Book 16: 《季氏》 Ji Shi (The Ji Clan)
《季氏》 Passage 16.7
Legge Translation (1861)
Confucius said: "There are three things which the superior man guards against. In youth, when the physical powers are not yet settled, he guards against lust. When he is strong and the physical powers are full of vigor, he guards against quarrelsomeness. When he is old, and the animal powers are decayed, he guards against covetousness."Word by word
- 孔子 kǒng zǐ
Confucius, Master Kong
- 孔 Kong, the surname of Confucius
- 子 master, honorific title suffixed to a surname
- 曰 yuē
said
- 君子 jūn zǐ
exemplary person, gentleman
- 君 lord, ruler; 君子 is literally a lord's son
- 子 son; 君子 is literally a lord's son, one of the ruling class, which the Analects makes a term of character
- 有 yǒu
to have, there are
- 三 sān
three
- 戒 jiè
cautions, things to guard against
- 少之時 shào zhī shí
in one's youth, the time of youth
- 少 young, in one's youth
- 之 possessive/subordinating particle: 's, of
- 時 time, period of life
- 血氣 xuè qì
blood and vital energy (qi)
- 血 blood
- 氣 vital energy, qi
血氣 is the binome for the physical/vital life-force; translators render it as blood-qi, vital essence, or simply vigor/energies.
- 未定 wèi dìng
not yet settled, still unstable
- 未 not yet
- 定 settled, stable, fixed
- 戒之在 jiè zhī zài
that which is guarded against lies in, guards against
- 戒 to guard against, be wary of
- 之 object pronoun: it, anticipating what is guarded against
- 在 to lie in, consist in
- 色 sè
sexual desire, lust for female beauty
- 及其…也 jí qí … yě
temporal clause frame: when he reaches...
- 及 to reach, arrive at (a stage of life)
- 其 his, their
- 也 particle marking a temporal or topical clause
- 壯 zhuàng
the prime of life, vigorous manhood
- 血氣 xuè qì
blood and vital energy (qi)
- 血 blood
- 氣 vital energy, qi
- 方剛 fāng gāng
at full vigor, firm and unyielding
- 方 just now, at this point
- 剛 firm, unyielding, at full strength
- 戒之在 jiè zhī zài
that which is guarded against lies in, guards against
- 戒 to guard against, be wary of
- 之 nominalizing/resumptive particle: that which
- 在 to lie in, consist in
- 鬭 dòu
contentiousness, strife, quarrelsomeness
- 及其…也 jí qí … yě
temporal clause frame: when he reaches...
- 及 to reach, arrive at (a stage of life)
- 其 his, their
- 也 particle marking a temporal or topical clause
- 老 lǎo
old age
- 血氣 xuè qì
blood and vital energy (qi)
- 血 blood
- 氣 vital energy, qi
- 既衰 jì shuāi
already declined, weakened
- 既 already
- 衰 declined, weakened
- 戒之在 jiè zhī zài
that which is guarded against lies in, guards against
- 戒 to guard against, be wary of
- 之 nominalizing/resumptive particle: that which
- 在 to lie in, consist in
- 得 dé
acquisitiveness, desire for gain
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