子曰君子上达小人下达
The Master said, “The gentleman understands higher things, whereas the petty person understands only the low.”
Confucius, & Slingerland, E. (2003). Analects: With selections from traditional commentaries. Hackett Publishing.
The Master said, The gentleman is an expert in important matters; the petty man, an expert in trivial ones.
Confucius, & Watson, B. (2007). The Analects of Confucius. Columbia University Press.
子曰君子而不仁者有矣夫未有小人而仁者也
The Master said, “Certainly there are those gentlemen who are not Good, but there has never been a petty person who is Good.”
Confucius, & Slingerland, E. (2003). Analects: With selections from traditional commentaries. Hackett Publishing.
The Master said, A gentleman but not humane—there are some like that, are there not? But there’s never been a petty man who was humane.
Confucius, & Watson, B. (2007). The Analects of Confucius. Columbia University Press.
南宫适问于孔子曰羿善射奡荡舟俱不得其死然禹稷躬稼而有天下夫子不答南宫适出子曰君子哉若人尚德哉若人
Nangong Kuo said to Confucius, “Yi was a skillful archer, and Ao was a powerful naval commander, and yet neither of them met a natural death. Yu and Hou Ji, on the other hand, did nothing but personally tend to the land, and yet they both ended up with possession of the world.”
The Master did not answer.
After Nangong Kuo left, the Master sighed, “What a gentlemanly person that man is! How he reveres Virtue!”
Confucius, & Slingerland, E. (2003). Analects: With selections from traditional commentaries. Hackett Publishing.
Nangong Kuo questioned Confucius, saying, Yi was a skilled archer and Ao could push a boat over dry land, but neither was able to die a natural death. Yu and Ji, however, though they worked the fields in person, gained possession of the empire. The Master made no reply.
After Nangong Kuo had left, the Master said, A gentleman should be like this! An upholder of virtue should be like this!
Confucius, & Watson, B. (2007). The Analects of Confucius. Columbia University Press.
子曰君子泰而不骄小人骄而不泰
The Master said, “The gentleman is grand, but never arrogant; the petty person is arrogant, but never grand.”
Confucius, & Slingerland, E. (2003). Analects: With selections from traditional commentaries. Hackett Publishing.
The Master said, The gentleman is self-possessed but not arrogant. The petty man is arrogant but not self-possessed.
Confucius, & Watson, B. (2007). The Analects of Confucius. Columbia University Press.
子曰君子易事而难说也说之不以道不说也及其使人也器之小人难事而易说也说之虽不以道说也及其使人也求备焉
The Master said, “The gentleman is easy to serve, but hard to please. If you attempt to please him in a manner not in accordance with the Way, he will not be pleased, but when he employs others, he does so in consideration of their particular capacities. The petty person is hard to serve, but easy to please. If you attempt to please him, he will be pleased, even if it is in a manner not in accordance with the Way, but when it comes to his employment of others, he demands everything from them.”
Confucius, & Slingerland, E. (2003). Analects: With selections from traditional commentaries. Hackett Publishing.
The Master said, The gentleman is easy to serve but hard to please. Try to please him with what does not accord with the Way, and he will not be pleased. But when he employs others, he thinks of their particular capabilities.
The petty man is hard to serve but easy to please. Try pleasing him with what does not accord with the Way, and he will be pleased. But when he employs others, he expects them to be able to do anything.
Confucius, & Watson, B. (2007). The Analects of Confucius. Columbia University Press.
子曰君子和而不同小人同而不和
The Master said, “The gentleman harmonizes, and does not merely agree. The petty person agrees, but he does not harmonize.”
Confucius, & Slingerland, E. (2003). Analects: With selections from traditional commentaries. Hackett Publishing.
The Master said, The gentleman acts in harmony with others but does not ape them. The petty man apes others but is not in harmony with them.
Confucius, & Watson, B. (2007). The Analects of Confucius. Columbia University Press.
子路曰卫君待子而为政子将奚先子曰必也正名乎子路曰有是哉子之迂也奚其正子曰野哉由也君子于其所不知盖阙如也名不正则言不顺言不顺则事不成事不成则礼乐不兴礼乐不兴则刑罚不中刑罚不中则民无所措手足故君子名之必可言也言之必可行也君子于其言无所苟而已矣
Zilu asked, “If the Duke of Wei were to employ you to serve in the government of his state, what would be your first priority?”
The Master answered, “It would, of course, be the rectification of names.”
Zilu said, “Could you, Master, really be so far off the mark? Why worry about rectifying names?”
The Master replied, “How boorish you are, Zilu! When it comes to matters that he does not understand, the gentleman should remain silent.
“If names are not rectified, speech will not accord with reality; when speech does not accord with reality, things will not be successfully accomplished. When things are not successfully accomplished, ritual practice and music will fail to flourish; when ritual and music fail to flourish, punishments and penalties will miss the mark. And when punishments and penalties miss the mark, the common people will be at a loss as to what to do with themselves. This is why the gentleman only applies names that can be properly spoken and assures that what he says can be properly put into action. The gentleman simply guards against arbitrariness in his speech. That is all there is to it.”
Confucius, & Slingerland, E. (2003). Analects: With selections from traditional commentaries. Hackett Publishing.
Zilu said, If the ruler of Wei were waiting for you, Master, to take charge of government affairs, what would you do first?
The Master said, If I had to name my first action, I would rectify names.
Zilu said, There—that’s why people say you are out of touch with reality!
The Master said, How boorish you are, You (Zilu)! When a gentleman is confronted with something he does not understand, he should adopt a respectful attitude!
If names are not rectified, then speech will not function properly, and if speech does not function properly, then undertakings will not succeed. If undertakings do not succeed, then rites and music will not flourish. If rites and music do not flourish, then punishments and penalties will not be justly administered. And if punishments and penalties are not justly administered, then the common people will not know where to place their hands and feet.
Therefore, when the gentleman names a thing, that naming can be conveyed in speech, and if it is conveyed in speech, then it can surely be put into action. When the gentleman speaks, there is nothing arbitrary in the way he does so.
Confucius, & Watson, B. (2007). The Analects of Confucius. Columbia University Press.
子曰君子成人之美不成人之恶小人反是
The Master said, “A gentleman helps others to realize their good qualities, rather than their bad. A petty person does the opposite.”
Confucius, & Slingerland, E. (2003). Analects: With selections from traditional commentaries. Hackett Publishing.
The Master said, The gentleman brings out what is most admirable in people; he does not bring out what is bad in them. The petty man does the opposite.
Confucius, & Watson, B. (2007). The Analects of Confucius. Columbia University Press.
棘子成曰君子质而已矣何以文为子贡曰惜乎夫子之说君子也驷不及舌文犹质也质犹文也虎豹之鞟犹犬羊之鞟
Ji Zicheng said, “Being a gentleman is simply a matter of having the right native substance, and nothing else. Why must one engage in cultural refinement?”
Zigong replied, “It is regrettable, Sir, that you should speak of the gentleman in this way—as they say, ‘a team of horses cannot overtake your tongue.’
“A gentleman’s cultural refinement resembles his native substance, and his native substance resembles his cultural refinement. The skin of a tiger or leopard, shorn of its fur, is no different from the skin of a dog or sheep.”
Confucius, & Slingerland, E. (2003). Analects: With selections from traditional commentaries. Hackett Publishing.
Ji Zicheng said, The gentleman should have solid qualities and that’s enough. What need is there for refinement?
Zigong said, Regrettable indeed—what you have said, sir, about the gentleman! Refinement is equal in worth to solid qualities, and solid qualities to refinement. Strip the hide of a tiger or a panther of its [patterned fur], and it is no different from that of a dog or a goat.
Confucius, & Watson, B. (2007). The Analects of Confucius. Columbia University Press.
司马牛忧曰人皆有兄弟我独亡子夏曰商闻之矣死生有命富贵在天君子敬而无失与人恭而有礼四海之内皆兄弟也君子何患乎无兄弟也
Anxiously, Sima Niu remarked, “Everyone has brothers, I alone have none.”
Zixia replied, “I have heard it said, ‘Life and death are governed by fate, wealth and honor are determined by Heaven.’ A gentleman is respectful and free of errors. He is reverent and ritually proper in his dealings with others. In this way, everyone within the Four Seas is his brother. How could a gentleman be concerned about not having brothers?”
Confucius, & Slingerland, E. (2003). Analects: With selections from traditional commentaries. Hackett Publishing.
Sima Niu, troubled, said, All men have elder and younger brothers, but I alone have none.
Zixia said, The way I’ve heard it, life and death are a matter of fate; wealth and eminence rest with Heaven. If a gentleman is respectful and free of error, if he is considerate of others and treats them according to ritual, then all within the four seas are his elder and younger brothers. Why should a gentleman be troubled that he has no elder or younger brothers?
Confucius, & Watson, B. (2007). The Analects of Confucius. Columbia University Press.
