子路第十三
『１』子路问「政」。子曰∶「先之，劳之。」请益。曰∶「无倦。」
『２』仲弓为季氏宰，问「政」。子曰∶「先有司，赦小过，举贤才。」曰∶「焉
知贤才而举之？」子曰∶「举尔所知；尔所不知，人其舍诸？」
『３』子路曰∶「卫君待子而为政，子将奚先？」子曰∶「必也正名乎！」子路曰
∶「有是哉？子之迂也！奚其正？」子曰∶「野哉，由也！君子於其所不知，盖阙
如也。名不正，则言不顺；言不顺，则事不成；事不成，则礼乐不兴；礼乐不兴，
则刑罚不中；刑罚不中，则民无所措手足。故君子名之必可言也，言之必可行也。
君子於其言，无所苟而已矣！」
『４』樊迟请学稼，子曰∶「吾不如老农。」请学为圃，曰∶「吾不如老圃。」樊
迟出，子曰∶「小人哉，樊须也！上好礼，则民莫敢不敬；上好义，则民莫敢不服
；上好信，则民莫敢不用情。夫如是，则四方之民，襁负其子而至矣；焉用稼！」
『５』子曰∶「诵诗三百；授之以政，不达；使於四方，不能专对；虽多，亦奚以
为？」
『６』子曰∶「其身正，不令而行；其身不正，虽令不从。」
『７』子曰∶「鲁、卫之政，兄弟也。」
『８』子谓卫公子荆，「善居屋。始有，曰∶『苟合矣；』少有，曰∶『苟完矣；』
富有，曰∶『苟美矣。』」
『９』子适卫，冉有仆。子曰∶「庶矣哉！」冉有曰∶「既庶矣，又何加焉？」曰
∶「富之。」曰∶「既富矣，又何加焉？」曰∶「教之。」
『１０』子曰∶「苟有用我者，期月而已可也，三年有成。」
『１１』子曰∶「『善人为邦百年，亦可以胜残去杀矣。』诚哉是言也！」
『１２』子曰∶「如有王者，必世而後仁。」
『１３』子曰∶「苟正其身矣，於从政乎何有？不能正其身，如正人何？」
『１４』冉子退朝，子曰∶「何晏也？」对曰∶「有政。」子曰∶「其事也！如有
政，虽不吾以，吾其与闻之！」
『１５』定公问∶「一言而可以兴邦，有诸？」孔子对曰∶「言不可以若是其几也
！人之言曰∶『为君难，为臣不易。』如知为君之难也，不几乎一言而兴邦乎？」
曰∶「一言而丧邦，有诸？」孔子对曰∶「言不可以若是其几也！人之言曰∶『予
无乐乎为君，唯其言而莫予违也。』如其善而莫之违也，不亦善乎？如不善而莫之违也，
不几乎一言而丧邦乎？」
『１６』叶公问政。子曰∶「近者悦，远者来。」
『１７』子夏为莒父宰，问政。子曰∶「无欲速；无见小利。欲速则不达；见小利
则大事不成。」
『１８』叶公语孔子曰∶「吾党有直躬者∶其父攘羊而子证之。」孔子曰∶「吾党
之直者异於是∶父为子隐，子为父隐，直在其中矣。」
『１９』樊迟问仁。子曰∶「居处恭，执事敬，与人忠；虽之夷狄，不可弃也。」
『２０』子贡问曰∶「何如斯可谓之士矣？」子曰∶「行己有耻；使於四方，不辱
君命；可谓士矣。」曰∶「敢问其次？」曰∶「宗族称孝焉，乡党称弟焉。」曰∶
「敢问其次？」曰∶「言必信，行必果；U+785CU+785C然，小人哉！抑亦可以为次
矣。」曰∶「今之从政者何如？」子曰∶「噫！斗筲之人，何足算也！」
『２１』子曰∶「不得中行而与之，必也狂狷乎？狂者进取，狷者有所不为也。」
『２２』子曰∶「南人有言曰∶『人而无恒，不可以作巫医。』善夫！『不恒其德
，或承之羞。』」子曰∶「不占而已矣。」
『２３』子曰∶「君子和而不同；小人同而不和。」
『２４』子贡问曰∶「乡人皆好之，何如？」子曰∶「未可也。」「乡人皆恶之，
何如？」子曰∶「未可也。不如乡人之善者好之，其不善者恶之。」
『２５』子曰∶「君子易事而难说也∶说之不以道，不说也；及其使人也，器之。
小人难事而易说也；说之虽不以道，说也；及其使人也，求备焉。」
『２６』子曰∶「君子泰而不骄；小人骄而不泰。」
『２７』子曰∶「刚、毅、木、讷，近仁。」
『２８』子路问曰∶「何如斯可谓之『士』矣？」子曰∶「切切、U+5072U+5072、
怡怡如也，可谓『士』矣。朋友切切U+5072U+5072，兄弟怡怡。」
『２９』子曰∶「善人教民七年，亦可以即戎矣。」
『３０』子曰∶「以不教民战，是谓弃之。」
13:1 Tzu Lu asked about how to govern. Confucius said, "Lead the people and work hard for them."
"Is there anything else?"
"Don't get discouraged."
13:2 Chung Kung, currently serving as prime minister to the head of the Chi family, asked about government.
Confucius said, "First get some officers; then grant pardon to all the petty offenses and then put virtuous and able men into positions of responsibility."
He asked, "How am I going to find these virtuous and able men to get them into these positions?"
The Master said, "Select from those you know. Will the people let you ignore the ones you don't know of?"
13:3 Tzu Lu said: "The ruler of Wei is anticipating your assistance in the administration of his state. What will be your top priority?"
Confucius said, "There must be a correction of terminology."
Tzu Lu said, "Are you serious? Why is this so important?"
Confucius said, "You are really simple, aren't you? A Superior Man is cautious about jumping to conclusions about that which he does not know."
"If terminology is not corrected, then what is said cannot be followed. If what is said cannot be followed, then work cannot be accomplished. If work cannot be accomplished, then ritual and music cannot be developed. If ritual and music cannot be developed, then criminal punishments will not be appropriate. If criminal punishments are not appropriate, the people cannot make a move. Therefore, the Superior Man needs to have his terminology applicable to real language, and his speech must accord with his actions. The speech of the Superior Man cannot be indefinite."
13:4 Fan Chih wanted to ask about agriculture.
Confucius said, "Why don't you ask an old farmer?"
Fan Chih then said that he would like to learn about gardening.
Confucius said, "Why don't you ask an old gardener?" Fan Chih left. Confucius said, "Fan is really simple, isn't he? If the men in charge love propriety, the people can't stand to be disrespectful. If the men in charge love Righteousness, then the people can't stand not to follow them. If the men in charge love trust, then the people cannot stand not to respond with their emotions. If you were to govern in this way, the people would come flocking to your kingdom, carrying their babies on their backs. Why do you have to worry about agriculture?"
13:5 Confucius said: "You can recite the 300 poems from the Book of Odes, but when you try to use them in administration, they are not effective (ta), Please see discussion of ta in reference to 12:20. and in handling the outerlying regions, you cannot apply them, then even though you know a lot, what good is it?"
13:6 Confucius said: "When you have gotten your own life straightened out, things will go well without your giving orders. But if your own life isn't straightened out, even if you give orders, no one will follow them."
13:9 Zan Yu was driving for the Master on a trip to Wei. Confucius said, "How populous it is here."
Zan Yu said, "Once there are so many people, what should be done?"
"Enrich them," said the Master.
"Once they are enriched, what next?"
"Educate them."
13:10 Confucius said: "If any of the rulers were to employ me, I would have control of the situation within a month, and would have everything straightened out within three years."
13:11 Confucius said: "If good men were to govern a country for a hundred years, they could overcome cruelty and do away with killing. How true this saying is!"
13:12 Confucius said: "Even if you have the position of kingship, it would still take a generation for jen to prevail."
13:13 Confucius said: "If you can correct yourself, what problem will you have in governing? If you can't correct yourself, how can you correct others?"
13:15 Duke Ting asked if there were a single phrase which could uplift a country.
Confucius replied: "Words in themselves cannot have such an effect. Nonetheless, there is a proverb which says, `Being a ruler is difficult, and being a minister is not easy.' If you really understand the difficulties of rulership, might this not be enough to uplift a country?"
The Duke asked further: "Is there a single phrase which could ruin a country?"
Confucius answered, "Again, words in themselves cannot have such an effect, but the people also have a proverb which says: `I do not enjoy ruling; I only enjoy people not disagreeing with me.' Now if you are a good man and no one disagrees with you, it is fine. But if you are evil, and no one disagrees with you, perhaps you could destroy the country with a single utterance."
13:16 The Duke of Sheh asked about government. Confucius said, "If you do it right, then those close to you will be happy, and those who are far away will come to you."
13:17 Tzu Hsia, who was serving as governor of Chu Fu, asked about government. Confucius said, "Don't be impatient, and don't look for small advantages. If you are impatient, you will not be thorough ("penetrating," ta). If you look for small advantages, you will never accomplish anything great."
13:18 The Duke of Sheh told Confucius: "In my land, there are Righteous men. If a father steals a sheep, the son will testify against him."
Confucius said, "The Righteous men in my land are different from this. The father conceals the wrongs of his son, and the son conceals the wrongs of his father. This is Righteousness!"
13:19 Fan Chih asked about jen. Confucius said, "Be naturally courteous, be respectful in working for superiors and be sincere to people. Even the barbarian tribes cannot do without this."
13:20 Tzu Kung asked: "What must a man be like to be called a shih?"
The Master said, "One who in conducting himself maintains a sense of honor, and who when sent to the four quarters of the world does not disgrace his prince's commission, may be called a shih."
13:21 Confucius said: "Since I can't get men who act according to the middle way, I must find the adamant and the cautious. The adamant go after things, the cautious restrain themselves from doing certain things."
[Comment] "Adamant" is a translation of kuang which can also be translated into English as "crazy," "wild," "unbridled" etc., referring to the sort of personality we often associate with poets, painters and musicians. Important Confucian thinkers such as Mencius and Wang Yang-ming understood a measure of uncontrolledness to be a useful ingredient of the personality of the person who was striving for the Tao.
13:22 Confucius said: "The Southerners have a saying: 'If a man is not constant in his self-cultivation, he cannot be a shaman or a healer.' It is a good proverb. If you are not consistently developing your virtue, what can you give to others? You will not even be able to give a diagnosis."
13:23 Confucius said: "The Superior Man is in harmony but does not follow the crowd. The inferior man follows the crowd, but is not in harmony."
13:24 Tzu Kung asked: "What do you think if all the people in town like someone?"
"Not too good," said Confucius.
"What if they all hate you?"
"Also not too good. It is better if the good people in town like you, and the evil ones hate you."
13:25 Confucius said: "The reason that the Superior Man is easy to work for, but difficult to please, is because if you try to please him by devious means, he will not be happy. And in his employment of people, he gives them work according to their ability. The inferior man is difficult to work for, but easy to please. Even if you have used devious means to please him, he will still be happy. And in his employment of people, he tries to squeeze everything out of them that he can."
13:26 Confucius said: "The Superior Man is self-confident without being arrogant. The inferior man is arrogant and lacks self-confidence."
13:27 Confucius said: "With firmness, strength, simplicity and caution in speaking, you will be close to jen."
13:28 Tzu Lu asked: "What sort of man deserves to be called a shih?"
Confucius said, "If you are decisive, kind and gentle, you can be called a shih. With friends, the shih is clear but kind. With his brothers he is gentle."
13:29-30 Confucius said: "Only when good men have instructed the people for seven years, may they take up arms. To lead untrained people into battle is the same as throwing them away."