Book 16: 《季氏》 Ji Shi (The Ji Clan)
《季氏》 Passage 16.8
Legge Translation (1861)
Confucius said: "There are three things of which the superior man stands in awe. He stands in awe of the ordinances of Heaven. He stands in awe of great men. He stands in awe of the words of sages.The mean man does not know the ordinances of Heaven, and consequently does not stand in awe of them. He is disrespectful to great men. He makes sport of the words of sages."
Word by word
- 孔子 kǒng zǐ
Confucius, Master Kong
- 孔 surname of Confucius, Kong Qiu
- 子 honorific suffix meaning 'master', appended to a surname
- 曰 yuē
said, spoke (introduces reported speech)
- 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
Roberts renders as 'true prince', Legge as 'superior man' — same referent, moral rather than political nobility.
- 有 yǒu
to have, hold (introducing an enumeration)
- 三 sān
three
- 畏 wèi
awe, reverence
Used substantively here to name the three objects about to be enumerated, before the verb 畏 is repeated for each one.
- 畏 wèi
to hold in awe of, to revere and fear
- 天命 tiān mìng
the Mandate of Heaven, Heaven's decree
- 天 Heaven, the sky; the highest moral-cosmic power
- 命 mandate, decree; the command issued by Heaven
Ames & Rosemont's 'propensities of tian' reflects a process-cosmology reading rather than a personal decree.
- 畏 wèi
to hold in awe of, to revere and fear
- 大人 dà rén
men of high rank or eminence
- 大 great, eminent, of high rank
- 人 person, man
- 畏 wèi
to hold in awe of, to revere and fear
- 聖人 shèng rén
sages, persons of consummate wisdom and virtue
- 聖 sage, holy; possessing consummate wisdom and virtue
- 人 person, man
- 之 zhī
possessive/modifying particle: of
- 言 yán
words, teachings, utterances
- 小人 xiǎo rén
petty person, small-minded commoner
- 小 small, of low or common status
- 人 person, man
- 不 bù
not
- 知 zhī
to know, understand, be aware of
- 天命 tiān mìng
the Mandate of Heaven, Heaven's decree
- 天 Heaven, the sky; the highest moral-cosmic power
- 命 mandate, decree; the command issued by Heaven
- 而 ér
and so, thus (marking result)
- 不 bù
not
- 畏 wèi
to hold in awe of, to revere and fear
- 也 yě
final particle of assertion
- 狎 xiá
to be over-familiar with, take liberties with, treat lightly
the core sense is familiarity that takes liberties, contrasted with the awe of 畏; Ames & Rosemont 'unduly familiar with' keeps it, Roberts 'ingratiate themselves with' bends it toward fawning, and the other six sharpen it to disrespect or insolence.
- 大人 dà rén
men of high rank or eminence
- 大 great, eminent, of high rank
- 人 person, man
- 侮 wǔ
to mock, insult, treat with contempt
- 聖人 shèng rén
sages, persons of consummate wisdom and virtue
- 聖 sage, holy; possessing consummate wisdom and virtue
- 人 person, man
- 之 zhī
possessive/modifying particle: of
- 言 yán
words, teachings, utterances
A text file for Anki 2.1.55 or later: File → Import. The cards go to the deck “Analects”, tagged by passage, and importing again updates them instead of adding copies.
Discussion
No one has started on this passage yet.
Start the discussion in r/analects