Book 14: 《憲問》 Xian Wen (Xian Asked)
《憲問》 Passage 14.36
Legge Translation (1861)
Gongbo Liao, having slandered Zilu to Jisun, Zifu Jingbo informed Confucius of it, saying: "Our master is certainly being led astray by Gongbo Liao, but I have still power enough left to cut Liao off, and expose his corpse in the market and in the court."The Master said: "If my principles are to advance, it is so ordered. If they are to fall to the ground, it is so ordered. What can Gongbo Liao do where such ordering is concerned?"
Word by word
- 公伯寮 gōng bó liáo
Gongbo Liao, a disciple of Confucius
- 公 component of the personal name Gongbo Liao
- 伯 component of the personal name Gongbo Liao
- 寮 component of the personal name Gongbo Liao
- 愬 sù
to slander, speak ill of
- 子路 zǐ lù
Zilu, a disciple of Confucius
- 子 prefix of a courtesy name, as in 子路 and 子貢; not the title Master
- 路 component of the name Zilu
- 於 yú
preposition marking the indirect object: to
- 季孫 jì sūn
Jisun, head of the Ji family
- 季 component of the name Jisun, head of the Ji family
- 孫 component of the name Jisun, head of the Ji family
- 子服景伯 zǐ fú jǐng bó
Zifu Jingbo, a court official
- 子 component of the name Zifu Jingbo
- 服 component of the name Zifu Jingbo
- 景 component of the name Zifu Jingbo
- 伯 component of the name Zifu Jingbo
- 以 yǐ
coverb with its object omitted: with (it), i.e. reported the matter
- 告 gào
to report, inform
- 曰 yuē
to say, introduces direct speech
- 夫子 fū zǐ
the Master
- 夫 demonstrative/honorific element preceding 子: that, sir
- 子 master, sir, an honorific term for a respected man
refers to the head of the Jisun house, Zifu Jingbo's lord (朱熹: 夫子，指季孫), not to Confucius
- 固 gù
certainly, definitely
- 有 yǒu
to have, harbor (a feeling or suspicion)
- 惑志 huò zhì
misgivings, being led astray, doubts
- 惑 confused, misled
- 志 intention, state of mind
- 於 yú
preposition marking the agent: by
- 公伯寮 gōng bó liáo
Gongbo Liao, a disciple of Confucius
- 公 component of the personal name Gongbo Liao
- 伯 component of the personal name Gongbo Liao
- 寮 component of the personal name Gongbo Liao
- 吾 wú
I, my
- 力 lì
power, influence
- 猶 yóu
still, yet
- 能 néng
enough to, able to
- 肆 sì
to expose publicly, display a corpse as punishment
- 諸 zhū
fused pronoun and preposition: it/him + at, in
- 市朝 shì cháo
marketplace and court, public places for exposing a corpse
- 市 marketplace
- 朝 court, the royal or government court
- 子曰 zǐ yuē
the Master said
- 子 the Master, Confucius, used as subject
- 曰 to say, introducing direct speech
- 道 dào
the Way, moral teachings and guiding principles
- 之…也與 zhī … yě yú
whether/if it is the case that..., tentative supposition frame introducing a conditional question
- 之 subordinating particle marking the clause as a nominalized topic
- 也 particle marking the clause as a tentative supposition
- 與 final interrogative particle expressing tentative doubt — read here as the question particle equivalent to 歟 (yú), not the verb 'give' or preposition 'with, for'
- 將 jiāng
about to, going to (future)
- 行 xíng
to be practiced, prevail, go forward
- 命 mìng
fate, destiny, the mandate of Heaven
Ames & Rosemont renders ming as impersonal 'circumstances' rather than a personified 'fate' or 'destiny'
- 也 yě
final particle of assertion
- 道 dào
the Way, moral teachings and guiding principles
- 之…也與 zhī … yě yú
whether/if it is the case that..., tentative supposition frame introducing a conditional question
- 之 subordinating particle marking the clause as a nominalized topic
- 也 particle marking the clause as a tentative supposition
- 與 final interrogative particle expressing tentative doubt — read here as the question particle equivalent to 歟 (yú), not the verb 'give' or preposition 'with, for'
- 將 jiāng
about to, going to (future)
- 廢 fèi
to be discarded, fall into disuse, abandoned
- 命 mìng
fate, destiny, the mandate of Heaven
- 也 yě
final particle of assertion
- 公伯寮 gōng bó liáo
Gongbo Liao, a disciple of Confucius
- 公 component of the personal name Gongbo Liao
- 伯 component of the personal name Gongbo Liao
- 寮 component of the personal name Gongbo Liao
- 其如…何 qí rú … hé
what can be done about..., rhetorical fixed frame
- 其 modal particle intensifying a rhetorical question: what indeed, how
- 如 to be like, as if
- 何 interrogative pronoun: what, how
其 intensifies the rhetorical question; 如...何 is the standard classical idiom 'what can be done about X'
- 命 mìng
fate, destiny, the mandate of Heaven
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