Book 8: 《泰伯》 Tai Bo
《泰伯》 Passage 8.13
Legge Translation (1861)
The Master said: "With sincere faith he unites the love of learning; holding firm to death, he is perfecting the excellence of his course.Such an one will not enter a tottering State, nor dwell in a disorganized one. When right principles of government prevail in the kingdom, he will show himself; when they are prostrated, he will keep concealed.
When a country is well-governed, poverty and a mean condition are things to be ashamed of. When a country is ill-governed, riches and honor are things to be ashamed of."
Word by word
- 子曰 zǐ yuē
the Master said
- 子 Master, honorific title for Confucius
- 曰 said
- 篤信 dǔ xìn
sincerely faithful, firmly trustworthy
- 篤 sincere, deeply committed
- 信 trustworthy, faithful
- 好學 hào xué
to love learning, be fond of study
- 好 to love, be fond of
- 學 learning, study
- 守 shǒu
to hold fast to, adhere firmly to
- 死 sǐ
until death, unto death (temporal extent)
- 善道 shàn dào
the good Way, virtuous path
- 善 good, virtuous
- 道 the Way, moral path
Legge reads 善 as a verb ('perfecting'), but most translators take it as an adjective modifying 道, 'the good Way'.
- 危邦 wēi bāng
a state in peril, a dangerous state
- 危 dangerous, precarious, in peril
- 邦 state, country
- 不 bù
not
- 入 rù
to enter
- 亂邦 luàn bāng
a state in chaos, a disordered state
- 亂 chaotic, in disorder, in revolt
- 邦 state, country
- 不 bù
not
- 居 jū
to dwell, reside, remain
- 天下 tiān xià
the world, all under heaven
- 天 heaven, the sky
- 下 under, below
- 有道 yǒu dào
to have the Way, for the Way to prevail
- 有 to have, possess; here: for the Way to prevail
- 道 the Way, moral order
- 則 zé
then, in that case: conditional connective
- 見 xiàn
to appear, show oneself publicly
read xiàn, to appear, show oneself, not jiàn, to see.
- 無道 wú dào
to lack the Way, for the Way not to prevail
- 無 to lack, be without; here: for the Way to fail to prevail
- 道 the Way, moral order
- 則 zé
then, in that case: conditional connective
- 隱 yǐn
to hide, withdraw into reclusion
- 邦 bāng
state, country
- 有道 yǒu dào
to have the Way, for the Way to prevail
- 有 to have, possess; here: for the Way to prevail
- 道 the Way, moral order
- 貧 pín
poor, impoverished
- 且 qiě
and: coordinating conjunction
- 賤 jiàn
lowly, of low status
- 焉 yān
resumptive particle: in it, there (fused coverb and pronoun)
- 恥 chǐ
a disgrace, a cause for shame
- 也 yě
final particle of assertion
- 邦 bāng
state, country
Roberts and Ames & Rosemont render this clause with an anaphoric 'it' rather than restating 'state'; Chin substitutes 'world', echoing the earlier 天下.
- 無道 wú dào
to lack the Way, for the Way not to prevail
- 無 to lack, be without; here: for the Way to fail to prevail
- 道 the Way, moral order
- 富 fù
rich, wealthy
- 且 qiě
and: coordinating conjunction
- 貴 guì
noble, of high status
- 焉 yān
resumptive particle: in it, there (fused coverb and pronoun)
- 恥 chǐ
a disgrace, a cause for shame
- 也 yě
final particle of assertion
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