The Master said, “Any craftsman who wishes to do his job well must first sharpen his tools. In the same way, when living in a given state, one must serve those ministers who are worthy and befriend those scholar-officials who are Good.”
Confucius, & Slingerland, E. (2003). Analects: With selections from traditional commentaries. Hackett Publishing.
Zigong asked how to practice humaneness. The Master said, A craftsman who wants to do his job well must first sharpen his tools. Whatever country you are in, be of service to the high officials who are worthy and become friends with the men of station who are humane.
Confucius, & Watson, B. (2007). The Analects of Confucius. Columbia University Press.
The Master said, “No scholar-official of noble intention or Good person would ever pursue life at the expense of Goodness, and in fact some may be called upon to give up their lives in order to fulfill Goodness.”
Confucius, & Slingerland, E. (2003). Analects: With selections from traditional commentaries. Hackett Publishing.
The Master said, The man of high ideals, the humane person, never tries to go on living if it is harmful to humaneness. There are times when he sacrifices his life to preserve humaneness.
Confucius, & Watson, B. (2007). The Analects of Confucius. Columbia University Press.
The Master said, “The Way of the gentleman is threefold, and yet I have not been able to achieve any aspect of it: ‘The Good do not worry, the wise are not confused, and the courageous do not fear.’ ”
Zigong replied, “[By quoting this saying], the Master has in fact described himself.”
Confucius, & Slingerland, E. (2003). Analects: With selections from traditional commentaries. Hackett Publishing.
he Master said, The Way of the gentleman has three characteristics that are still beyond me. The humane are never anxious; the wise, never perplexed; the brave, never afraid.
Zigong said, Master, that is your own Way.
Confucius, & Watson, B. (2007). The Analects of Confucius. Columbia University Press.
Zigong asked, “Guan Zhong was not a Good person, was he? When Duke Huan had Prince Jiu murdered, Guan Zhong was not only incapable of dying with his master, he moreover turned around and served his master’s murderer as Prime Minister.”
The Master replied, “When Guan Zhong served as Duke Huan’s Prime Minister, he allowed him to become hegemon over the other feudal lords, uniting and ordering the entire world. To this day, the people continue to enjoy the benefits of his achievements—if it were not for Guan Zhong, we would all be wearing our hair loose and fastening our garments on the left. How could he be expected to emulate the petty fidelity of a common husband or wife, going off to hang himself and die anonymously in some gully or ditch?”
Confucius, & Slingerland, E. (2003). Analects: With selections from traditional commentaries. Hackett Publishing.
Zigong said, Guan Zhong was not a humane man, was he? When Duke Huan put to death the ducal son Jiu, he not only could not bring himself to die with Jiu but went on to become prime minister to Duke Huan.
The Master said, With Guan Zhong as his prime minister, Duke Huan was able to become leader of the feudal lords and impose order on the empire. Even to this day, our people benefit from what he did. Without Guan Zhong, we would be wearing our hair unbound and folding our robes to the left. Would you expect of him the kind of “fidelity” of ordinary men or women who strangle themselves, end up in a roadside ditch, with no one even aware of it?
Confucius, & Watson, B. (2007). The Analects of Confucius. Columbia University Press.
Zilu said, “When Duke Huan had his brother Prince Jiu murdered, Shao Hu died for his master, whereas Guan Zhong did not.” He then added, “Does this behavior not fall short of Goodness?”
The Master replied, “It was Guan Zhong’s strength that allowed Duke Huan, on many occasions, to harmoniously unite the feudal lords without the use of military force. But as for his Goodness, as for his Goodness …”
Confucius, & Slingerland, E. (2003). Analects: With selections from traditional commentaries. Hackett Publishing.
Zilu said, When Duke Huan put to death his brother, the ducal son Jiu, Shao Hu died with him but Guan Zhong did not. That was hardly humane of Guan Zhong, was it?
The Master said, Duke Huan nine times called the other feudal rulers together in assembly and did so without employing his war chariots. Guan Zhong’s influence made this possible. But as for his humaneness, as for his humaneness—
Confucius, & Watson, B. (2007). The Analects of Confucius. Columbia University Press.
The Master asked Gongming Jia about Gongshu Wenzi, saying, “Is it really true that your master did not speak, did not laugh, and did not take?”
Gongming Jia answered, “Whoever told you that was exaggerating. My master only spoke when the time was right, and so people never grew impatient listening to him. He only laughed when he was genuinely full of joy, and so people never tired of hearing him laugh. He only took what was rightfully his, and so people never resented his taking of things.”
The Master said, “Was he really that good? Could he really have been that good?”
Confucius, & Slingerland, E. (2003). Analects: With selections from traditional commentaries. Hackett Publishing.
The Master questioned Gongming Jia about Gongshu Wenzi, saying, Is it true that your master never spoke, never laughed, and never accepted things?
Gongming Jia replied, Whoever told you that was exaggerating. My master spoke only when it was time to do so—thus others did not object to his speaking. He laughed only when he was happy—so others did not object to his laughter. He accepted things only when it was right to do so—thus others did not object to his accepting.
The Master said, Is that so? Could that really be so?
Confucius, & Watson, B. (2007). The Analects of Confucius. Columbia University Press.
The Master said, “Those who possess Virtue will inevitably have something to say, whereas those who have something to say do not necessarily possess Virtue. Those who are Good will necessarily display courage, but those who display courage are not necessarily Good.”
Confucius, & Slingerland, E. (2003). Analects: With selections from traditional commentaries. Hackett Publishing.
The Master said, Those who have virtue invariably have something to say, but those who have something to say do not invariably have virtue. Those who are humane are invariably courageous, but those who are courageous are not invariably humane.
Confucius, & Watson, B. (2007). The Analects of Confucius. Columbia University Press.
Duke Ding asked, “A single saying that can cause a state to flourish—is there such a thing as this?”
Confucius replied, “There is no saying that can have that sort of effect. There is, however, something close. People have a saying, ‘Being a ruler is difficult, and being a minister is not easy.’ If this saying helps you to understand that being a ruler is difficult, does it not come close to being a single saying that can cause a state to flourish?”
Duke Ding asked, “A single saying that can cause a state to perish—is there such a thing as this?”
Confucius replied, “There is no saying that can have that sort of effect. There is, however, something close. People have a saying, ‘I take no joy in being a ruler, except that no one dares to oppose what I say.’ If what the ruler says is good, and no one opposes him, is this not good? On the other hand, if what he says is not good, and no one opposes him, does this not come close to being a single saying that can cause a state to perish?”
Confucius, & Slingerland, E. (2003). Analects: With selections from traditional commentaries. Hackett Publishing.
Duke Ding asked, Is there one word that can bring prosperity to the domain?
Confucius replied, Words alone cannot do that. But there’s a saying that might come close. People say, To be a ruler is difficult; to be a minister is not easy. If the ruler understands that it is not easy to be a ruler, this would come close, would it not, to “one word that can bring prosperity to the domain”?
And is there one word that can bring ruin to the domain? asked the duke.
Confucius replied, Words alone cannot do that. But there’s a saying that might come close. People have a saying, I have no delight in being a ruler. My sole delight is making certain that no one contradicts my words.
If he is a good ruler and no one contradicts him, that would be good, would it not? But if he is not good and no one contradicts him, this would come close to being “one word that can bring ruin to the domain,” would it not?
Confucius, & Watson, B. (2007). The Analects of Confucius. Columbia University Press.
