Book 7: 《述而》 Shu Er (Transmission)
《述而》 Passage 7.11
Legge Translation (1861)
The Master said to Yan Yuan: "When called to office, to undertake its duties; when not so called, to lie retired; — it is only I and you who have attained to this."Zilu said: "If you had the conduct of the armies of a great State, whom would you have to act with you?"
The Master said: "I would not have him to act with me, who will unarmed attack a tiger, or cross a river without a boat, dying without any regret. My associate must be the man who proceeds to action full of solicitude, who is fond of adjusting his plans, and then carries them into execution."
Word by word
- 子 zǐ
the Master, Confucius
- 謂…曰 wèi … yuē
said to, spoke to
- 謂 to say to, address, speak to (someone)
- 曰 said, spoke
- 顏淵 yán yuān
Yan Yuan (Yan Hui), disciple of Confucius
- 顏 surname of the disciple Yan Yuan (Yan Hui)
- 淵 Yuan, courtesy-name element in 顏淵; Yan Hui's given name is 回, his courtesy name 子淵
- 用之則行 yòng zhī zé xíng
when employed, one goes forward and acts
- 用 to be employed, put into service
- 之 him, it (object pronoun, referring to oneself)
- 則 then, in that case (conditional connective)
- 行 to go forward, take action, come out into office
- 舍之則藏 shě zhī zé cáng
when set aside, one withdraws into retirement
- 舍 to set aside, dismiss, not employ
- 之 him, it (object pronoun, referring to oneself)
- 則 then, in that case (conditional connective)
- 藏 to hide away, withdraw into retirement
- 唯 wéi
only, alone
- 我與爾 wǒ yǔ ěr
you and I, we two
- 我 I, me
- 與 and (coordinating conjunction)
- 爾 you
- 有 yǒu
to have, possess, be capable of
- 是 shì
this, this ability just described
- 夫 fú
exclamatory final particle marking rhetorical emphasis
- 子路 zǐ lù
Zilu, 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
- 曰 yuē
said
- 子 zǐ
you, sir (respectful address to the Master)
- 行 xíng
to lead, command (troops)
- 三軍 sān jūn
the three armies, the full military force of a state
- 三 three
- 軍 army, military division
- 則 zé
conditional connective: if, then
- 誰 shuí
who, whom
- 與 yǔ
to take along, go along with, side with
- 子曰 zǐ yuē
the Master said
- 子 the Master, Confucius
- 曰 said, spoke
- 暴虎 bào hǔ
to attack a tiger bare-handed
- 暴 to attack bare-handed, act recklessly against — distinct from the character's common sense of 'violent, tyrannical'
- 虎 tiger
暴 here means to attack bare-handed, a specialized usage distinct from its common sense of violent or tyrannical.
- 馮河 píng hé
to ford a river on foot, without a boat
- 馮 to wade, ford (a river) on foot — a loan for 淜 here, distinct from the character's usual senses 'surname' or 'gallop'
- 河 river, the Yellow River
馮 is read píng, a loan for 淜, to cross water on foot without a boat (爾雅: 徒涉曰馮河, beside 徒搏曰暴虎); not féng, the surname.
- 死而無悔 sǐ ér wú huǐ
to die without regret
- 死 to die
- 而 conjunctive particle: and, and yet
- 無 without, lacking
- 悔 regret
- 者 zhě
nominalizing particle: one who, the kind of person who
- 吾 wú
I, me
- 不 bù
not
- 與 yǔ
to take along, associate with
- 也 yě
final particle of assertion
English closes the assertion with a period; the particle's affirming force is carried by sentence-final punctuation rather than a word.
- 必也 bì yě
necessarily, it would have to be (emphatic assertion)
- 必 necessarily, it would have to be
- 也 particle marking a pause after the fronted adverb 必
- 臨事而懼 lín shì ér jù
to approach a task with apprehension, proceed with caution
- 臨 to approach, face (a task)
- 事 task, affair, matter
- 而 conjunctive particle: and, and yet
- 懼 to be apprehensive, fearful, cautious
- 好謀而成 hào móu ér chéng
to be fond of deliberation and thereby succeed
- 好 to be fond of, like
- 謀 planning, deliberation
- 而 conjunctive particle: and, and yet
- 成 to succeed, accomplish
- 者也 zhě yě
nominalizing particle: the one who, the sort who
- 者 nominalizing particle: one who, the kind of person who
- 也 final particle of assertion
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