Book 17: 《陽貨》 Yang Huo
《陽貨》 Passage 17.19
Legge Translation (1861)
The Master said: "I would prefer not speaking."Zigong said: "If you, Master, do not speak, what shall we, your disciples, have to record?"
The Master said: "Does Heaven speak? The four seasons pursue their courses, and all things are continually being produced, but does Heaven say anything?"
Word by word
- 子曰 zǐ yuē
the Master said
- 子 the Master, Confucius (respectful title)
- 曰 said (introduces reported speech)
- 予 yú
I, me
- 欲 yù
to wish, want to, intend to
- 無 wú
not (negates the following verb)
- 言 yán
to speak, say
- 子貢 zǐ gòng
Zigong (disciple of Confucius)
- 子 prefix of a courtesy name, as in 子路 and 子貢; not the title Master
- 貢 second syllable of the name Zigong
- 曰 yuē
said (introduces reported speech)
- 子 zǐ
you, sir (respectful term of address to the Master)
- 如 rú
if, supposing
- 不 bù
not
- 言 yán
to speak, say
- 則 zé
then, in that case (marks the consequence of a condition)
Only Slingerland renders 則 with an explicit word ('then').
- 小子 xiǎo zǐ
we, your disciples (self-referential term used by disciples)
- 小 little, young (first syllable of the self-deprecating term 小子)
- 子 second syllable of 小子: we, your disciples
- 何 hé
what
- 述 shù
to transmit, hand down, pass on
- 焉 yān
fused final particle: from it, in that (於之), closing the question
- 子曰 zǐ yuē
the Master said
- 子 the Master, Confucius (respectful title)
- 曰 said (introduces reported speech)
- 天 tiān
Heaven
- 何 hé
what (interrogative pronoun, object of 言)
- 言 yán
to speak, say
- 哉 zāi
final exclamatory particle: rhetorical emphasis
Slingerland, Lau, and Chin render the rhetorical force with 'ever'; the others rely on the question mark alone.
- 四時 sì shí
the four seasons
- 四 four
- 時 season (second syllable of 四時, the four seasons)
- 行 xíng
to proceed, run their course, move
- 焉 yān
there, in it (resumptive particle referring back to Heaven)
焉 fuses 於 + 之; a few translators unpack it as 'by/through/within it', pointing back to Heaven.
- 百物 bǎi wù
the hundred things, all creatures
- 百 hundred (first syllable of 百物, the hundred things)
- 物 thing, creature (second syllable of 百物, the hundred things)
- 生 shēng
to be born, grow, come to life
- 焉 yān
there, in it (resumptive particle referring back to Heaven)
焉 fuses 於 + 之; a few translators unpack it as 'from/through/within it', pointing back to Heaven.
- 天 tiān
Heaven
- 何 hé
what (interrogative pronoun, object of 言)
- 言 yán
to speak, say
- 哉 zāi
final exclamatory particle: rhetorical emphasis
Slingerland, Lau, and Chin render the rhetorical force with 'ever'; the others rely on the question mark alone.
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