Book 9: 《子罕》 Zi Han (Seldom Spoke)
《子罕》 Passage 9.19
Legge Translation (1861)
The Master said: "The prosecution of learning may be compared to what may happen in raising a mound. If there want but one basket of earth to complete the work, and I stop, the stopping is my own work. It may be compared to throwing down the earth on the level ground. Though but one basketful is thrown at a time, the advancing with it is my own going forward."Word by word
- 子曰 zǐ yuē
the Master said
- 子 master; here, honorific title for Confucius
- 曰 said, spoke
- 譬如 pì rú
for example, it is like
- 譬 to give an analogy, compare to
- 如 as, like
- 為山 wéi shān
to build a mound, pile up earth
- 為 to make, build, create
- 山 mountain, mound (of earth)
- 未成一簣 wèi chéng yī kuì
short of completion by a single basketful of earth
- 未 not yet
- 成 to complete, finish
- 一 one
- 簣 a basket for carrying earth
- 止 zhǐ
to stop, desist (from the task)
- 吾止也 wú zhǐ yě
I have stopped
- 吾 I, me
- 止 to stop, have stopped (referring back to one's own act)
- 也 final particle of assertion
genuine interpretive split: some translators take this as a simple statement of fact (I stopped), others read it as assigning responsibility (the stopping is mine alone, no one else's fault).
- 譬如 pì rú
for example, it is like
- 譬 to give an analogy, compare to
- 如 as, like
- 平地 píng dì
to level the ground
- 平 to level, make level
- 地 ground, earth
- 雖 suī
although, even if
- 覆 fù
to tip out, dump, pour out (earth from a basket)
read here as 'to overturn, pour out', not the basic sense 'to cover'.
- 一簣 yī kuì
one basketful (of earth)
- 一 one
- 簣 a basket for carrying earth
- 進 jìn
to advance, make progress
- 吾往也 wú wǎng yě
I go forward, make progress
- 吾 I, me
- 往 to go forward, proceed
- 也 final particle of assertion
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