, Heaven has opened the way for him to become a sage. And he has many capabilities besides.
When the Master heard this, he said, The prime minister knows me well. When I was young, I was in humble circumstances and hence became capable in many menial undertakings. But is the true gentleman a person of many capabilities? Surely, he is not!
Confucius, & Watson, B. (2007). The Analects of Confucius. Columbia University Press.

Analects 9.5

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Original Text:

子畏于匡曰文王既没文不在兹乎天之将丧斯文也后死者不得与于斯文也天之未丧斯文也匡人其如予何

Translation:

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The Master was surrounded in Kuang. He said, “Now that King Wen is gone, is not culture now invested here in me? If Heaven intended this culture to perish, it would not have given it to those of us who live after King Wen’s death. Since Heaven did not intend that this culture should perish, what can the people of Kuang do to me?”
Confucius, & Slingerland, E. (2003). Analects: With selections from traditional commentaries. Hackett Publishing.

The Master’s life was endangered in Kuang. He said, King Wen is deceased, but his culture (wen) remains here with me. If Heaven had intended to destroy that culture, then those who come after him could not have inherited that culture. But if Heaven is not ready to destroy that culture, what can the people of Kuang do to me?
Confucius, & Watson, B. (2007). The Analects of Confucius. Columbia University Press.

Analects 9.4

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Original Text:

子绝四毋意毋必毋固毋我

Translation:

Other Translations:

The Master was entirely free of four faults: arbitrariness, inflexibility, rigidity, and selfishness.
Confucius, & Slingerland, E. (2003). Analects: With selections from traditional commentaries. Hackett Publishing.

The Master observed four prohibitions: no willfulness, no obstinacy, no narrow-mindedness, no egotism.
Confucius, & Watson, B. (2007). The Analects of Confucius. Columbia University Press.