Book 8: 《泰伯》 Tai Bo
《泰伯》 Passage 8.5
Legge Translation (1861)
The philosopher Zeng said: "Gifted with ability, and yet putting questions to those who were not so; possessed of much, and yet putting questions to those possessed of little; having, as though he had not; full, and yet counting himself as empty; offended against, and yet entering into no altercation; formerly I had a friend who pursued this style of conduct."Word by word
- 曾子 zēng zǐ
Zengzi, Master Zeng (a disciple of Confucius)
- 曾 surname Zeng (in the name Zengzi, a disciple of Confucius)
- 子 honorific suffix: master
- 曰 yuē
said, spoke
- 以 yǐ
coverb marking basis: with, by virtue of, though having
- 能 néng
able, capable, having ability
- 問 wèn
to ask, inquire of, consult
- 於 yú
oblique-object marker: of, about, to
- 不能 bù néng
the incapable, those without ability
- 不 not
- 能 able, capable
- 以 yǐ
coverb marking basis: with, by virtue of, using
Rendered explicitly as 'using' or 'having' by some translators.
- 多 duō
much, many, abundant
- 問 wèn
to ask, inquire of, consult
- 於 yú
oblique-object marker: of, about, to
- 寡 guǎ
few, little, scanty
- 有 yǒu
to have, possess
- 若 ruò
as if, seemingly, marking a hypothetical comparison
- 無 wú
to lack, be without, not have
- 實 shí
full, solid, substantial
- 若 ruò
as if, as though, seemingly — marking a hypothetical comparison; parallel to 若 in 有若無 above
- 虛 xū
empty, hollow
- 犯 fàn
to be offended against, transgressed against, encroached upon
- 而 ér
contrastive conjunction: yet, but
- 不校 bù jiào
to not retaliate, not hold a grudge, not contend
- 不 not
- 校 to retaliate, keep score, hold a grudge, contend
校 here means to contend or keep score against someone, not its more common senses of 'school' or 'compare'.
- 昔者 xī zhě
formerly, once, in the past
- 昔 formerly, in former times
- 者 particle forming a time adverb: formerly
- 吾 wú
I, me, my
- 友 yǒu
friend
馬融, in 何晏's 集解, identifies the friend as 顏淵, and 朱熹 accepts the identification.
- 嘗 cháng
once, at one time, marking a past experience
- 從事 cóng shì
to engage in, devote oneself to, go about (a task)
- 從 to engage in, go about, follow
- 事 affair, matter, task
- 於 yú
oblique-object marker: in, to
- 斯 sī
this, such, referring back to the pattern just described
- 矣 yǐ
final particle of assertion, marking completion
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