15.3  Master Kong said: Zigong, do you suppose that I am one who learns a great deal and remembers it?

Zigong replied: Yes. Is that not true?

Kongzi said: No. I have a thread (yiguan 一貫) that runs through it all.¹

子曰：「賜也，女以予為多學而識之者與？」對曰：「然，非與？」曰：「非也，予一以貫之。」

15.5  Master Kong said: To have taken no [unnatural] action² and yet have the empire well governed, Shun was the man! What did he do? All he did was to make himself reverent and correctly face south [in his royal seat as the ruler].

子曰：「無為而治者，其舜也與？夫何為哉，恭己正南面而已矣。」

15.9  Master Kong said: A resolute scholar and a man of humanity will never seek to live at the expense of injuring humanity. He would rather sacrifice his life in order to realize humanity.³

子曰：「志士仁人，無求生以害仁，有殺身以成仁。」

15.18  Master Kong said: The superior man regards righteousness (yi 義) as the substance of everything. He practices it according to the principles of propriety. He brings it forth in modesty. And he carries it to its conclusion with faithfulness. He is indeed a superior man!

子曰：「君子義以為質，禮以行之，孫以出之，信以成之。君子哉！」

15.21  Master Kong said: The superior man seeks [room for improvement or occasion to blame] in himself; the inferior man seeks it in others.⁴

子曰：「君子求諸己，小人求諸人。」

15.23  Master Kong said: The superior man (ruler) does not promote (put in office) a man on the basis of his words; nor does he reject his words because of the man.

子曰：「君子不以言舉人，不以人廢言。」

15.24  Zigong asked: Is there one word which can serve as the guiding principle for conduct throughout life?

Master Kong said: It is the word altruism (shu 恕). Do not do to others what you do not want them to do to you.

子貢問曰：「有一言而可以終身行之者乎？」子曰：「其恕乎！己所不欲，勿施於人。」

15.29  Master Kong said: It is man that can make the Way great, and not the Way that can make man great.⁵

子曰：「人能弘道，非道弘人。」

15.32  Master Kong said: The superior man seeks the Way and not a mere living. There may be starvation in farming, and there may be riches in the pursuit of studies. The superior man worries about the Way and not about poverty.

子曰：「君子謀道不謀食。耕也，餒在其中矣；學也，祿在其中矣。君子憂道不憂貧。」

15.33  Master Kong said: When a man’s knowledge is sufficient for him to attain [his position] but his humanity is not sufficient for him to hold it, he will lose it again. When his knowledge is sufficient for him to attain it and his humanity is sufficient for him to hold it, if he does not approach the people with dignity, the people will not respect him. If his knowledge is sufficient for him to attain it, his humanity sufficient for him to hold it, and he approaches the people with dignity, yet does not influence them with the principle of propriety, it is still not good.

子曰：「知及之，仁不能守之；雖得之，必失之。知及之，仁能守之。不莊以涖之，則民不敬。知及之，仁能守之，莊以涖之。動之不以禮，未善也。」

15.36  Master Kong said: When it comes to the practice of humanity, one should not defer even to his teacher.

子曰：「當仁不讓於師。」

15.39  Master Kong said: In education there should be no class distinction.⁶

子曰：「有教無類。」

15.41  Master Kong said: In words all that matters is to express the meaning.

子曰：「辭達而已矣。」