Book 4: 《里仁》 Li Ren (Dwelling in Ren)
《里仁》 Passage 4.2
Legge Translation (1861)
The Master said: "Those who are without virtue cannot abide long either in a condition of poverty and hardship, or in a condition of enjoyment. The virtuous rest in virtue; the wise desire virtue."Word by word
- 子曰 zǐ yuē
the Master said
- 子 Master, honorific title for a teacher (here, Confucius)
- 曰 said, spoke
- 不仁者 bù rén zhě
one who is not human-hearted
- 不 bù
not, without
- 仁 rén
humaneness, benevolence, virtue
Ames & Rosemont read 仁 relationally, as authoritative conduct rather than an inner virtue — a recognized divergence in their translation.
- 者 zhě
nominalizing particle: one who, those who
- 不可以 bù kě yǐ
cannot, is not able to
- 不 not
- 可 can, may, to be able to
- 以 auxiliary particle combining with 可 to express ability: can, may
- 久 jiǔ
for a long time, long-lasting
- 處 chǔ
to dwell in, abide in, endure
- 約 yuē
poverty, privation, straitened circumstances
- 不可以 bù kě yǐ
cannot, is not able to
- 不 not
- 可 can, may, to be able to
- 以 auxiliary particle combining with 可 to express ability: can, may
- 長 cháng
for a long time, enduring
- 處 chǔ
to dwell in, enjoy, remain in
- 樂 lè
joy, ease, comfortable circumstances
Roberts renders 樂 idiosyncratically as 'enthusiasm' rather than the standard sense of ease or comfort.
- 仁者 rén zhě
the human-hearted; one who possesses 仁
- 仁 rén
humane, virtuous, benevolent
- 者 zhě
nominalizing particle: one who, the person who
- 安 ān
to rest content in, feel at home in, be at ease in
- 仁 rén
humaneness, virtue, moral goodness
- 知 zhì
wise, prudent
here 知 is read zhì, a loangraph for 智 'wise, prudent', not zhī 'to know'.
- 者 zhě
nominalizing particle: one who, the person who
- 利 lì
to profit from, find advantageous
Legge's 'desire' is an outlier among the translators, who otherwise read 利 as profiting from or being advantaged by humaneness.
- 仁 rén
humaneness, virtue, moral goodness
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