Analects 8.11: 泰伯 (Tai Bo)
Confucius and his disciples · Classical Chinese original · new English translation and commentary by Text Atlas
Overview
Book 8 places personal conduct beside the use and relinquishment of power. Taibo’s yielding opens the book; praise of Shun, Yu, Yao, and Zhou closes it. Between these stands a sequence in Master Zeng’s voice, beginning in illness and extending to the lifelong burden of humaneness. Ritual gives qualities their measure, while poetry and music form a person’s response. Learning is tested against talent, salary, public service, and withdrawal. The book ends with Yu’s choices: little for personal comfort, full care for ritual and waterworks.
Analects 8.11
子曰、如有周公之才之美、使驕且吝、其餘不足觀也已。
The Master said, “Someone may have talents as splendid as the Duke of Zhou’s; if they are arrogant and stingy, the rest is not worth considering.”
Commentary
ethics What talent cannot outweigh The Duke of Zhou supplies the measure of extraordinary talent within the saying. Arrogance and stinginess make even such gifts unworthy of further consideration. The earlier portrait of Zeng’s unnamed friend provides a counterpoint: someone can possess ability and knowledge while still making room for others.
Basis: textual-inference
Confidence: high