Book 18: 《微子》 Wei Zi
《微子》 Passage 18.8
Legge Translation (1861)
The men who have retired to privacy from the world have been Bo Yi, Shu Qi, Yu Zhong, Yi Yi, Zhu Zhang, Hui of Liuxia, and Shao Lian.The Master said: "Refusing to surrender their wills, or to submit to any taint in their persons;— such, I think, were Bo Yi and Shu Qi.
It may be said of Hui of Liuxia, and of Shao Lian, that they surrendered their wills, and submitted to taint in their persons, but their words corresponded with reason, and their actions were such as men are anxious to see. This is all that is to be remarked in them.
It may be said of Yu Zhong and Yi Yi, that, while they hid themselves in their seclusion, they gave a license to their words; but, in their persons, they succeeded in preserving their purity, and, in their retirement, they acted according to the exigency of the times.
I am different from all these. I have no course for which I am predetermined, and no course against which I am predetermined."
Word by word
- 逸民 yì mín
withdrawn from society, recluses
- 逸 withdrawn, retired from public life
- 民 people, men
Ames & Rosemont reads 逸 as talents left unused rather than plain withdrawal, a divergent interpretation.
- 伯夷 bó yí
Bo Yi, legendary prince who starved rather than serve an illegitimate ruler
- 伯 eldest (birth-order term); here, a name syllable
- 夷 barbarian tribes; here, a name syllable
- 叔齊 shū qí
Shu Qi, Bo Yi's brother
- 叔 father's younger brother; here, a name syllable
- 齊 even, uniform; here, a name syllable
- 虞仲 yú zhòng
Yu Zhong, one of the recluses named
- 虞 concern, anxiety; here, a name syllable
- 仲 second-born, middle brother; here, a name syllable
- 夷逸 yí yì
Yi Yi, one of the recluses named
- 夷 barbarian tribes; here, a name syllable
- 逸 flee, withdraw; here, a name syllable
- 朱張 zhū zhāng
Zhu Zhang, one of the recluses named
- 朱 vermilion, cinnabar; here, a name syllable
- 張 stretch, extend; here, a name syllable
- 柳下惠 liǔ xià huì
Liuxia Hui, one of the recluses named
- 柳 willow; here, a name syllable
- 下 below, under; here, a name syllable
- 惠 kindness, favor; here, a name syllable
- 少連 shào lián
Shao Lian, one of the recluses named
- 少 young, few; here, a name syllable
- 連 join, connect; here, a name syllable
- 子曰 zǐ yuē
the Master said
- 子 master, teacher; refers to Confucius
- 曰 said, spoke
- 不 bù
not
- 降 jiàng
to lower, compromise (one's aspirations)
- 其 qí
their, his (possessive pronoun)
- 志 zhì
will, aspiration, purpose
- 不 bù
not
Most translators let a single negation govern both clauses of this parallel pair; Peimin Ni, Roberts, and Watson mark the second negation separately.
- 辱 rǔ
to disgrace, bring shame upon
- 其 qí
their, his (possessive pronoun)
- 身 shēn
person, self
- 伯夷 bó yí
Bo Yi, legendary prince who starved rather than serve an illegitimate ruler
- 伯 eldest (birth-order term); here, a name syllable
- 夷 barbarian tribes; here, a name syllable
- 叔齊 shū qí
Shu Qi, Bo Yi's brother
- 叔 father's younger brother; here, a name syllable
- 齊 even, uniform; here, a name syllable
- 與 yú
tentative sentence-final particle: perhaps, is it not so
Functions like 歟, softening the judgment as a supposition rather than a flat assertion.
- 謂 wèi
it was said of, said regarding
- 柳下惠 liǔ xià huì
Liuxia Hui, one of the recluses named
- 柳 willow; here, a name syllable
- 下 below, under; here, a name syllable
- 惠 kindness, favor; here, a name syllable
- 少連 shào lián
Shao Lian, one of the recluses named
- 少 young, few; here, a name syllable
- 連 join, connect; here, a name syllable
- 降 jiàng
to lower, compromise (one's aspirations)
Same verb as the negated 不降 above; here affirmed, marking the reversal at the heart of the contrast between the two pairs.
- 志 zhì
will, aspiration, purpose
- 辱 rǔ
to disgrace, bring shame upon
- 身 shēn
person, self
- 矣 yǐ
final particle marking a completed state
- 言 yán
words, speech
- 中 zhòng
to accord with, hit the mark of
Read zhòng, to hit the mark of, accord with; the same reading holds for all four 中 in this passage (言中倫, 行中慮, 身中清, 廢中權).
- 倫 lún
human relationships, moral norms
Slingerland and Lau read 倫 as social rank/station rather than moral norms — a genuine split among translators.
- 行 xíng
conduct, actions
- 中 zhòng
to accord with, hit the mark of
- 慮 lǜ
careful consideration, deliberation
- 其 qí
emphatic particle marking the following demonstrative
the emphasis falls on the demonstrative 斯 itself.
- 斯 sī
this, this much
- 而已矣 ér yǐ yǐ
that is all, nothing more (restrictive/completive frame)
- 而 conjunctive particle: and, and yet
- 已 to stop, cease; adverb: only, merely
- 矣 final particle of assertion
而已矣 is the fixed 而已 'that's all' frame reinforced by the final particle 矣.
- 謂 wèi
it was said of, said regarding
- 虞仲 yú zhòng
Yu Zhong, one of the recluses named
- 虞 concern, anxiety; here, a name syllable
- 仲 second-born, middle brother; here, a name syllable
- 夷逸 yí yì
Yi Yi, one of the recluses named
- 夷 barbarian tribes; here, a name syllable
- 逸 flee, withdraw; here, a name syllable
- 隱居 yǐn jū
to live in reclusion, in hiding
- 隱 to hide, live in obscurity
- 居 to dwell, reside
- 放言 fàng yán
to speak freely, without restraint
- 放 to release, let loose
- 言 words, speech
包咸 in 何晏 glosses 放 as 置, to set speech aside and say nothing of worldly affairs, the reading Watson follows; 朱熹 reads 放言 as 肆口極言, speaking without restraint, the reading adopted here and by the other translators.
- 身 shēn
person, self
- 中 zhòng
to accord with, hit the mark of
- 清 qīng
purity, integrity, being undefiled
- 廢 fèi
abandoning office, withdrawing from the world
- 中 zhòng
to accord with, hit the mark of
- 權 quán
expediency, weighing of circumstances, discretion
Roberts's 'irregular' diverges from the more common reading of 權 as sound, situational judgment.
- 我 wǒ
I, me
- 則 zé
contrastive particle: as for, however, but
- 異 yì
different, other
- 於 yú
coverb marking comparison: from
- 是 shì
this, these (demonstrative pronoun)
- 無 wú
there is no, without
- 可 kě
permissible, acceptable
- 無 wú
there is no, without
- 不可 bù kě
impermissible, unacceptable
- 不 not
- 可 permissible, acceptable
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