Govern with virtue

為政第二
BOOK II. WEI CHANG.

【第一章】子曰、為政以德、譬如北辰、居其所、而眾星共之。
CHAP. I. The Master said, 'He who exercises government
by means of his virtue may be compared to the north polar
star, which keeps its place and all the stars turn towards it.'

knowing me or knowing men

【十六章】子曰、不患人之不己知、患不知人也。

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

People, rich or poor...

【十五章】
【一節】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。
【二節】子貢曰、詩云、如切如磋、如琢如磨、
其斯之謂與。
【三節】子曰、賜也、始可與言詩已矣、告諸往而知來者。

CHAP. XV.
1. 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.'
2. 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.'
3. 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.'

man who loves to learn

【十四章】子曰、君子食無求飽、居無求安、敏於事、而慎於言、就有道、而正焉、可謂好學也已。

CHAP. XIV. 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.

right agreements and proper respect

【十三章】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。

CHAP. XIII. 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.'

a natural ease

【十二章】
【一節】有子曰、禮之用、和為貴、先王之道、斯為美；小大由
之。
【二節】有所不行、知和而和、不以禮節之、亦不可行也。

CHAP. XII.
1. 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.
2. '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.'

filial

【十一章】子曰、父在、觀其志、父沒、觀其行、三年無改於父之道、可謂
孝矣。

CHAP. XI. 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.'