"For him," said the Master, "the city of Pien, with three hundred families, was taken from the chief of the Po family, who did not utter a murmuring word, though, to the end of his life, he had only coarse rice to eat."
曰:“人也。夺伯氏骈邑三百,饭疏食,没齿无怨言。”
The Master said, "To be poor without murmuring is difficult, to be rich without being proud is easy." The Master said, "Mang Kung-ch'o is more than fit to be chief officer in the families of Chao and Wei, but he is not fit to be great officer to either of the states Tang or Hsieh."
子曰:“贫而无怨难,富而无骄易。”子曰:“孟公绰为赵、魏老则优,不可以为滕、薛大夫。”
Tsze-lu asked what constituted a COMPLETE man. The Master said, "Suppose a man with the knowledge of Tsang Wu-chung, the freedom from covetousness of Kung ch'o, the bravery of Chwang of Pien, and the varied talents of Zan Ch'iu;
子路问成人。子曰:“若臧武仲之知、公绰之不欲、卞庄子之勇、冉求之艺;
add to these the accomplishments of the rules of propriety and music; such a one might be reckoned a COMPLETE man." He then added, "But what is the necessity for a complete man of the present day to have all these things?
文之以礼乐,亦可以为成人矣。”曰:“今之成人者何必然?
The man, who in the view of gain, thinks of righteousness, who in the view of danger is prepared to give up his life and who does not forget an old agreement however far back it extends, such a man may be reckoned a COMPLETE man."
见利思义,见危授命,久要不忘平生之言,亦可以为成人矣。”