19. Zi Zhang (子張) said

1. Zi Zhang said, “If you are an officer, you should dedicate your life when your cause is in danger; you must think first about what is right when you see gain; you must conduct sacrificial ceremonies with respectful thoughts; in a funeral, you must feel poignancy. That’s just about it.”
子張曰：「士見危致命，見得思義，祭思敬，喪思哀，其可已矣。」

2. Zi Zhang said, “If you stick to a virtue and yet fail to broaden it; if you believe in the Way and yet fail to have sincerity, can we say that you have it or do not have it?”
子張曰：「執德不弘，信道不篤，焉能為有？焉能為亡？」

3. Zi Xia’s student asked Zi Zhang about socializing. Zi Zhang replied, “What did Zi Xia say about it?” The student answered, “Zi Xia said, ‘You should be friend with those who are capable. You should reject those who are not capable.'” Zi Zhang said, “That is different from what I heard from the Master. A noble man looks up to talented persons and embraces the general public. He is delighted by excellent persons and he has sympathy for the incompetent. If I am a person of great talents, there is no reason why I should not embrace people. If I am not a person of talents, people will soon reject me. How can I reject people?”
子夏之門人問交於子張。子張曰：「子夏云何？」對曰：「子夏曰：『可者與之，其不可者拒之。』」子張曰：「異乎吾所聞：君子尊賢而容眾，嘉善而矜不能。我之大賢與，於人何所不容？我之不賢與，人將拒我，如之何其拒人也？」

4. Zi Xia said, “Even in small arts, there is bound to be something worthwhile. But if you have a long way to go, you should be wary of being bogged down. This is why a noble man is not engaged in small arts.”
子夏曰：「雖小道，必有可觀者焉；致遠恐泥，是以君子不為也。」

5. Zi Xia said, “If you constantly realise what you lack and do not forget what you have achieved in the meantime, you deserve to be called someone who loves to learn.”
子夏曰：「日知其所亡，月無忘其所能，可謂好學也已矣。」

6. Zi Xia said, “Learn broadly and have firm resolve. Scrutinise intensely and pay close attention. Ethical integrity will arise from there.”
子夏曰：「博學而篤志，切問而近思，仁在其中矣。」

7. Zi Xia said, “Craftsmen remain in their atelier to complete their work. A noble man learns in order to accomplish the Way.”
子夏曰：「百工居肆以成其事，君子學以致其道。」

8. Zi Xia said, “When the petty and the lowly make some mistakes, they are bound to make it worse by trying to gloss over their mistakes.”
子夏曰：「小人之過也必文。」

9. Zi Xia said, “A noble man changes three times. When you look at him from a distance, he appears stern. When you actually meet with him, he is mild. When you hear him speak, he is sharp.”
子夏曰：「君子有三變：望之儼然，即之也溫，聽其言也厲。」

10. Zi Xia said, “A noble man would first of all establish the trust before he mobilizes his people. If you attempt to mobilize people while trust is not established, they will think that you are being harsh to them. A nobleman would first of all establish the trust before he offers criticism. If you offer critical remarks while the trust is not established, they will think that you are denigrating them.”
子夏曰：「君子信而後勞其民，未信則以為厲己也；信而後諫，未信則以為謗己也。」

11. Zi Xia said, “As long as the big business does not transgress the limits, the smaller ones may have some leeway.”
子夏曰：「大德不踰閑，小德出入可也。」

12. Zi You said, “Students of Zi Xia are capable of keeping things nice and tidy, dealing with guests and adopting appropriate manners when they arrive and when they leave. But these are mere details. When it comes to the root, they know nothing. What can be done about them?” Zi Xia heard this and said, “What! Yan You (= Zi You) is wrong. In the training to become a noble man, is there something that must be taught first and something that may be left to be picked up later? Like plants and trees, students differ from each other. How dare I mislead the way of a noble man. Only a saint can master the beginning as well as the end.”
子游曰：「子夏之門人小子，當洒掃、應對、進退，則可矣。抑末也，本之則無。如之何？」子夏聞之曰：「噫！言游過矣！君子之道，孰先傳焉？孰後倦焉？譬諸草木，區以別矣。君子之道，焉可誣也？有始有卒者，其惟聖人乎！」

13. Zi Xia said, “Public service and learning must go hand in hand.”
子夏曰：「仕而優則學，學而優則仕。」

14. Zi You said, “Funeral should stop where it reaches the point of poignancy.”
子游曰：「喪致乎哀而止。」

15. Zi You said, “My friend Zhang (子張) can do difficult tasks. But he still lacks ethical integrity.”
子游曰：「吾友張也，為難能也。然而未仁。」

16. Master Zeng said, “Zhang is full of self confidence. It is difficult to practise ethical integrity with him.”
曾子曰：「堂堂乎張也，難與並為仁矣。」

17. Master Zeng said, “I heard from the Master as follows: It is rarely the case that people do their utmost. But the funeral of their parents will surely make them do their utmost.”
曾子曰：「吾聞諸夫子：人未有自致者也，必也親喪乎！」

18. Master Zeng said, “I heard from the Master as follows: Mr Meng’s manner of serving his parents can be emulated by others. But Mr Meng did not change his father’s support staff and he did not change his father’s policies. That is difficult to emulate.”
曾子曰：「吾聞諸夫子：孟莊子之孝也，其他可能也；其不改父之臣，與父之政，是難能也。」

19. Mr Meng appointed Yang Fu (陽膚) to the post of the prison warden. Yang Fu asked Master Zeng for advice. Master Zeng said, “As the upper class lost its proper way, the general public has long been at a loss. If you find out about this, you should feel sadness and pity. Don’t be delighted.”
孟氏使陽膚為士師，問於曾子。曾子曰：「上失其道，民散久矣。如得其情，則哀矜而勿喜。」

20. Zi Gong said, “King Zhou (紂)’s own evil deeds were actually not as bad as they would appear. This is why a noble man would hate to dwell in the low-lying places. All evils of the the world will eventually find their way there.”
子貢曰：「紂之不善，不如是之甚也。是以君子惡居下流，天下之惡皆歸焉。」

21. Zi Gong said, “When a noble man makes a mistake, it is like an eclipse of the sun or the moon. The mistake will be watched by everyone. When it is rectified, everyone will look up to him.”
子貢曰：「君子之過也，如日月之食焉：過也，人皆見之；更也，人皆仰之。」

22. Gong Sun Zhao (公孫朝) of Wei (衛) asked Zi Gong, “How did Zhong Ni [Confucius] learn?” Zi Gong replied, “The ethos of king Wen and king Wu has not yet fallen to the ground. It remains with the people. Men of talents remember the important points. Those who lack talents remember the unimportant points. The ethos of king Wen and king Wu is everywhere. How can he not learn? Also, how can there be a designated teacher for him?”
衛公孫朝問於子貢曰：「仲尼焉學？」子貢曰：「文武之道，未墜於地，在人。賢者識其大者，不賢者識其小者，莫不有文武之道焉。夫子焉不學？而亦何常師之有？」

23. Shu Sun Wu Shu (叔孫武叔) spoke to the ministers in the court as follows: “Zi Gong is more talented than Zhong Ni.” Zi Fu Jing Bo (子服景伯) reported this to Zi Gong. Zi Gong said, “It is like the wall of a palace. Mine has a wall which is only shoulder high. So people can have a peek and admire the good rooms and buildings. The Master’s wall is several feet higher. If you do not find the gate and enter inside, you cannot see the beauty of the altars and shrines, you cannot see the riches of hundreds of officers there. As there are few who find the gate, no wonder that Shu Sun Wu Shu says such things.”
叔孫武叔語大夫於朝，曰：「子貢賢於仲尼。」子服景伯以告子貢。子貢曰：「譬之宮牆，賜之牆也及肩，窺見室家之好。夫子之牆數仞，不得其門而入，不見宗廟之美，百官之富。得其門者或寡矣。夫子之云，不亦宜乎！」

24. Shu Sun Wu Shu (叔孫武叔) spoke ill of Zhong Ni. Zi Gong said, “It is of no use. It is impossible to defame Zhong Ni. Others’ talents may be like hills and mountains. You can climb over them. But Zhong Ni is like the sun or the moon. There is no way that you can climb over it. Even if you may want to have nothing to do with it, does it do any damage to the sun or to the moon? Many will see that you do not know your own capacity.”
叔孫武叔毀仲尼。子貢曰：「無以為也，仲尼不可毀也。他人之賢者，丘陵也，猶可踰也；仲尼，日月也，無得而踰焉。人雖欲自絕，其何傷於日月乎？多見其不知量也！」

25. Zi Qin (子禽) of Chen (陳) told Zi Gong, “You are being too modest, but how can Zhong Ni be more talented than you?” Zi Gong said, “A noble man will be judged by virtue of a single remark to be knowledgeable or to be ignorant. So you must be careful in your remarks. The Master is beyond reach just as the sky cannot be reached by a ladder. If a country or a household is entrusted to him, it will be like ‘If he raises them, they stand. If he leads them, they carry it out. If he raises the flag, they all come. If he stimulates them, they all work in harmony.’ He lived in glory. When he died, he is sadly missed. How can one reach his level?”
陳子禽謂子貢曰：「子為恭也，仲尼豈賢於子乎？」子貢曰：「君子一言以為知，一言以為不知，言不可不慎也。夫子之不可及也，猶天之不可階而升也。夫子之得邦家者，所謂立之斯立，道之斯行，綏之斯來，動之斯和。其生也榮，其死也哀，如之何其可及也。」