Book 15: 《衛靈公》 Wei Ling Gong (Duke Ling of Wey)
《衛靈公》 Passage 15.8
Legge Translation (1861)
The Master said: "When a man may be spoken with, not to speak to him is to err in reference to the man. When a man may not be spoken with, to speak to him is to err in reference to our words. The wise err neither in regard to their man nor to their words."Word by word
- 子曰 zǐ yuē
the Master said
- 子 Master, teacher (title for Confucius)
- 曰 said, spoke
- 可 kě
can, may, worth (it)
- 與言 yǔ yán
to speak with, converse with
- 與 with (coverb introducing the person addressed)
- 言 to speak, talk
Lau and Chin render this interpretively as benefiting from / absorbing what is said, rather than the bare act of speaking.
- 而 ér
conjunction: but, yet, and
- 不 bù
not
- 與之言 yǔ zhī yán
to speak with him, converse with him
- 與 with (coverb introducing the person addressed)
- 之 him, that person (object pronoun)
- 言 to speak, talk
- 失人 shī rén
to fail a worthy person, let a person go to waste
- 失 to lose, fail to make proper use of
- 人 person, man
- 不可 bù kě
cannot, not able to
- 不 not
- 可 can, may, is permissible (marking feasibility)
- 與言 yǔ yán
to speak with, converse with
- 與 with (coverb introducing the person addressed)
- 言 to speak, talk
- 而 ér
conjunction: but, yet, and
- 與之言 yǔ zhī yán
to speak with him, converse with him
- 與 with (coverb introducing the person addressed)
- 之 him, that person (object pronoun)
- 言 to speak, talk
- 失言 shī yán
to waste one's words, speak to no purpose
- 失 to lose, fail to make proper use of
- 言 words, what is said
- 知者 zhì zhě
the wise, one who knows
- 知 wise, of sound judgment — Read as 智 (zhì, 'wise'), not the verb 知 (zhī, 'to know').
- 者 nominalizing particle: one who, those who
知 is read zhì 'wise' (= 智) here, not zhī 'to know'; Ames & Rosemont marks this explicitly with the parenthetical 'zhi'.
- 不 bù
not
- 失人 shī rén
to fail a worthy person, let a person go to waste
- 失 to lose, fail to make proper use of
- 人 person, man
- 亦不 yì bù
also not, nor
- 亦 also, too
- 不 not
- 失言 shī yán
to waste one's words, speak to no purpose
- 失 to lose, fail to make proper use of
- 言 words, what is said
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