Book 8: Tai Bo

Book 8: Tai Bo

Commentary

8.1

The Master said, "Tai Bo may be said to have possessed the highest virtue indeed! Three times he yielded the empire to another, and the people could find no occasion to praise him."

8.2

The Master said, "Courtesy without propriety leads to weariness; caution without propriety leads to timidity; courage without propriety leads to insubordination; and forthrightness without propriety leads to harshness. When the noble person is devoted to his parents, the people will be moved to benevolence. When old friends are not neglected, the people will not be cold."

8.3

When Zengzi was ill, he summoned his disciples and said, "Look at my feet! Look at my hands! The Odes say: 'Full of apprehension, as if standing on the edge of an abyss, as if treading on thin ice.' From now on, I know that I shall escape harm, my young friends!"

8.4

When Zengzi was ill, Meng Jingzi came to inquire after him. Zengzi said, "When a bird is about to die, its cry is mournful. When a person is about to die, his words are good. There are three things that the noble person holds dear in the Way: to compose his bearing so as to keep violence and rudeness at bay; to set his countenance aright so as to come close to trustworthiness; and to give careful utterance to his words so as to keep crudeness and perversity away. As for the ritual vessels and their affairs, those are in charge of the proper officers."

8.5

Zengzi said, "One who has ability asks the advice of those who do not, and one who has much asks the advice of those who have little. Having, yet appearing to not have; full, yet appearing empty; and being provoked yet not holding a grudge—my old friend once strove to practice these things."

8.6

Zengzi said, "One to whom the care of a young orphan may be entrusted, to whom the authority of a state of a hundred li may be delegated, and who cannot be swayed even in the face of a great crisis—is such a one a person of noble character? Indeed, such a one is a person of noble character!"

8.7

Zengzi said, "The scholar-official cannot but be broad-minded and resolute, for his burden is heavy and his road is long. He takes benevolence as his own burden—is that not heavy? Only when he dies does his task come to an end—is that not long?"

8.8

The Master said, "Be inspired by the Odes, take your stand through ritual, and be perfected through music."

8.9

The Master said, "The people may be made to follow a path, but they may not be made to understand it."

8.10

The Master said, "To be fond of courage and to resent poverty leads to insubordination. If a person is not benevolent, and one hates him to an extreme, it leads to insubordination."

8.11

The Master said, "Though one possessed all the admirable talents of the Duke of Zhou, if he were arrogant and stingy, the rest would not be worth looking at."

8.12

The Master said, "To study for three years without aiming for an official salary—this is not easy to achieve."

8.13

The Master said, "Hold fast to faith and love learning; guard unto death the good Way. Do not enter a state in peril; do not remain in a state in turmoil. When the Way prevails in the world, show yourself; when the Way does not prevail, hide. When the Way prevails in your state, to be poor and of low station is a disgrace; when the Way does not prevail in your state, to be rich and of high station is a disgrace."

8.14

The Master said, "Do not concern yourself with affairs outside your position."

8.15

The Master said, "From the beginning, when the music master Zhi took up his office, how the finale of the Guanju resounded—filling the ears!"

8.16

The Master said, "Ardent yet not straightforward, simple yet not sincere, and ingenuous yet not trustworthy—of such persons I really know nothing."

8.17

The Master said, "Study as if you could never reach your goal, and as if you fear to lose what you have gained."

8.18

The Master said, "How towering was the manner in which Shun and Yu possessed the empire, yet had no part in it!"

8.19

The Master said, "How great was Yao as a ruler! How towering! Only Heaven is great, and only Yao took it as his model! How boundless was his virtue—the people could find no name for it! How towering were his accomplishments! How brilliant were his institutions!"

8.20

Shun had five ministers, and the world was brought to order. King Wu said, "I have ten capable ministers." Confucius said, "Is it not true that talent is difficult to find? In the periods of Tang and Yu, the world was at its most flourishing, yet there was a woman among them, so that there were only nine men. Zhou possessed two-thirds of the world, yet served the Yin. The virtue of Zhou may be said to be the highest indeed!"

8.21

The Master said, "With Yu, I find no fault to find. He was frugal in his food and drink, yet offered the utmost filial devotion to the spirits. He wore shabby clothing, yet displayed the utmost elegance in his ceremonial cap and robes. He lived in a humble dwelling, yet devoted all his strength to irrigation works. With Yu, I find no fault to find."