The Analects 1

學而第一

子曰：「學而時習之，不亦說乎？有朋自遠方來，不亦樂乎？人不知而不慍，不亦君子乎？」

Book I. Hsio R.

The Master said, 'Is it not pleasant to learn with a constant perseverance and application? 'Is it not delightful to have friends coming from distant quarters?' 'Is he not a man of complete virtue, who feels no discomposure though men may take no note of him?'

有子曰：「其爲人也孝弟，而好犯上者，鮮矣；不好犯上，而好作亂者，未之有也。君子務本，本立而道生；孝弟也者，其爲仁之本與？」

The philosopher Yu said, 'They are few who, being filial and fraternal, are fond of offending against their superiors. There have been none, who, not liking to offend against their superiors, have been fond of stirring up confusion. 'The superior man bends his attention to what is radical. That being established, all practical courses naturally grow up. Filial piety and fraternal submission!—are they not the root of all benevolent actions?'

子曰：「巧言令色，鮮矣仁。」

The Master said, 'Fine words and an insinuating appearance are seldom associated with true virtue.'

曾子曰：「吾日三省吾身：爲人謀而不忠乎？與朋友交而不信乎？傳不習乎？」

The philosopher Tsang said, 'I daily examine myself on three points:—whether, in transacting business for others, I may have been not faithful;—whether, in intercourse with friends, I may have been not sincere;—whether I may have not mastered and practised the instructions of my teacher.'

子曰：「道千乘之國，敬事而信，節用而愛人，使民以時。」

The Master said, To rule a country of a thousand chariots, there must be reverent attention to business, and sincerity; economy in expenditure, and love for men; and the employment of the people at the proper seasons.'

子曰：「弟子入則孝，出則弟，謹而信，汎愛眾，而親仁。行有餘力，則以學文。」

The Master said, 'A youth, when at home, should be filial, and, abroad, respectful to his elders. He should be earnest and truthful. He should overflow in love to all, and cultivate the friendship of the good. When he has time and opportunity, after the performance of these things, he should employ them in polite studies.'

子夏曰：「賢賢易色；事父母，能竭其力；事君，能致其身；與朋友交，言而有信；雖曰未學，吾必謂之學已矣。」

Tsze-hsia said, 'If a man withdraws his mind from the love of beauty, and applies it as sincerely to the love of the virtuous; if, in serving his parents, he can exert his utmost strength; if, in serving his prince, he can devote his life; if, in his intercourse with his friends, his words are sincere:—although men say that he has not learned, I will certainly say that he has.'

子曰：「君子不重則不威，學則不固。主忠信，無友不如己者，過則勿憚改。」

The Master said, 'If the scholar be not grave, he will not call forth any veneration, and his learning will not be solid. 'Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first principles. 'Have no friends not equal to yourself. 'When you have faults, do not fear to abandon them.'

曾子曰：「愼終追遠，民德歸厚矣。」

The philosopher Tsang said, 'Let there be a careful attention to perform the funeral rites to parents, and let them be followed when long gone with the ceremonies of sacrifice;—then the virtue of the people will resume its proper excellence.'

子禽問於子貢曰：「夫子至於是邦也，必聞其政，求之與？抑與之與？」子貢曰：「夫子溫、良、恭、儉、讓以得之。夫子之求之也，其諸異乎人之求之與？」

Tsze-ch'in asked Tsze-kung, saying, 'When our master comes to any country, he does not fail to learn all about its government. Does he ask his information? or is it given to him?' Tsze-kung said, 'Our master is benign, upright, courteous, temperate, and complaisant, and thus he gets his information. The master's mode of asking information!—is it not different from that of other men?'

子曰：「父在觀其志，父沒觀其行。三年無改於父之道，可謂孝矣。」

The Master said, 'While a man's father is alive, look at the bent of his will; when his father is dead, look at his conduct. If for three years he does not alter from the way of his father, he may be called filial.'

有子曰：「禮之用，和爲貴；先王之道，斯爲美；小大由之。有所不行，知和而和，不以禮節之，亦不可行也。」

The philosopher Yu said, 'In practising the rules of propriety, a natural ease is to be prized. In the ways prescribed by the ancient kings, this is the excellent quality, and in things small and great we follow them. 'Yet it is not to be observed in all cases. If one, knowing how such ease should be prized, manifests it, without regulating it by the rules of propriety, this likewise is not to be done.'

有子曰：「信近於義，言可復也；恭近於禮，遠恥辱也。因不失其親，亦可宗也。」

The philosopher Yu said, 'When agreements are made according to what is right, what is spoken can be made good. When respect is shown according to what is proper, one keeps far from shame and disgrace. When the parties upon whom a man leans are proper persons to be intimate with, he can make them his guides and masters.'

子曰：「君子食無求飽，居無求安，敏於事而愼於言，就有道而正焉：可謂好學也已。」

The Master said, 'He who aims to be a man of complete virtue in his food does not seek to gratify his appetite, nor in his dwelling place does he seek the appliances of ease; he is earnest in what he is doing, and careful in his speech; he frequents the company of men of principle that he may be rectified:—such a person may be said indeed to love to learn.'

子貢曰：「貧而無諂，富而無驕，何如？」子曰：「可也。未若貧而樂，富而好禮者也」。子貢曰：「《詩》云：『如切如磋，如琢如磨。』其斯之謂與？」子曰：「賜也，始可與言《詩》已矣！吿諸往而知來者。」

Tsze-kung said, 'What do you pronounce concerning the poor man who yet does not flatter, and the rich man who is not proud?' The Master replied, 'They will do; but they are not equal to him, who, though poor, is yet cheerful, and to him, who, though rich, loves the rules of propriety.' Tsze-kung replied, 'It is said in the Book of Poetry, "As you cut and then file, as you carve and then polish."—The meaning is the same, I apprehend, as that which you have just expressed.' The Master said, 'With one like Ts'ze, I can begin to talk about the odes. I told him one point, and he knew its proper sequence.'

子曰：「不患人之不己知，患不知人也。」

The Master said, 'I will not be afflicted at men's not knowing me; I will be afflicted that I do not know men.'