Book 14: 《憲問》 Xian Wen (Xian Asked)
《憲問》 Passage 14.3
Legge Translation (1861)
The Master said: "When good government prevails in a state, language may be lofty and bold, and actions the same. When bad government prevails, the actions may be lofty and bold, but the language may be with some reserve."Word by word
- 子曰 zǐ yuē
the Master said
- 子 Master (Confucius); honorific title
- 曰 said, spoke (introducing a quotation)
- 邦 bāng
state, country, realm
- 有道 yǒu dào
the Way prevails, good government obtains
- 有 to have, possess (of a state: the Way prevails)
- 道 the Way, right moral-political order
- 危言 wēi yán
bold, forthright speech
- 危 bold, uncompromising, plain-spoken
- 言 speech, words, what one says
危 is glossed 厲, stern and severe, by 包咸 in 何晏, and 高峻, lofty, by 朱熹; Watson's 'stern' and Lau's 'perilous high-mindedness' follow each in turn, while 楊伯峻 reads 正直, forthright.
- 危行 wēi xíng
bold, forthright conduct
- 危 bold, uncompromising, plain-spoken
- 行 conduct, action, behavior
- 邦 bāng
state, country, realm
- 無道 wú dào
the Way fails to prevail, government has gone bad
- 無 not to have, lack (of a state: the Way is absent)
- 道 the Way, right moral-political order
- 危行 wēi xíng
bold, forthright conduct
- 危 bold, uncompromising, plain-spoken
- 行 conduct, action, behavior
- 言孫 yán xùn
deferential, modest, self-effacing speech
- 言 speech, words, what one says
- 孫 modest, deferential, self-effacing (loan for 遜)
孫 read as loangraph for 遜 (xùn), 'modest, deferential', reversing the usual 危+noun order for parallelism
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