2. To govern

1. The Master said, “To govern with virtue is like being the Pole Star. You stay put and all the stars venerate you.”
子曰：「為政以德，譬如北辰，居其所而眾星共之。」

2. The Master said, “The three hundred poems in the Odes can be covered in one phrase: To have no malevolent thoughts.”
子曰：「詩三百，一言以蔽之，曰『思無邪』。」

3. The Master said, “Govern people with politics and align them with punishments, they will evade and have no shame. Govern them with virtue and align them with Li, they will have decency and things will be in the right place.”
子曰：「道之以政，齊之以刑，民免而無恥；道之以德，齊之以禮，有恥且格。」

4. The Master said, “When I was fifteen, I decided to learn. When I was thirty, I had established myself. When I was forty, I was no longer distracted by doubts. When I was fifty, I realised what my calling was. When I was sixty, I was no
longer upset by calumny. When I reached seventy, I could follow my heart’s desire and yet no transgression was committed.”
子曰：「吾十有五而志于學，三十而立，四十而不惑，五十而知天命，六十而耳順，七十而從心所欲，不踰矩。」

5. Meng Yi Zi asked about how to serve parents. The Master said, “Not to go against.” Fan Chi was manoeuvring the carriage. The Master told him, “Mr Meng asked me about how to serve parents. I replied to him not to go against.” Fan Chi said, “What does that mean?” The Master said, “While your parents are living, serve them according to Li. When they die, do the funeral according to Li. Afterwards, do the ancestral sacrifice according to Li.”
孟懿子問孝。子曰：「無違。」樊遲御，子告之曰：「孟孫問孝於我，我對曰『無違』。」樊遲曰：「何謂也？」子曰：「生事之以禮；死葬之以禮，祭之以禮。」

6. Meng Wu Bo asked about how to serve parents. The Master said, “Your parents’ only worry is about your illness.”
孟武伯問孝。子曰：「父母唯其疾之憂。」

7. Zi You asked about how to serve parents. The Master said, “These days, serving the parents seems to mean to nourish the parents. But even dogs and horses manage to be nourished. Without respect for the parents, how can you tell the difference?
子游問孝。子曰：「今之孝者，是謂能養。至於犬馬，皆能有養；不敬，何以別乎？」

8. Zi Xia asked about how to serve parents. The Master said, “Hard to tell by appearances. To have your subordinates do the serving and to offer food and drinks to your superiors; is this to serve parents well?”
子夏問孝。子曰：「色難。有事弟子服其勞，有酒食先生饌，曾是以為孝乎？」

9. The Master said, “When I speak with Hui all day long, he just listens like a stupid man. Afterwards, he ponders alone at home and manages to develop further. Hui is not stupid.”
子曰：「吾與回言終日，不違如愚。退而省其私，亦足以發。回也，不愚。」

10. The Master said, “When you see a phenomenon, you observe its causes and then you investigate how to derive comfort from it. Man is like this. This is what human-beings look for.”
子曰：「視其所以，觀其所由，察其所安。人焉廋哉？人焉廋哉？」

11. The Master said, “If you understand the new through a vivid understanding of the old, you can make a good teacher.”
子曰：「溫故而知新，可以為師矣。」

12. The Master said, “A noble man is not like a vessel.”
子曰：「君子不器。」

13. Zi Gong asked about noble man. The Master said, “He who acts first and whose words follow afterwards.”
子貢問君子。子曰：「先行其言，而後從之。」

14. The Master said, “A noble man is all-rounded and not one-sided. The petty and the lowly are one-sided and not all-rounded.”
子曰：「君子周而不比，小人比而不周。」

15. The Master said, “Learning without thinking leads to false knowledge. Thinking without learning is dangerous.”
子曰：「學而不思則罔，思而不學則殆。」

16. The Master said, “You end up pursuing the eccentric. That is the harm.”
子曰：「攻乎異端，斯害也已！」

17. The Master said, “You, do you want me to tell you what knowing is? To know that you know and to know that you do not know, that is what knowing is.”
子曰：「由！誨女知之乎？知之為知之，不知為不知，是知也。」

18. Zi Zhang learned in order to seek an employment. The Master said, “When you study a lot, you can reduce doubts. If you cautiously say things which are not doubtful, you will make few mistakes. When you experience a lot, you can reduce the risk. If you cautiously do things which are not risky, you will have few regrets. When you make few mistakes in your speech and when you have few regrets in your conduct, an employment is among the consequences.”
子張學干祿。子曰：「多聞闕疑，慎言其餘，則寡尤；多見闕殆，慎行其餘，則寡悔。言寡尤，行寡悔，祿在其中矣。」

19. Duke Ai asked, “What should I do to make people obey?” Confucius replied, “If you take the straight to grind out the crooked, people will obey. If you take the crooked to grind out the straight, people will not obey.”
哀公問曰：「何為則民服？」孔子對曰：「舉直錯諸枉，則民服；舉枉錯諸直，則民不服。」

20. Lord Ji Kang asked, “What should I do to encourage people to be respectful and loyal?’ The Master said, “Face them with splendour, they will be respectful. Serve the parents and treat the little ones with compassion, they will be loyal. Take the good examples to teach the lackeys, that is to encourage.”
季康子問：「使民敬、忠以勸，如之何？」子曰：「臨之以莊則敬，孝慈則忠，舉善而教不能，則勸。」

21. Someone said to Confucius, “Sir, why are you not engaged in governing?” The Master said, “In the Documents, it is said, ‘Serve your parents! Serve your friends and brothers big and small as you serve your parents. Apply the same to governing.’ What I do is also governing. Is it not governing?”
或謂孔子曰：「子奚不為政？」子曰：「《書》云：『孝乎惟孝、友于兄弟，施於有政。』是亦為政，奚其為為政？」

22. The Master said, “If a person is not trustworthy, there is no way of knowing what he is capable of. A big carriage with no yoke-bar to tie the cow, a small carriage with no collar-bar to tie the horse; where can they go, eh?”
子曰：「人而無信，不知其可也。大車無輗，小車無軏，其何以行之哉？」

23. Zi Zhang asked whether ten generations from now can be known. The Master said, “Yin dynasty took over Xia dynasty’s Li. What was lost and added along the way can be known. Zhou dynasty took over Yin dynasty’s Li. What was lost and added along the way can be known. Whichever dynasty may continue along the line of Zhou, hundred generations can be known.”
子張問：「十世可知也？」子曰：「殷因於夏禮，所損益，可知也；周因於殷禮，所損益，可知也；其或繼周者，雖百世可知也。」
[Xun Zi, Tien, Ba wang de wei bien]

24. The Master said, “If you are not awe-inspired by ghosts, offering sacrifice to them is a flattery.” The Master said, “Seeing what is right and not doing it; that is cowardice.”
子曰：「非其鬼而祭之，諂也。見義不為，無勇也。」