Book 11: 《先進》 Xian Jin (Former Eras)
《先進》 Passage 11.19
Legge Translation (1861)
The Master said: "There is Hui! He has nearly attained to perfect virtue. He is often in want.Ci does not acquiesce in the appointments of Heaven, and his goods are increased by him. Yet his judgments are often correct."
Word by word
- 子曰 zǐ yuē
the Master said
- 子 Master (honorific title for Confucius)
- 曰 said
- 回 huí
Hui, the disciple Yan Hui
- 也 yě
topic-marking particle
- 其…乎 qí … hū
perhaps...?, tentative-supposition modal-interrogative frame
- 其 modal adverb expressing tentative supposition: perhaps, probably
- 乎 interrogative/exclamatory final particle
Marks the statement as a hedged surmise rather than a flat assertion.
- 庶 shù
near, close to attaining (an ideal)
- 屢 lǚ
frequently, constantly
- 空 kōng
destitute, in want, impoverished
- 賜 cì
Ci, the disciple Zigong (Duanmu Ci)
- 不 bù
negation: not
- 受 shòu
to accept, receive
- 命 mìng
fate, one's allotted lot
Some readers, including Watson, take 命 here as an official appointment/commission rather than a decree of fate.
- 而 ér
conjunctive particle: and, but, and yet
- 貨殖 huò zhí
to engage in trade, deal in goods for profit
- 貨 goods, wealth
- 殖 to increase, multiply; engage in trade
- 焉 yān
sentence-final particle marking assertion
- 億 yì
to conjecture, guess, speculate
億 here stands for 臆, to surmise or conjecture (朱熹: 億，意度也), read yì; not the number 'hundred million'.
- 則 zé
then, thereupon (resultative/sequential conjunction)
- 屢 lǚ
frequently, often
- 中 zhòng
to hit the mark, be on target
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