Book 17: 《陽貨》 Yang Huo
《陽貨》 Passage 17.7
Legge Translation (1861)
Bi Xi inviting him to visit him, the Master was inclined to go.Zilu said: "Master, formerly I have heard you say, 'When a man in his own person is guilty of doing evil, a superior man will not associate with him.' Bi Xi is in rebellion, holding possession of Zhongmou; if you go to him, what shall be said?"
The Master said: "Yes, I did use these words. But is it not said, that, if a thing be really hard, it may be ground without being made thin? Is it not said, that, if a thing be really white, it may be steeped in a dark fluid without being made black?
Am I a bitter gourd! How can I be hung up out of the way of being eaten?"
Word by word
- 佛肸 bì xī
Bi Xi, a steward in the state of Jin
- 佛 Bi-, first syllable of the proper name Bi Xi
- 肸 -xi, second syllable of the proper name Bi Xi
佛 is here read bì (朱熹: 佛，音弼) and 肸 xī; Bi Xi held Zhongmou as steward for the Zhao family of Jin.
- 召 zhào
summon, send for
- 子 zǐ
the Master, Confucius
- 欲 yù
want, wish, be inclined to
- 往 wǎng
go
- 子路 zǐ lù
Zilu, a disciple of Confucius
- 子 prefix of a courtesy name, as in 子路 and 子貢; not the title Master
- 路 -lu, second syllable of the disciple's name Zilu
- 曰 yuē
say, said
- 昔者 xī zhě
formerly, in the past
- 昔 formerly, in the past
- 者 particle forming a time adverb with a preceding time word: formerly
- 由 yóu
I, me
由 is Zilu's given name, used here as a humble self-reference in speaking to his teacher.
- 也 yě
topic-marking particle
- 聞 wén
hear, hear about
- 諸 zhū
fusion of 之 (it) and 於 (from): it from
Most translators fuse this into the surrounding verb phrase rather than wording it separately; Lau alone spells it out as 'it from'.
- 夫子 fū zǐ
the Master (honorific), you
- 夫 component of the honorific term 夫子, 'the Master'
- 子 component of the honorific term 夫子, 'the Master'
Since Zilu addresses Confucius directly, translators render this honorific as the second-person pronoun.
- 曰 yuē
say
- 親 qīn
personally, in one's own conduct
Most translators read 親 adverbially ('personally does wrong'); Slingerland alone reads it as the object of the wrongdoing ('those close to him').
- 於 yú
in, at (locative preposition)
- 其 qí
his, her, its, their
- 身 shēn
body, person, one's own self
- 為 wéi
do, act, commit, behave
- 不善 bù shàn
bad, wicked, wrongdoing
- 不 not
- 善 good, virtuous
- 者 zhě
nominalizing particle: one who, that which
- 君子 jūn zǐ
gentleman, exemplary person
- 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
- 不入 bù rù
not enter, avoid associating with
- 不 not
- 入 enter, associate with
- 也 yě
final particle of assertion
English closes the sentence with a period rather than a separate particle.
- 佛肸 bì xī
Bi Xi, a steward in the state of Jin
- 佛 Bi-, first syllable of the proper name Bi Xi
- 肸 -xi, second syllable of the proper name Bi Xi
- 以 yǐ
by means of, using
- 中牟 zhōng móu
Zhongmou, a town/stronghold
- 中 Zhong-, first syllable of the place name Zhongmou
- 牟 -mou, second syllable of the place name Zhongmou
- 畔 pàn
rebel, revolt, turn against
畔 is used here as a loan for 叛, 'to rebel'.
- 子 zǐ
you
- 之 zhī
subordinating particle marking a nominalized clause
English uses an infinitive or conditional clause ('for you to go', 'if you go') rather than a separate word for this particle.
- 往 wǎng
go
- 也 yě
particle marking the end of a topicalized clause
- 如之何 rú zhī hé
what is to be done about it, how can that be justified
- 如 component of the idiom 如...何, 'what is to be done about'
- 之 it, that (pronoun inside the idiom 如...何)
- 何 component of the idiom 如...何, 'what is to be done about'
- 子曰 zǐ yuē
the Master said
- 子 the Master, Confucius
- 曰 say, said
- 然 rán
yes, that is so, correct
- 有 yǒu
there is, there was (such a saying); to have
- 是 shì
this, that (demonstrative pronoun)
- 言 yán
words, saying, statement
- 也 yě
final particle of assertion
English closes the sentence with a period rather than a separate particle.
- 不曰…乎 bù yuē … hū
is it not said that...?, rhetorical frame introducing a quoted maxim
- 不 not
- 曰 say, is said
- 乎 interrogative final particle
Slingerland, Roberts and Chin merge both parallel maxims (hardness and whiteness) under a single introductory frame.
- 堅 jiān
hard, firm, strong
- 磨 mó
grind, wear away by abrasion
- 而 ér
and yet, but
- 不 bù
not
- 磷 lìn
worn thin, ground down
磷 functions here as a loan for 甐, 'worn thin by abrasion', not its usual sense 'phosphorus'.
- 不曰…乎 bù yuē … hū
is it not said that...?, rhetorical frame introducing a quoted maxim
- 不 not
- 曰 say, is said
- 乎 interrogative final particle
Slingerland, Roberts and Chin merge both parallel maxims (hardness and whiteness) under a single introductory frame.
- 白 bái
white, pure
- 涅 niè
steep in black dye, blacken
- 而 ér
and yet, but
- 不 bù
not
- 緇 zī
turn black, dyed black
- 吾 wú
I, me
- 豈 qǐ
rhetorical marker: how could it be that, surely not
- 匏瓜 páo guā
bitter gourd, calabash
- 匏 component of 匏瓜, 'bitter gourd'
- 瓜 component of 匏瓜, 'bitter gourd'
A bitter gourd is inedible and useful only as a hollow container, hung up rather than eaten.
- 也哉 yě zāi
emphatic rhetorical-question particle combination
- 也 final particle paired with the following 與/哉 in a question
- 哉 final exclamatory particle
- 焉 yān
how, in what way
- 能 néng
can, be able to
- 繫 xì
be tied up, hung, fastened
- 而 ér
and, yet
- 不 bù
not
- 食 shí
eat, be eaten
何晏 (quoting 孔安國) and 朱熹 read 不食 actively: a gourd can hang in one place because it does not eat, whereas a man must; all eight translators instead read it passively, 'hang and not be eaten'. The gloss keeps both.
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