Book 15: 《衛靈公》 Wei Ling Gong (Duke Ling of Wey)
《衛靈公》 Passage 15.17
Legge Translation (1861)
The Master said: "When a number of people are together, for a whole day, without their conversation turning on righteousness, and when they are fond of carrying out the suggestions of a small shrewdness; — theirs is indeed a hard case."Word by word
- 子曰 zǐ yuē
the Master said
- 子 honorific title: the Master (referring to Confucius)
- 曰 said, spoke
- 群 qún
group, those gathered together
- 居 jū
to dwell together, stay together
- 終日 zhōng rì
all day, the whole day
- 終 whole, entire (modifying a span of time)
- 日 day
- 言 yán
speech, conversation, words
- 不 bù
not
- 及 jí
to reach, touch upon, extend to
- 義 yì
rightness, righteousness
- 好 hào
fond of, given to
- 行 xíng
to carry out, practice, do
- 小慧 xiǎo huì
petty cleverness, small-minded wit
- 小 small, petty, trivial
- 慧 cleverness, wit, shrewdness
- 難矣哉 nán yǐ zāi
exclamatory frame: how difficult, hopeless indeed!
- 難 difficult, hard; hopeless
- 矣 perfective/emphatic final particle
- 哉 exclamatory final particle
Lau and Watson invert the syntax (an ironic 'remarkable feat' / 'don't look for much from them') rather than using a difficulty adjective, but both carry the same harsh, hopeless judgment as the frame's sense.
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