The Analects
Book 9 · The Master Said
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The Master Said · 9.1
The Master seldom spoke of profit; he linked the mandate of Heaven with humaneness.
The Master Said · 9.2
A person from the Daxiang community said, “How great Confucius is! He is broadly learned, yet has no single specialty by which to be known.” Hearing this, the Master said to his disciples, “What shall I take up? Chariot driving? Archery? I shall take up driving!”
The Master Said · 9.3
The Master said, “A hemp ceremonial cap accords with ritual. Nowadays silk is used: it is more economical, and I follow the general practice. Bowing below the hall accords with ritual. Nowadays people bow above: that is presumptuous. Though it goes against general practice, I bow below.”
The Master Said · 9.4
The Master completely rejected four things: groundless assumptions, rigid insistence, obstinacy, and self-centeredness.
The Master Said · 9.5
The Master was endangered in Kuang. He said, “Now that King Wen is gone, is not this cultural tradition present here? If Heaven intended to destroy it, I, born after him, would not have been able to take part in it. If Heaven does not intend to destroy it, what can the people of Kuang do to me?”
The Master Said · 9.6
The Grand Steward asked Zigong, “Is your Master a sage? Why does he have so many abilities?” Zigong said, “Heaven has indeed endowed him with near-sagely qualities, and he also has many abilities.” Hearing this, the Master said, “Does the Grand Steward know me? I was of low station when young, so I learned many humble tasks. Does an exemplary person need many such skills? No.”
The Master Said · 9.7
Lao said, “The Master said, ‘Because I was not employed, I became skilled in the arts.’”
The Master Said · 9.8
The Master said, “Do I possess knowledge? I have none. When an ordinary fellow asks me something, I may be empty of an answer; I examine the matter from both ends and pursue it fully.”
The Master Said · 9.9
The Master said, “The phoenix does not arrive, and the River does not bring forth its chart. Surely it is over for me!”
The Master Said · 9.10
When the Master saw someone in mourning clothes, someone in ceremonial cap and robes, or a blind person, he always rose, even if the person was young. When passing them, he always quickened his steps respectfully.
The Master Said · 9.11
Yan Yuan sighed deeply and said, “The more I look up to it, the higher it is; the more I bore into it, the harder it is. I see it before me, and suddenly it is behind me. Our Master skillfully guides people step by step: he broadens me through cultural learning and restrains me through ritual. Even if I wanted to stop, I could not. When I have exhausted all my abilities, something seems to stand before me, towering and distinct. Though I wish to follow it, I have no way to reach it!”
The Master Said · 9.12
The Master was gravely ill, and Zilu arranged for disciples to act as household retainers. When the illness eased, the Master said, “You, you have been practicing deception for a long time! To have no retainers yet pretend to have them—whom would I deceive? Would I deceive Heaven? Rather than die in the hands of retainers, would I not prefer to die in the hands of you disciples? And even if I cannot have a grand funeral, would I be left to die by the roadside?”
The Master Said · 9.13
Zigong said, “Suppose there were a beautiful piece of jade here. Should it be wrapped and stored in a box, or should one seek a good merchant and sell it?” The Master said, “Sell it! Sell it! I am waiting for the merchant.”
The Master Said · 9.14
The Master wished to live among the Nine Yi. Someone said, “They are uncultivated. What would you do?” The Master said, “If an exemplary person lived there, what lack of cultivation would there be?”
The Master Said · 9.15
The Master said, “After I returned from Wei to Lu, the music was put right, and the Court Hymns and Temple Hymns each found their proper place.”
The Master Said · 9.16
The Master said, “Away from home, to serve dukes and high ministers; at home, to serve father and elder brothers; not daring to withhold effort in mourning; and not being overcome by wine—what difficulty do these present for me?”
The Master Said · 9.17
Standing beside a river, the Master said, “What passes is like this: it does not stop, day or night.”
The Master Said · 9.18
The Master said, “I have yet to see someone who loves virtue as much as physical beauty.”
The Master Said · 9.19
The Master said, “It is like building a mound: if one stops when it lacks a single basket of earth, the stopping is my own. It is like leveling ground: even if only a single basket has been tipped out, if one goes forward, the advance is my own.”
The Master Said · 9.20
The Master said, “Was it not Hui who never grew slack when I spoke to him?”
The Master Said · 9.21
Speaking of Yan Yuan, the Master said, “What a pity! I saw him making progress; I never saw him stop.”
The Master Said · 9.22
The Master said, “There are seedlings that never come into flower, and flowers that never bear fruit.”
The Master Said · 9.23
The Master said, “The younger generation commands respect. How do we know that those to come will not equal those of today? But if someone reaches forty or fifty without being heard of, that person is no longer enough to command such respect.”
The Master Said · 9.24
The Master said, “Can one fail to follow words that set forth proper standards? But changing oneself is what matters. Can one fail to be pleased by gentle, accommodating words? But examining their meaning is what matters. If people are pleased but do not examine, or follow in words but do not change, there is nothing I can do for them.”
The Master Said · 9.25
The Master said, “Make wholeheartedness and trustworthiness your guiding commitments. Do not take as friends those who are not your equals in these qualities. When you make a mistake, do not shrink from correcting it.”
The Master Said · 9.26
The Master said, “An army may have its commander taken from it, but an ordinary person cannot be deprived of a settled purpose.”
The Master Said · 9.27
The Master said, “To wear a worn robe padded with old hemp and stand unashamed beside people wearing fox and badger furs—is that not You? ‘Neither envious nor grasping: how could he fail to be good?’” Zilu recited these lines constantly. The Master said, “How can that teaching alone be enough to make one good?”
The Master Said · 9.28
The Master said, “Only when the year grows cold do we know that pine and cypress are the last to wither.”
The Master Said · 9.29
The Master said, “The wise are not confused; the humane are not anxious; the courageous are not afraid.”
The Master Said · 9.30
The Master said, “Someone with whom you can study may not yet be someone with whom you can proceed along the Way. Someone with whom you can proceed along the Way may not yet be someone with whom you can stand firm. Someone with whom you can stand firm may not yet be someone with whom you can weigh what changing circumstances require.”
The Master Said · 9.31
“The tangdi blossoms turn and sway. How could I not think of you? It is only that your home is far away.” The Master said, “You have not truly thought of the person. If you had, how could there be any distance?”
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