Book 13: 《子路》 Zi Lu
《子路》 Passage 13.15
Legge Translation (1861)
The Duke Ding asked whether there was a single sentence which could make a country prosperous. Confucius replied: "Such an effect cannot be expected from one sentence. There is a saying, however, which people have — 'To be a prince is difficult; to be a minister is not easy.' If a ruler knows this — the difficulty of being a prince — may there not be expected from this one sentence the prosperity of his country?"The duke then said: "Is there a single sentence which can ruin a country?" Confucius replied: "Such an effect as that cannot be expected from one sentence. There is, however, the saying which people have — 'I have no pleasure in being a prince, but only in that no one can offer any opposition to what I say!' If a ruler's words be good, is it not also good that no one oppose them? But if they are not good, and no one opposes them, may there not be expected from this one sentence the ruin of his country?"
Word by word
- 定公 dìng gōng
Duke Ding, ruler of Lu
- 定 Ding, name/title of the Duke (in 定公, Duke Ding)
- 公 duke, ruler's title
- 問 wèn
to ask, inquire
- 一言 yī yán
a single saying, one word
- 一 one, a single
- 言 a word, saying, statement
- 而 ér
conjunctive particle: and, and then
- 可以 kě yǐ
can, to be able to
- 可 can, be able to
- 以 modal complement forming 可以, can, be able to
- 興邦 xīng bāng
to make a state flourish, bring prosperity to a country
- 興 to flourish, prosper, thrive
- 邦 state, country, realm
- 有諸 yǒu zhū
is there such a thing?, existential-interrogative frame (有 + fused 之乎)
- 有 there is, to exist
- 諸 fusion of 之乎: pronoun it + interrogative final particle
- 孔子 kǒng zǐ
Confucius, Master Kong
- 孔 Kong, surname of Confucius
- 子 Master, honorific suffix in a sage's name
- 對曰 duì yuē
replied, answered (a superior)
- 對 in reply, responding to a superior
- 曰 said
- 言 yán
a saying, words, a statement
- 不可以 bù kě yǐ
cannot, is not able to
- 不 not
- 可 can, be able to
- 以 modal complement forming 可以, can, be able to
- 若是 ruò shì
to this extent, so, such
- 若 like, as (in 若是, to this extent)
- 是 this, so, this much (demonstrative, in 若是)
- 其 qí
intensifying particle before a predicate: so, to such a degree
- 幾 jī
to be close to, nearly the case
Contested: 皇侃 and 邢昺 gloss 幾 as 近, near, so a saying 'cannot come that close' to the effect (Peimin Ni, Watson, Chin 'close'); 朱熹 glosses it 期, to expect, so such an effect 'cannot be expected' of a saying (Legge, Roberts).
- 也 yě
final particle of assertion
English closes the sentence with a period rather than a separate word.
- 人 rén
people, men (generic subject)
- 之 zhī
possessive particle: 's, of
English uses "have" ("people have a saying") rather than a genitive word for 之.
- 言 yán
a saying
- 曰 yuē
goes, says (introduces a quoted saying)
- 為君 wéi jūn
to be ruler, act as sovereign
- 為 to act as, to be (in 為君, to be ruler)
- 君 ruler, sovereign, prince
- 難 nán
difficult, hard
- 為臣 wéi chén
to be minister, act as a subject or official
- 為 to act as, to be (in 為臣, to be minister)
- 臣 minister, subject, official
- 不易 bù yì
not easy
- 不 not
- 易 easy
- 如 rú
if, supposing
- 知 zhī
to know, understand, perceive
- 為君 wéi jūn
to be ruler, act as sovereign
- 為 to act as, to be (in 為君, being ruler)
- 君 ruler, sovereign, prince
- 之 zhī
possessive particle: of
- 難 nán
difficulty, being difficult
- 也 yě
particle marking a pause after the topic just named
- 不…乎 bù … hū
is it not...?, rhetorical self-answering question frame
- 不 not
- 乎 interrogative final particle
- 幾乎 jī hū
close to, nearly, almost
- 幾 near, close (in 幾乎, nearly, almost)
- 乎 element forming 幾乎, close to, nearly
幾 'come close' with 乎 doing 於's work, 'to' — pointed at the whole clause that follows. The two had not yet fused into the modern adverb 幾乎 'almost': Slingerland, Ames & Rosemont and Chin keep the 'to', Watson keeps it too but a few words on ('come close, would it not, to'), while Legge, Peimin Ni and Lau collapse the pair into 'almost'.
- 一言 yī yán
a single saying, one word
- 一 one, a single
- 言 a word, saying
- 而 ér
conjunctive particle: and, and then
- 興邦 xīng bāng
to make a state flourish, bring prosperity to a country
- 興 to flourish, prosper
- 邦 state, country
- 曰 yuē
said, asked
- 一言 yī yán
a single saying, one word
- 一 one, a single
- 言 a word, saying
- 而 ér
conjunctive particle: and, and then
- 喪邦 sàng bāng
to ruin a state, bring a state to ruin
- 喪 to ruin, destroy, lose
- 邦 state, country
- 有諸 yǒu zhū
is there such a thing?, existential-interrogative frame (有 + fused 之乎)
- 有 there is, to exist
- 諸 fusion of 之乎: pronoun it + interrogative final particle
- 孔子 kǒng zǐ
Confucius, Master Kong
- 孔 Kong, surname of Confucius
- 子 Master, honorific suffix in a sage's name
- 對曰 duì yuē
replied, answered (a superior)
- 對 in reply, responding to a superior
- 曰 said
- 言 yán
a saying, words, a statement
- 不可以 bù kě yǐ
cannot, is not able to
- 不 not
- 可 can, be able to
- 以 modal complement forming 可以, can, be able to
- 若是 ruò shì
to this extent, so, such
- 若 like, as (in 若是, to this extent)
- 是 this, so, this much (demonstrative, in 若是)
- 其 qí
intensifying particle before a predicate: so, to such a degree
- 幾 jī
to be close to, nearly the case
Contested: 皇侃 and 邢昺 gloss 幾 as 近, near, so a saying 'cannot come that close' to the effect (Peimin Ni, Watson, Chin 'close'); 朱熹 glosses it 期, to expect, so such an effect 'cannot be expected' of a saying (Legge, Roberts).
- 也 yě
final particle of assertion
English closes the sentence with a period rather than a separate word.
- 人 rén
people, men (generic subject)
- 之 zhī
possessive particle: 's, of
English uses "have" ("people have a saying") rather than a genitive word for 之.
- 言 yán
a saying
- 曰 yuē
goes, says (introduces a quoted saying)
- 予 yú
I, me
- 無 wú
not, without, lacking
- 樂 lè
joy, pleasure, delight
- 乎 hū
oblique-marking coverb: in, at, from
- 為君 wéi jūn
to be ruler, act as sovereign
- 為 to act as, to be (in 為君, being ruler)
- 君 ruler, sovereign, prince
- 唯 wéi
only, except that
- 其 qí
his, referring to the ruler (possessive)
- 言 yán
words, what is said, to speak
- 而 ér
conjunctive particle: and, and then, and so
- 莫 mò
no one, none, nobody
- 予 yú
me (object pronoun)
- 違 wéi
to oppose, defy, go against
- 也 yě
final particle of assertion
English closes the quoted saying with punctuation rather than a separate word.
- 如 rú
if, supposing
- 其 qí
his, referring to the ruler
- 善 shàn
good
- 而 ér
conjunctive particle: and
- 莫 mò
no one, none, nobody
- 之 zhī
it, him (object pronoun)
- 違 wéi
to oppose, defy, go against
- 也 yě
particle marking a pause after the topic just named
- 不亦…乎 bù yì … hū
is it not also...?, rhetorical self-answering question frame
- 不 not
- 亦 also, too (in 不亦...乎, is it not also...?)
- 乎 interrogative final particle
- 善 shàn
good
- 如 rú
if, supposing
- 不善 bù shàn
not good, bad
- 不 not
- 善 good
- 而 ér
conjunctive particle: and
- 莫 mò
no one, none, nobody
- 之 zhī
it, him (object pronoun)
- 違 wéi
to oppose, defy, go against
- 也 yě
particle marking a pause after the topic just named
- 不…乎 bù … hū
is it not...?, rhetorical self-answering question frame
- 不 not
- 乎 interrogative final particle
- 幾乎 jī hū
close to, nearly, almost
- 幾 near, close (in 幾乎, nearly, almost)
- 乎 element forming 幾乎, close to, nearly
幾 'come close' with 乎 doing 於's work, 'to' — pointed at the whole clause that follows. The two had not yet fused into the modern adverb 幾乎 'almost': Slingerland, Ames & Rosemont and Chin keep the 'to', Watson keeps it too but a few words on ('come close, would it not, to'), while Legge, Peimin Ni and Lau collapse the pair into 'almost'.
- 一言 yī yán
a single saying, one word
- 一 one, a single
- 言 a word, saying
- 而 ér
conjunctive particle: and, and then
- 喪邦 sàng bāng
to ruin a state, bring a state to ruin
- 喪 to ruin, destroy, lose
- 邦 state, country
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