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VIII.1. The Master said:— Taibo should be considered as a man of very perfect virtue. He resolutely ceded the empire, and he did not leave the people the possibility of celebrating his selflessness.
子曰：“恭而无礼则劳，慎而无礼则思，勇而无礼则乱，直而无礼则绞。君子笃于亲，则民兴于仁，故旧不遗，则民不偷。”
VIII.2. The Master said:— He who shows too much politeness is tiresome; he who is too careful is timid; he who is too courageous causes disorder; he who is too straightforward offends by giving too much unsolicited advice. If the prince diligently fulfills his duties towards his parents and ancestors, filial piety flourishes among the people. If the prince does not abandon his old servants or his old friends, the people follow his example.
曾子有疾，召门弟子曰：“启予足，启予手。《诗》云：‘战战兢兢，如临深渊，如履薄冰.’而今而后，吾知免夫小子。”
VIII.3. Zengzi, on the point of dying, called his disciples and said to them:— Uncover my feet and hands. It is said in the Shijing: Trembling and cautious, as if I were on the edge of a deep abyss, as if I were walking on very thin ice. Now and forever, I see with pleasure that I have been able to preserve my body from all injury, oh my children.
曾子有疾，孟敬子问之，曾子言曰：“鸟之将死，其鸣也哀，人之将死，其言也善。君子所贵乎道者三：动容貌，斯远暴慢矣；正颜色，斯近信矣；出辞气，斯远鄙倍矣。笾豆之事，则有司存。”
VIII.4. Dying, Zengzi received the visit of Meng Jingzi. Taking the floor, he said to him:— The bird that is about to die cries with a plaintive voice; a man who is about to die gives good advice. A wise prince especially takes care of three things: he takes care to avoid stiffness and looseness in bodily carriage, simulation in facial expression, and coarseness and impropriety in tone of voice. As for the bamboo or wooden vessels used in ceremonies, he has officers who take care of them for him.
曾子曰：“以能问于不能，以多问于寡，有若无，实若虚，犯而不校，昔者吾友，尝从事于斯矣！”
VIII.5. Zengzi said:— To be skilled and question those who are not, to have much and question those who have little, to have knowledge and virtue and yet consider oneself as having nothing, to be rich and regard oneself as lacking everything, to be insulted and not argue—this was my fellow student Yan Yuan.
曾子曰：“可以托六尺之孤，可以寄百里之命，临大节而不可夺也，君子人与？君子人也。”
VIII.6. Zengzi said:— A man to whom one can entrust the guardianship of a young prince six feet tall and the governance of a state spanning one hundred li, and who, at the time of great turmoil or revolution, remains faithful to his duty—is such a man not a sage? Certainly he is a sage.
Notes: A "six feet" refers to a six-year-old child, an age where he is still vulnerable and in need of a guardian.
曾子曰：“士不可以不弘毅，任重而道远。仁以为己任，不亦重乎？死而后已，不亦远乎？”
VIII.7. Zengzi said:— The disciple of wisdom must have a great and courageous heart. The burden is heavy, and the journey is long. His burden is the practice of all virtues—is it not heavy? His journey will only end after death—is it not long?
子曰：“兴于诗，立于礼，成于乐。”
VIII.8. The Master said:— The disciple of wisdom arouses right feelings in his heart by reading the Odes; he strengthens his will by studying and practicing the ceremonies and duties mentioned in the Book of Rites; he perfects his virtue by studying music.
子曰：“民可使由之，不可使知之。”
VIII.9. The Master said:— One can lead the people to practice virtue, but one cannot give them a reasoned understanding of it.
子曰：“好勇疾贫，乱也。人而不仁，疾之已甚，乱也。”
VIII.10. The Master said:— He who loves to show bravery and finds his poverty hard to bear will cause disorder. If a man who is not virtuous is hated too much, he will fall into disorder.
子曰：“如有周公之才之美，使骄且吝，其余不足观也已。”
VIII.11. The Master said:— A man who has the fine qualities of the Duke of Zhou, if he is arrogant and stingy, has nothing in him that is worth looking at.
子曰：“三年学，不至于谷，不易得也。”
VIII.12. The Master said:— It is rare to find a man who devotes himself three years to the study of wisdom without having in view the salary of an official.
Notes: The philosopher Yang said: "Zi Zhang, despite all his wisdom, was convinced of coveting the revenues attached to offices; how much more so those who are less virtuous than him."
子曰：“笃信好学，守死善道。危邦不入，乱邦不居，天下有道则见，无道则隐。邦有道，贫且贱焉，耻也。邦无道，富且贵焉，耻也。”
VIII.13. The Master said:— The sage adheres to the precepts of wisdom, and he loves to study them. He observes them faithfully until death and, by study, convinces himself of their excellence. He does not enter a country threatened by revolution; he does not reside in a state troubled by dissensions. If the empire is well governed, he appears. If the empire is ill governed, he hides. When the state is well governed, the sage would be ashamed not to have riches and honors. When the state is ill governed, he would be ashamed to have riches and honors.
子曰：“不在其位，不谋其政。”
VIII.14. The Master said:— Do not seek to meddle in the affairs of a public office not entrusted to your care.
子曰：“师挚之始，《关雎》之乱，洋洋乎盈耳哉！”
VIII.15. The Master said:— When the music master Zhi began to exercise his office, how the final song of Guanju sang and charmed the ear!
子曰：“狂而不直，侗而不愿，倥倥而不信，吾不知之矣。”
VIII.16. The Master said:— I do not accept as a disciple a man who is ambitious and unprincipled, or ignorant and frivolous, or not intelligent and not sincere.
子曰：“学如不及，犹恐失之。”
VIII.17. The Master said:— Work tirelessly to acquire wisdom, as if you always have to acquire it; further, fear to lose what you have acquired.
Notes: He who does not advance each day falls back each day.
子曰：“巍巍乎，舜禹之有天下也，而不与焉。”
VIII.18. The Master said:— Oh! what greatness of spirit! Shun and Yu had the empire, and their hearts were not attached to it.
子曰：“大哉，尧之为君也。巍巍乎，唯天为大，唯尧则之。荡荡乎，民无能名焉。巍巍乎，其有成功也。焕乎，其有文章。”
VIII.19. The Master said:— What a great prince Yao was! What great things he did! Only Heaven is great; only Yao was like it. The influence of his virtue was boundless; the people could not find a term to name it. How eminent were his merits! How beautiful were his ceremonies, his music, and his laws!
舜有臣五人而天下治。武王曰：“予有乱臣十人。”孔子曰：“才难，不其然乎？唐虞之际，于斯为盛，有妇人焉，九人而已。三分天下有其二，以服事殷，周之德，其可谓至德也已夫！”
VIII.20. Shun had five ministers of state, and the empire was well governed. Wu Wang said: — I have ten ministers who help me govern well. Confucius adds: — It is commonly said that men of talent are rare. Is this popular saying not true? The era of Yao and Shun was more flourishing than ours. However, it does not seem to surpass it in the number of men of talent. For Shun found only five capable ministers; Wu Wang found one woman of talent and nine men, but no more. To possess two-thirds of the empire and to use its power to serve the Yin dynasty, that was the merit of the Zhou family; that merit was very great.
Notes: Anciently, King Tai of Zhou had three sons, whose eldest was named Taibo, the second Zhongyong, and the third Ji Li. Ji Li had as a son Chang, who became King Wen. King Tai, seeing that King Wen possessed all the virtues to the highest degree, resolved to bequeath the dignity of prince to Ji Li, so that it might pass to King Wen. Taibo, having known his father’s intention, at once, under the pretext of going to gather medicinal herbs, went away with his younger brother Zhongyong and retired among the barbarian tribes of the south. Then King Tai transmitted his princedom to Ji Li. Later, King Wu (son of King Wen) ruled all the empire. If we consider Taibo’s conduct as it appeared to his contemporaries, he only ceded a princedom (the princedom of Zhou). But if we consider it with present knowledge, we see that he really refused the empire and ceded it to his brother’s son. After ceding it, he hid himself; he disappeared; no trace of him remained. Taibo buried in obscurity his person and his name; he made it so that he forgot the world and was forgotten by it. That is the highest degree of virtue.
子曰：“禹，吾无间然矣。菲饮食而致孝乎鬼神，恶衣服而致美乎黻冕，卑宫室而尽力乎沟洫。禹，吾无间然矣！”
VIII.21. The Master said:— I find no fault in the emperor Yu. His food and drink were very simple; but his offerings to the spirits were splendid. His ordinary clothes were coarse; but his ceremonial robe and cap were magnificent. His dwelling and rooms were lowly; but he devoted himself diligently to the irrigation canals. I find no fault in the emperor Yu.
Notes: A son must return whole to the earth what his parents have given him whole, and not disgrace them by damaging his body. Of course, the principal duty of a good son is to behave well and make his name illustrious to honor his parents; but he who knows how to preserve his limbs intact also knows how to lead an irreproachable life. If it is not permitted to let one’s body be damaged, how much more blameworthy is it to disgrace one’s parents by misconduct!
