Book 4: 《里仁》 Li Ren (Dwelling in Ren)
《里仁》 Passage 4.5
Legge Translation (1861)
The Master said: "Riches and honors are what men desire. If it cannot be obtained in the proper way, they should not be held. Poverty and meanness are what men dislike. If it cannot be avoided in the proper way, they should not be avoided.If a superior man abandon virtue, how can he fulfill the requirements of that name?
The superior man does not, even for the space of a single meal, act contrary to virtue. In moments of haste, he cleaves to it. In seasons of danger, he cleaves to it."
Word by word
- 子曰 zǐ yuē
the Master said
- 子 the Master, Confucius
- 曰 said, spoke
- 富 fù
wealth, riches
- 與 yǔ
conjunction: and
- 貴 guì
high rank, honor, esteemed status
- 是…也 shì … yě
copula/judgment frame: is, are (asserting identity)
- 是 demonstrative/copula: this is, these are
- 也 sentence-final particle marking assertion or judgment
是 acts as a resumptive copula and 也 marks the assertion; together they form the classical judgment-sentence pattern 'X是Y也' = 'X is Y'.
- 人 rén
people, others in general
- 之所 zhī suǒ
nominalizing/relativizing frame: that which, what
- 之 particle marking a noun as subject of the following clause
- 所 nominalizing particle: that which, what
- 欲 yù
desire, want
- 不…得 bù … dé
fail to obtain, if not gotten (conditional negation)
- 不 not
- 得 obtain, get, come by
- 以其道 yǐ qí dào
by the proper way, according to the right method
- 以 by means of, according to, via
- 其 its, the (referring back to the proper way)
- 道 way, proper method, right course of action
- 之 zhī
it, them (resumptive pronoun for wealth and rank)
- 不…也 bù … yě
negative assertion: will not..., should not... (emphatic/final)
- 不 not
- 也 sentence-final particle marking assertion
- 處 chǔ
dwell in, accept and keep, remain in possession of
- 貧 pín
poverty, being poor
- 與 yǔ
conjunction: and
- 賤 jiàn
low social status, humble position
- 是…也 shì … yě
copula/judgment frame: is, are (asserting identity)
- 是 demonstrative/copula: this is, these are
- 也 sentence-final particle marking assertion
Same judgment-sentence pattern as the first 是…也, parallel to the wealth/rank clause.
- 人 rén
people, others in general
- 之所 zhī suǒ
nominalizing/relativizing frame: that which, what
- 之 particle marking a noun as subject of the following clause
- 所 nominalizing particle: that which, what
- 惡 wù
hate, dislike, detest
- 不…得 bù … dé
not avoid, fail to escape (得 read as parallel to 去 below)
- 不 not
- 得 obtain, get; often read 'avoid' here to parallel 去 (textual crux)
何晏 and 朱熹 keep 得 as obtain: poverty that comes on one undeservedly is not to be shaken off. Because poverty is not sought, 楊伯峻 and most translators (Legge, Slingerland, Peimin Ni, Watson, Chin) render 得 as avoid, paralleling 去; Lau alone keeps get.
- 以其道 yǐ qí dào
by the proper way, according to the right method
- 以 by means of, according to, via
- 其 its, the (referring back to the proper way)
- 道 way, proper method, right course of action
- 之 zhī
it, them (resumptive pronoun for poverty and low status)
- 不…也 bù … yě
negative assertion: will not..., should not... (emphatic/final)
- 不 not
- 也 sentence-final particle marking assertion
- 去 qù
escape from, rid oneself of, get away from
- 君子 jūn zǐ
exemplary person, gentleman (morally accomplished 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
- 去 qù
depart from, abandon, forsake
- 仁 rén
benevolence, humaneness
- 惡乎 wū hū
how, in what way (rhetorical interrogative)
- 惡 how, in what way (interrogative)
- 乎 interrogative final particle
惡 here is pronounced wū ('how'), not wù ('hate') as earlier in this passage.
- 成名 chéng míng
achieve a worthy reputation, be deserving of the name
- 成 achieve, fulfill, complete
- 名 name, reputation
- 君子 jūn zǐ
exemplary person, gentleman (morally accomplished 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
- 無 wú
there is not, not even, never (negates existence or occurrence)
- 終食之間 zhōng shí zhī jiān
the time it takes to finish a meal, a brief interval
- 終 finish, complete (an action)
- 食 eat; a meal
- 之 possessive particle: 's, of
- 間 interval, span of time
- 違 wéi
go against, act contrary to, depart from
- 仁 rén
benevolence, humaneness
- 造次 zào cì
a moment of haste, urgency, or crisis
- 造 hurried, rushed; make, begin
- 次 sequence, occasion; a moment, an instance
- 必 bì
surely, certainly, necessarily
- 於是 yú shì
at this, in this (referring back to ren)
- 於 at, in, to (preposition)
- 是 this, it (demonstrative pronoun, referring to ren)
- 顛沛 diān pèi
a moment of upheaval, crisis, or stumbling
- 顛 fall, topple; a moment of upheaval
- 沛 in turmoil, unsettled; sudden and overwhelming
- 必 bì
surely, certainly, necessarily
- 於是 yú shì
at this, in this (referring back to ren)
- 於 at, in, to (preposition)
- 是 this, it (demonstrative pronoun, referring to ren)
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