子曰乡愿德之贼也
The Master said, “The village worthy is the thief of virtue.”
Confucius, & Slingerland, E. (2003). Analects: With selections from traditional commentaries. Hackett Publishing.
The Master said, The self-righteous villager is the thief of virtue.
Confucius, & Watson, B. (2007). The Analects of Confucius. Columbia University Press.
或问子产子曰惠人也问子西曰彼哉彼哉问管仲曰人也夺伯氏骈邑三百饭疏食没齿无怨言
Someone asked about Zichan. The Master said, “He was a benevolent man.”
They asked about Zixi. The Master replied, “Ah, that man! That man!”
They asked about Guan Zhong.
The Master replied, “Now there was a man. He confiscated the three hundred household city of Ping from the head of the Bo Clan, reducing him to abject poverty, and yet to the end of his days not a single resentful word was uttered against him.”
Confucius, & Slingerland, E. (2003). Analects: With selections from traditional commentaries. Hackett Publishing.
Someone asked about Zichan. The Master said, A generous man.
The person asked about Zixi. The Master said, That man! That man!
The person asked about Guan Zhong. The Master said, He was the one who stripped the leader of the Bo family of Pian, a village of three hundred households, so that he had to eat meager fare, though until his death he never spoke a resentful word.
Confucius, & Watson, B. (2007). The Analects of Confucius. Columbia University Press.
子贡问曰乡人皆好之何如子曰未可也乡人皆恶之何如子曰未可也不如乡人之善者好之其不善者恶之
Zigong asked, “What would you make of a person whom everyone in the village likes?”
The Master said, “I would not know what to make of him.”
“What about someone whom everyone in the village hates?”
“I would still not know. Better this way: those in the village who are good like him, and those who are not good hate him.”
Confucius, & Slingerland, E. (2003). Analects: With selections from traditional commentaries. Hackett Publishing.
Zigong asked, If everyone in the village liked him, how would that do?
The Master said, Not good enough.
If everyone in the village hated him, how would that do?
The Master said, Not good enough. Better if the good people in the village liked him, and the not-good people hated him
Confucius, & Watson, B. (2007). The Analects of Confucius. Columbia University Press.
孔子于乡党恂恂如也似不能言者其在宗庙朝廷便便言唯谨尔
In his village community, Confucius was respectful and circumspect, seeming to be at a loss for words. When in the ancestral temples or at court, however, he spoke eloquently, though always with caution and restraint.
Confucius, & Slingerland, E. (2003). Analects: With selections from traditional commentaries. Hackett Publishing.
When Confucius was among the people of the community, he was mild and deferential, as though he were unable to speak. When he was in the ancestral temple of the ruler or at court, he spoke at length, though always in a circumspect manner.
Confucius, & Watson, B. (2007). The Analects of Confucius. Columbia University Press.
