Book 7: 《述而》 Shu Er (Transmission)
《述而》 Passage 7.35
Legge Translation (1861)
The Master being very sick, Zilu asked leave to pray for him. He said: "May such a thing be done?"Zilu replied: "It may. In the Eulogies it is said, 'Prayer has been made for thee to the spirits of the upper and lower worlds.'"
The Master said: "My praying has been for a long time."
Word by word
- 子 zǐ
the Master, Confucius
- 疾病 jí bìng
gravely ill, critically sick
- 疾 to fall ill, become sick
- 病 gravely ill, seriously sick
- 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, courtesy-name element in 子路, the courtesy name of Zhong You (仲由); his given name is 由
- 請 qǐng
to request, ask permission
- 禱 dǎo
to pray, offer a prayer
- 子曰 zǐ yuē
the Master said
- 子 the Master, Confucius
- 曰 said
- 有諸 yǒu zhū
is there such a thing?, existential rhetorical question
- 有 there is, to exist (in an existential question)
- 諸 fusion of 之 (it) and 乎 (question particle)
諸 fuses 之 (it, referring to the practice) and 乎 (question particle): literally 'is there it?'
- 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, courtesy-name element in 子路, the courtesy name of Zhong You (仲由); his given name is 由
- 對曰 duì yuē
replied, answered (to a superior)
- 對 to reply, respond (to a superior)
- 曰 said
- 有之 yǒu zhī
there is, yes (affirmative existential answer)
- 有 there is, to exist (affirmative answer)
- 之 it, that (referring back to the precedent asked about)
- 誄 lěi
the Lei, a eulogy/prayer text for the dead cited as precedent
誄 (lei) names a genre of eulogy/prayer text for the dead, invoked here as textual precedent for praying.
- 曰 yuē
said, reads (introduces a quoted text)
- 禱 dǎo
to pray, offer prayer (ritual formula)
- 爾 ěr
you (the person prayed for)
- 于 yú
preposition: to, unto
- 上下 shàng xià
above and below, heaven and earth
- 上 above, the higher realm (heaven)
- 下 below, the lower realm (earth)
Roberts and Ames & Rosemont distribute 上/下 onto 神/祇 separately ("gods above ... spirits below") rather than pairing them as an adjacent phrase.
- 神祇 shén qí
gods and spirits, celestial and earthly deities
- 神 spirits, gods (of heaven)
- 祇 earth spirits, deities of the earth
- 子曰 zǐ yuē
the Master said
- 子 the Master, Confucius
- 曰 said
- 丘 qiū
I, me (Confucius's self-reference by his given name)
Confucius refers to himself by his given name Qiu rather than 吾/我, a mark of humility and formality.
- 之 zhī
possessive particle: my, of
English often fuses the pronoun and possessive into one word ("my"), so its evidence overlaps with 丘's; several translators drop the possessive entirely.
- 禱 dǎo
praying, prayer (used as a noun)
- 久 jiǔ
a long time, for a long duration
- 矣 yǐ
final particle marking a completed/current state: already
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