Book IX

Confucius rarely spoke about profitableness, Heaven's appointments, and perfect virtue.

When told his extensive learning doesn't make him famous for any particular thing, Confucius responds by choosing to practice charioteering.

Confucius follows convenient conventions (silk caps) but refuses to follow less respectful modern practices (not bowing below the hall), showing discriminating application of propriety.

Confucius was entirely free from foregone conclusions, arbitrary predeterminations, obstinacy, and egoism.

When in danger, Confucius expresses confidence that Heaven protects the cause of truth through him, so no earthly harm can befall him.

Confucius corrects the assessment that he is a sage with various abilities, clarifying that his many skills come from lowly circumstances, not from essential superiority.

Confucius claims not to possess knowledge, but when a humble person asks him anything, he thoroughly explains it from end to end.

Confucius expresses despair that the auspicious FANG bird does not come and the river produces no map, seeing this as an omen of the end of his mission.

Confucius rises and moves hastily when encountering people in mourning dress, formal attire, or blind persons, regardless of their age, showing deference to their status.

Yen Yuan describes how Confucius's doctrines appear ever more profound the more one studies them, and how he is progressively enlightened yet always finds more to pursue.

When ill and offered disciples to act as ministers, Confucius refuses, saying it would be deceptive to pretend to have ministers when he does not, and prefers to die among his true disciples.

Confucius advises to sell a gem rather than hoard it, but to wait patiently for the right buyer to offer a fair price.

Confucius expresses willingness to live among the rude eastern tribes, confident that a superior man's presence would eliminate their rudeness.

Confucius claims that upon his return from Wei to Lu, he reformed the music and arranged the Royal and Praise songs in their proper order.

Confucius lists four crucial duties—serving nobles and ministers, serving father and elders, diligence toward the dead, and temperance with wine—and humbly questions his own attainment of them.

Observing a stream, Confucius reflects on its constant flow day and night, drawing a metaphor for perpetual change.

Confucius laments that he has never seen anyone who loves virtue with the same intensity that people love physical beauty.

Confucius compares the pursuit of learning to building a mound, emphasizing that stopping just before completion nullifies all effort, whereas continuous small advances accumulate into progress.

Confucius praises a disciple named Hui for never becoming tired or inattentive when receiving instruction.

Confucius expresses admiration for Yen Yuan's constant advancement, never standing still in his moral development.

Confucius observes that some people advance to sprouting but not flowering, and others to flowering but produce no fruit, indicating various stages of incompleteness in development.

Youth should be respected for their potential future achievement, though if they reach forty or fifty without distinction, they no longer merit such respect.

Confucius distinguishes between merely assenting to or being pleased with advice versus actually reforming conduct or unfolding one's will, condemning those who do the former without the latter.

Confucius establishes faithfulness and sincerity as first principles, along with choosing appropriate friends and readily abandoning faults.

Even a commander of a large army can be captured, but no one can take away the will of a common person.

Confucius praises Yu for his ability to wear tattered hemp clothing without shame among the fur-clad, exemplifying freedom from attachment and coveting that leads to goodness.

Confucius uses pine and cypress trees, which retain their leaves in winter when other trees lose theirs, as a metaphor for constancy under hardship.

The wise are free from perplexity, the virtuous from anxiety, and the bold from fear.

Confucius describes stages of shared understanding: studying together, proceeding to principles, becoming established in principles, and weighing occurrences—not all are capable of progressing through all stages.

Confucius responds to a poem about separation by noting that distance is created by lack of thought; if one truly thinks of another, distance disappears.