论语英文版The Analects Chapter 20

Yao said, "Oh! you, Shun1, the Heaven-determined order of succession nowrests in your person. Sincerely hold fast the due Mean. If there shall bedistress and want within the four seas, the Heavenly revenue will come to aperpetual end."Shun also used the same language in giving charge to Yu.

T'ang said, "I the child Li, presume to use a dark-colored victim, andpresume to announce to Thee, O most great and sovereign God, that thesinner I dare not pardon, and thy ministers, O God, I do not keep inobscurity. The examination of them is by thy mind, O God. If, in my person,I commit offenses2, they are not to be attributed to you, the people of themyriad regions. If you in the myriad3 regions commit offenses, theseoffenses must rest on my person."Chau conferred great gifts, and the good were enriched.

"Although he has his near relatives, they are not equal to my virtuous4 men.

The people are throwing blame upon me, the One man."He carefully attended to the weights and measures, examined the body of thelaws, restored the discarded officers, and the good government of thekingdom took its course.

He revived states that had been extinguished, restored families whose lineof succession had been broken, and called to office those who had retiredinto obscurity, so that throughout the kingdom the hearts of the peopleturned towards him.

What he attached chief importance to were the food of the people, theduties of mourning, and sacrifices.

By his generosity5, he won all. By his sincerity6, he made the people reposetrust in him. By his earnest activity, his achievements were great. By hisjustice, all were delighted.

Tsze-chang asked Confucius, saying, "In what way should a person inauthority act in order that he may conduct government properly?" The Masterreplied, "Let him honor the five excellent, and banish7 away the four bad,things;-then may he conduct government properly." Tsze-chang said, "Whatare meant by the five excellent things?" The Master said, "When the personin authority is beneficent without great expenditure8; when he lays tasks onthe people without their repining; when he pursues what he desires withoutbeing covetous9; when he maintains a dignified10 ease without being proud;when he is majestic11without being fierce."Tsze-chang said, "What is meant by being beneficent without greatexpenditure?" The Master replied, "When the person in authority makes morebeneficial to the people the things from which they naturally derivebenefit;-is not this being beneficent without great expenditure? When hechooses the labors13 which are proper, and makes them labor12 on them, who willrepine? When his desires are set on benevolent14 government, and he securesit, who will accuse him of covetousness15? Whether he has to do with manypeople or few, or with things great or small, he does not dare to indicateany disrespect;-is not this to maintain a dignified ease without any pride?

He adjusts his clothes and cap, and throws a dignity into his looks, sothat, thus dignified, he is looked at with awe;-is not this to be majesticwithout being fierce?"Tsze-chang then asked, "What are meant by the four bad things?" The Mastersaid, "To put the people to death without having instructed them;-this iscalled cruelty. To require from them, suddenly, the full tale of work,without having given them warning;-this is called oppression. To issueorders as if without urgency, at first, and, when the time comes, to insiston them with severity;-this is called injury. And, generally, in the givingpay or rewards to men, to do it in a stingy way;-this is called acting16 thepart of a mere17 official."The Master said, "Without recognizing the ordinances18 of Heaven, it isimpossible to be a superior man.

"Without an acquaintance with the rules of Propriety19, it is impossible forthe character to be established.

"Without knowing the force of words, it is impossible to know men."

尧曰篇第二十

20.1 尧曰：“咨!尔舜。天之历数在尔躬，允执其中。四海困穷，天禄永终。”舜亦以命禹。曰：“予小子履，敢用玄牡，敢昭告于皇皇后帝：有罪不敢赦。帝臣不蔽，简在帝心。朕躬有罪，无以万方;万方有罪，罪在朕躬。”周有大赉，善人是富。“虽有周亲，不如仁人。百姓有过，在予一人。”谨权量，审法度，修废官，四方之政行焉。兴灭国，继绝世，举逸民，天下这民归心焉。所重：民、食、丧、祭。宽则得众，信则民任焉，敏则有功，公则说。

20.2 子张问于孔子曰：“何如斯可以从政矣?”子曰：“尊五美，屏四恶，斯可以从政矣。”子张曰：“何谓五美?”子曰：“君子惠而不费，劳而不怨，欲而不贪，泰而不骄，威而不猛。”子张曰：“何谓惠而不费?”子曰：“因民之所利而利之，斯不亦惠而不费乎?择可劳而劳之，又谁怨?欲仁而得仁，又焉贪?君子无众寡，无小大，无敢慢，斯不亦泰而不骄乎?君子正其衣冠，尊其瞻视，俨然人望而畏之，斯不亦威而不猛乎?”子张曰：“何谓四恶?”子曰：“不教而杀谓之虐;不戒视成谓之暴;慢令致期谓之贼;犹之与人也，出纳之吝谓之有司”。

20.3 孔子曰：“不知命，无以为君子也;不知礼，无以立也;不知言，无以知人也。”

1 shun        

vt.避开，回避，避免

参考例句：

Materialists face truth,whereas idealists shun it.唯物主义者面向真理，唯心主义者则逃避真理。

This extremist organization has shunned conventional politics.这个极端主义组织有意避开了传统政治。

2 offenses        

n.进攻( offense的名词复数 )；（球队的）前锋；进攻方法；攻势

参考例句：

It's wrong of you to take the child to task for such trifling offenses. 因这类小毛病责备那孩子是你的不对。 来自《简明英汉词典》

Thus, Congress cannot remove an executive official except for impeachable offenses. 因此，除非有可弹劾的行为，否则国会不能罢免行政官员。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

3 myriad        

adj.无数的；n.无数，极大数量

参考例句：

They offered no solution for all our myriad problems.对于我们数不清的问题他们束手无策。

I had three weeks to make a myriad of arrangements.我花了三个星期做大量准备工作。

4 virtuous        

adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的

参考例句：

She was such a virtuous woman that everybody respected her.她是个有道德的女性，人人都尊敬她。

My uncle is always proud of having a virtuous wife.叔叔一直为娶到一位贤德的妻子而骄傲。

5 generosity        

n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为

参考例句：

We should match their generosity with our own.我们应该像他们一样慷慨大方。

We adore them for their generosity.我们钦佩他们的慷慨。

6 sincerity        

n.真诚，诚意；真实

参考例句：

His sincerity added much more authority to the story.他的真诚更增加了故事的说服力。

He tried hard to satisfy me of his sincerity.他竭力让我了解他的诚意。

7 banish        

vt.放逐，驱逐；消除，排除

参考例句：

The doctor advised her to banish fear and anxiety.医生劝她消除恐惧和忧虑。

He tried to banish gloom from his thought.他试图驱除心中的忧愁。

8 expenditure        

n.(时间、劳力、金钱等)支出；使用，消耗

参考例句：

The entry of all expenditure is necessary.有必要把一切开支入账。

The monthly expenditure of our family is four hundred dollars altogether.我们一家的开销每月共计四百元。

9 covetous        

adj.贪婪的，贪心的

参考例句：

She is envious of Jane's good looks and covetous of her car.她既忌妒简的美貌又垂涎她的汽车。

He raised his head,with a look of unrestrained greed in his covetous eyes.他抬起头来，贪婪的眼光露出馋涎欲滴的神情。

10 dignified        

a.可敬的，高贵的

参考例句：

Throughout his trial he maintained a dignified silence. 在整个审讯过程中，他始终沉默以保持尊严。

He always strikes such a dignified pose before his girlfriend. 他总是在女友面前摆出这种庄严的姿态。

11 majestic        

adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的

参考例句：

In the distance rose the majestic Alps.远处耸立着雄伟的阿尔卑斯山。

He looks majestic in uniform.他穿上军装显得很威风。

12 labor        

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。

He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

13 labors        

v.努力争取(for)( labor的第三人称单数 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转

参考例句：

He was tiresome in contending for the value of his own labors. 他老为他自己劳动的价值而争强斗胜，令人生厌。 来自辞典例句

Farm labors used to hire themselves out for the summer. 农业劳动者夏季常去当雇工。 来自辞典例句

14 benevolent        

adj.仁慈的，乐善好施的

参考例句：

His benevolent nature prevented him from refusing any beggar who accosted him.他乐善好施的本性使他不会拒绝走上前向他行乞的任何一个乞丐。

He was a benevolent old man and he wouldn't hurt a fly.他是一个仁慈的老人，连只苍蝇都不愿伤害。

15 covetousness        

参考例句：

As covetousness is the root of all evil, so poverty is the worst of all snares. 正如贪婪是万恶之源一样，贫穷是最坏的陷阱。 来自辞典例句

Poverty want many thing, but covetousness all. 贫穷可满足；欲望却难填。 来自互联网

16 acting        

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。

During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

17 mere        

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。

It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

18 ordinances        

n.条例，法令( ordinance的名词复数 )

参考例句：

These points of view, however, had not been generally accepted in building ordinances. 然而，这些观点仍未普遍地为其他的建筑条例而接受。 来自辞典例句

Great are Your mercies, O Lord; Revive me according to Your ordinances. 诗119:156耶和华阿、你的慈悲本为大．求你照你的典章将我救活。 来自互联网

19 propriety        

n.正当行为；正当；适当

参考例句：

We hesitated at the propriety of the method.我们对这种办法是否适用拿不定主意。

The sensitive matter was handled with great propriety.这件机密的事处理得极为适当。