Chapter I.
Confucius in marriage-making was guided by character and not by fortune.
1. The Master said of Kung-Yê Ch'ang that he might be wived; although he was put in bonds, he had not been guilty of any crime. Accordingly, he gave him his own daughter to wife.
2. Of Nan Yung he said that if the country were well governed he would not be out of office, and if it were ill governed, he would escape punishment and disgrace. He gave him the daughter of his own elder brother to wife.
Chapter 2.
The Chün-tsze formed by intercourse with other Chün-tsze.
The Master said of Tsze-chien, "Of superior virtue indeed is such a man! If there were not virtuous men in Lû, how could this man have acquired this character?"
Chapter 3.
Whereto Tsze-kung had attained.
Tsze-kung asked, "What do you say of me, Ts'ze!" The Master said, "You are a utensil." "What utensil?" "A gemmed sacrificial utensil."
Chapter 4.
Of Zan Yung:-- readiness with the tongue no part of virtue.
1. Some one said, "Yung is truly virtuous, but he is not ready with his tongue."
2. The Master said, "What is the good of being ready with the tongue? They who encounter men with smartness of speech for the most part procure themselves hatred. I know not whether he be truly virtuous, but why should he show readiness of the tongue?"
Chapter 5.
Ch'î-tiâo K'âi's opinion of the qualifications necessary to taking office.
The Master was wishing Ch'î-tiâo K'âi to enter an official employment. He replied, "I am not yet able to rest in the assurance of THIS." The Master was pleased.
Chapter 6.
Confucius proposing to withdraw from the world:-- a lesson to Tsze-lû.
The Master said, "My doctrines make no way. I will get upon a raft, and float about on the sea. He that will accompany me will be Yû, I dare to say." Tsze-lû hearing this was glad, upon which the Master said, "Yû is fonder of daring than I am. He does not exercise his judgment upon matters."
Chapter 7.
Of Tsze-Lû, Tsze-yû, and Tsze-hwâ.
1. Mang Wû asked about Tsze-lû, whether he was perfectly virtuous. The Master said, "I do not know."
2. He asked again, when the Master replied, "In a kingdom of a thousand chariots, Yû might be employed to manage the military levies, but I do not know whether he be perfectly virtuous."
3. "And what do you say of Ch'iû?" The Master replied, "In a city of a thousand families, or a clan of a hundred chariots, Ch'iû might be employed as governor, but I do not know whether he is perfectly virtuous."
4. "What do you say of Ch'ih?" The Master replied, "With his sash girt and standing in a court, Ch'ih might be employed to converse with the visitors and guests, but I do not know whether he is perfectly virtuous."
Chapter 8.
Superiority of Yen Hûi to Tsze-kung.
1. The Master said to Tsze-kung, "Which do you consider superior, yourself or Hûi?"
2. Tsze-kung replied, "How dare I compare myself with Hûi? Hûi hears one point and knows all about a subject; I hear one point, and know a second."
3. The Master said, "You are not equal to him. I grant you, you are not equal to him."
Chapter 9.
The idleness of Tsâi Yü and its reproof.
1. Tsâi Yü being asleep during the daytime, the Master said, "Rotten wood cannot be carved; a wall of dirty earth will not receive the trowel. This Yü! -- what is the use of my reproving him?"
2. The Master said, "At first, my way with men was to hear their words, and give them credit for their conduct. Now my way is to hear their words, and look at their conduct. It is from Yü that I have learned to make this change."
Chapter 10.
Unbending virtue cannot co-exist with indulgence of the passions.
The Master said, "I have not seen a firm and unbending man." Some one replied, "There is Shan Ch'ang." "Ch'ang," said the Master, "is under the influence of his passions; how can he be pronounced firm and unbending?"
Chapter 11.
The difficulty of attaining to the not wishing to do to others as we wish them not to do to us.
Tsze-kung said, "What I do not wish men to do to me, I also wish not to do to men." The Master said, "Ts'ze, you have not attained to that."
Chapter 12.
The gradual way in which Confucius communicated his doctrines.
Tsze-kung said, "The Master's personal displays of his principles and ordinary descriptions of them may be heard. His discourses about man's nature, and the way of Heaven, cannot be heard."
Chapter 13.
The ardour of Tsze-lû in practising the master's instructions.
When Tsze-lû heard anything, if he had not yet succeeded in carrying it into practice, he was only afraid lest he should hear something else.
Chapter 14.
An example of the principle on which honorary posthumous titles were conferred.
Tsze-kung asked, saying, "On what ground did Kung-wan get that title of WAN?" The Master said, "He was of an active nature and yet fond of learning, and he was not ashamed to ask and learn of his inferiors! -- On these grounds he has been styled WAN."