Book 12: 《顏淵》 Yan Yuan
《顏淵》 Passage 12.8
Legge Translation (1861)
Ji Zicheng said: "In a superior man it is only the substantial qualities which are wanted; — why should we seek for ornamental accomplishments?"Zigong said: "Alas! Your words, sir, show you to be a superior man, but four horses cannot overtake the tongue. Ornament is as substance; substance is as ornament. The hide of a tiger or a leopard stripped of its hair, is like the hide of a dog or a goat stripped of its hair."
Word by word
- 棘子成 jí zǐ chéng
Ji Zicheng, a court official who questions Zigong
- 棘 surname character, used in the personal name Ji Zicheng
- 子 name element in the personal name Ji Zicheng
- 成 given-name element in the personal name Ji Zicheng
- 曰 yuē
said, spoke
- 君子 jūn zǐ
exemplary person, gentleman
- 君 lord, ruler; 君子 is literally a lord's son
- 子 son; 君子 is literally a lord's son, one of the ruling class, which the Analects makes a term of character
Legge's 'superior man' and Roberts's 'the true prince' render the same social ideal with different English registers.
- 質 zhì
substance, inner character, native disposition
質 (inner substance) and 文 (cultivated refinement) are the recurring paired terms of this passage's debate.
- 而已矣 ér yǐ yǐ
that is all, nothing more — emphatic restrictive frame
- 而 conjunctive particle: and, and then
- 已 stop, finished; only, merely
- 矣 final particle marking completed or emphatic assertion
- 何以…為 hé yǐ … wéi
what use is there for...?, rhetorical rejection: why bother with...?
- 何 what, why (interrogative)
- 以 for, by means of; expressing purpose
- 為 final particle in a rhetorical question: what use, why bother
- 文 wén
culture, refined form, outward adornment
- 子貢 zǐ gòng
Zigong, a disciple of Confucius
- 子 prefix of a courtesy name, as in 子路 and 子貢; not the title Master
- 貢 name element in the personal name Zigong
- 曰 yuē
said, spoke
- 惜乎 xī hū
how regrettable!, exclamation of dismay
- 惜 regret, be sorry, lament
- 乎 exclamatory final particle: alas, how...!
- 夫子 fū zǐ
you, sir — respectful address to an elder
- 夫 man, elder; term of respect for a senior person
- 子 honorific suffix: master, sir
Here 夫子 addresses Ji Zicheng directly, not the customary Analects sense 'the Master (Confucius)'.
- 之 zhī
possessive/modifying particle: 's, of
- 說 shuō
words, account, what someone has said
- 君子 jūn zǐ
exemplary person, gentleman
- 君 lord, ruler; 君子 is literally a lord's son
- 子 son; 君子 is literally a lord's son, one of the ruling class, which the Analects makes a term of character
- 也 yě
sentence-final particle of assertion
- 駟 sì
team of four horses, proverbial for swiftness
- 不 bù
not
- 及 jí
to catch up to, overtake, reach
- 舌 shé
tongue, spoken words
- 文 wén
culture, refined form, outward adornment
- 猶 yóu
is like, resembles, is no different from
- 質 zhì
substance, inner character, native disposition
- 也 yě
sentence-final particle of assertion
- 質 zhì
substance, inner character, native disposition
- 猶 yóu
is like, resembles, is no different from
- 文 wén
culture, refined form, outward adornment
- 也 yě
sentence-final particle of assertion
- 虎 hǔ
tiger
- 豹 bào
leopard, panther
- 之 zhī
possessive particle: 's, of
- 鞟 kuò
hide with the fur or pattern removed, bare tanned skin
鞟 specifically denotes a hide stripped of its patterned fur, so the character itself embodies the 文/質 contrast the passage argues about.
- 猶 yóu
is like, resembles, is no different from
- 犬 quǎn
dog
- 羊 yáng
sheep, goat
- 之 zhī
possessive particle: 's, of
- 鞟 kuò
hide with the fur or pattern removed, bare tanned skin
A text file for Anki 2.1.55 or later: File → Import. The cards go to the deck “Analects”, tagged by passage, and importing again updates them instead of adding copies.
Discussion
No one has started on this passage yet.
Start the discussion in r/analects