Hsien Tsin / 7

颜渊死,颜路请子之车,以为之椁。子曰,才不才,亦各言其子也,鲤也死,有棺而无椁,吾不徒行以为之椁,以吾从大夫之后,不可徒行也。

Modern Chinese Guide

颜渊死了,他父亲颜路请求孔子卖掉车子,好给颜渊买外椁。孔子说:不管有才还是没才,说到底都是各人的儿子。我的儿子鲤死的时候,也只有内棺而没有外椁。我不能卖掉车子步行去替他置办外椁,因为我曾做过大夫,是不可以步行的。

James Legge Translation

1. When Yen Yuan died, Yen Lu begged the carriage of the Master to sell and get an outer shell for his son's coffin. 2. The Master said, "Every one calls his son his son, whether he has talents or has not talents. There was Li; when he died, he had a coffin but no outer shell. I would not walk on foot to get a shell for him, because, having followed in the rear of the great officers, it was not proper that I should walk on foot."

Notes and themes

  • 底本:Wikisource 整理的 James Legge《The Chinese Classics》公版中英文本。
  • 中文由繁体转为简体,后续白话解释需逐章审校。
  • 白话参考底本:《白话论语读本》,张兆瑢、沈元起编译,上海广益书局1948 年新三版。
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