Book 14: 《憲問》 Xian Wen (Xian Asked)
《憲問》 Passage 14.33
Legge Translation (1861)
The Master said: "A horse is called a ji, not because of its strength, but because of its other good qualities."Word by word
- 子曰 zǐ yuē
the Master said
- 子 the Master, honorific title for Confucius
- 曰 said, spoke
- 驥 jì
thoroughbred horse, fine or superior horse
驥 names a superior breed of horse prized in antiquity; Legge and Watson treat it as though naming a specific horse ("a ji" / "Qi") rather than describing the type.
- 不 bù
not
- 稱 chēng
to be praised for, valued on account of
- 其 qí
its, possessive pronoun referring to the horse
- 力 lì
strength, physical power
- 稱 chēng
to be praised for, valued on account of
- 其 qí
its, possessive pronoun referring to the horse
- 德 dé
virtue, moral excellence, character
鄭玄 in 何晏 glosses the horse's 德 as 調良, being well trained and docile; 朱熹 likewise (德，謂調良也). The translators keep the human vocabulary, 'virtue', 'excellence', 'character'.
- 也 yě
final particle of assertion
English closes the sentence with a full stop rather than a separate word; the particle's assertive force is carried by sentence-final punctuation, not by a translated word.
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