5.1. 子謂公冶長，“可妻也。雖在縲絏之中，非其罪也。”以其子妻之。
The Master said, "Gongye Chang might be a good husband, though he was once put in jail, but it was not through his fault." And the Master married his daughter to him.
5.2. 子謂南容，“邦有道，不廢；邦無道，免於刑戮。”以其兄之子妻之。
The Master said, "Nan Rong would not be unemployed in a well-governed country, nor would he be punished in an ill governed one." And the Master married his niece to him.
5.3. 子謂子賤，“君子哉若人！魯無君子者，斯焉取斯？”
Zi jian, said the Master, is a cultured man. If there were no cultured men in the state of Lu, how could he have learned to be one?
5.4. 子貢問曰：“賜也何如？”子曰：“女，器也。”曰：“何器也？”曰：“瑚璉也。”
Zi Gong asked the Master, "What do you think of me, sir?" The Master said, "You are a vessel." Zi Gong said, "What sort of vessel?" The Master said, "The best jade vessel for food, used in ancestral sacrifice."
5.5. 或曰：“雍也仁而不佞。”子曰：“焉用佞？禦人以口給，屢憎於人。不知其仁，焉用佞？”
Someone said, "Yong is virtuous, but he is not eloquent." The Master said, "What is the use of eloquence? Eloquence to the point of imposition would often cause disgust. I do not know whether Yong is virtuous. But what is use of his being eloquent?"
5.6. 子使漆雕開仕。 對曰：“吾斯之未能信。”子說。
The Master asked Qidiao Kai to serve as an officer. Qidiao Kai replied, "I am not sure how I can fulfill an office." The Master was pleased.
5.7. 子曰：“道不行，乘桴浮於海。從我者，其由與？”子路聞之喜。 子曰：“由也好勇過我，無所取材。”
The Master said, "If the truth I preach were not followed, I would float on the sea by a raft, who would then follow me but Zi Lu?" On hearing of this, Zi Lu was glad. Then the Master said, "Zi Lu is more courageous than I, but I am afraid his courage is reckless."
5.8. 孟武伯問：“子路仁乎？”子曰：“不知也。”又問。子曰：“由也，千乘之國，可使治其賦也，不知其仁也。”“求也何如？”子曰：“求也，千室之邑，百乘之家，可使為之宰也，不知其仁也。”“赤也何如？”子曰：“赤也，束帶立於朝，可使與賓客言也，不知其仁也。”
Meng Wu asked whether Zi Lu was a man of men. The Master said, "I do not know." When asked again, he said, "In a country of a thousand chariots, Zi Lu might serve in the military field, but I do not know how he could be a man of men. "When asked about Ran Qiu, the Master said, "In a city of a thousand families or a baronial house of a hundred chariots, Qiu might serve as an administrator, but I do not know how he could be a man of men." When asked about Gongxi Chi, the Master said, "Standing at court with a sash around the waist, Chi might serve in the intercourse with honorable guests, but I do not know how he could be a man of men."
5.9. 子謂子貢曰：“女與回也孰愈？”對曰：“賜也何敢望回？回也聞一以知十，賜也聞一以知二。”子曰：“弗如也；吾與女弗如也。”
The Master asked Zi Gong, "Which one do you think is better, you or Yan Hui?" Zi Gong replied, "How can I compare with Hui? He may infer ten from one, while I can only infer two." The Master said, "You cannot match with him. Neither you nor I can match with him."
5.10. 宰予晝寢。 子曰：“朽木不可雕也，糞土之牆不可圬也；於予與何誅？”子曰：“始吾於人也，聽其言而信其行；今吾於人也，聽其言而觀其行。於予與改是。”
Zai Yu often slept by day. The Master said, "Rotten wood cannot be carved; a wall of dried dung cannot be whitewashed. What is the use of my blaming him?" Again the Master said, "At first when I dealt with people, I listened to what they said and believed they would do likewise. Now when I deal with people, I will not only listen to what they say but also see what they do. It is from Zai Yu that I have learned to make this change."
5.11. 子曰：“吾未見剛者。”或對曰：“申棖。”子曰：“棖也欲，焉得剛？”
The Master said, "I have never seen a man steady and strong." When Shen Chang was mentioned, the Master said, "Chang is at the mercy of his desires. How could he be steady and strong?"
5.12. 子貢曰：“我不欲人之加諸我也，吾亦欲無加諸人。”子曰：“賜也，非爾所及也。”
Zi Gong said, "What I would not have others do to me, I would not do to them." The Master said, "Zi Gong, you have not yet attained to that."
5.13. 子貢曰：“夫子之文章，可得而聞也；夫子之言性與天道，不可得而聞也。”
Zi Gong said, "We may have heard our Master's views on culture, but not on human nature and divine law."
5.14. 子路有聞，未之能行，唯恐有聞。
Zi Lu would put into practice what he had learned, otherwise, he would not learn anything more.
5.15. 子貢問曰：“孔文子何以謂之‘文'也？”子曰：“敏而好學，不恥下問，是以謂之‘文'也。”
When Zi Gong asked why Kong Wen Zi was called a civilized man, the Master said, "He was curious and fond of learning and not ashamed to learn from his inferiors, so he was called a civilized man."
5.16. 子謂子產，“有君子之道四焉：其行己也恭，其事上也敬，其養民也惠，其使民也義。”
The Master said of Zi Chan, "He is a cultured man in four respects: modest in his conduct, respectful in serving his superiors, beneficial to the people and just in employing his inferiors."
5.17. 子曰：“晏平仲善與人交，久而敬之。”
Yan Pingzhong, said the Master, knows how to make friends. The longer their friendship lasts, the more they respect him.
5.18. 子曰：“臧文仲居蔡，山節藻棁，何如其知也？”
Zang Wenzhong, said the Master, kept a divine tortoise in a hall with hill patterns on its pillars and duckweed patterns on its beams. What did he know of the rites?
5.19. 子張問曰：“令尹子文三仕為令尹，無喜色；三已之，無慍色。舊令尹之政，必以告新令尹。何如？”子曰：“忠矣。”曰：“仁矣乎？”曰：“未知；焉得仁？”“崔子弑齊君，陳文子有馬十乘，弃而違之。至於他邦，則曰，‘猶吾大夫崔子也。'違之。之一邦，則又曰：‘猶吾大夫崔子也。'違之。何如？”子曰：“清矣。”曰：“仁矣乎？”曰：“未之，焉得仁？”
Zi Zhang asked what the Master would say of Zi Wen who was not overdelighted when thrice appointed minister, and not disappointed when thrice deposed, and who informed his successors how he had governed the state. The Master said, "He was loyal." When asked whether he was a man of men, the Master said, "I do not know how he could be a man of men." Zi Zhang said, "When Cui Zi murdered the prince of Qi, Chen Wen Zi who had a fief of ten chariots gave it up and left for another state. Arrived there, he said the ruler was as bad as Cui Zi, and left for a third. Arrived there, he said the same and left it again. What would you say of him?" The Master said, "He is free from blame." When asked whether he was a man of men, the Master said, "I do not know how he could be a man of men."
5.20. 季文子三思而後行。 子聞之，曰：“再，斯可矣。”
Ji Wen Zi would not take action until he thought it over thrice. Hearing of this, the Master said, "Twice is enough."
5.21. 子曰：“寧武子，邦有道則知；邦無道則愚。其知可及也；其愚不可及也。”
Ning Wu Zi, said the Master, showed wisdom when the country was well governed, but pretended to be dull when it was ill governed. His wisdom may be equalled, but not his dullness.
5.22. 子在陳，曰：“歸與！歸與！吾黨之小子狂簡，斐然成章，不知所以裁之。”
Why not return? said the Master in the State of Chen, why not return? The youth in my own country are thoughtless and careless, but they write well. How can I leave them uneducated?
5.23. 子曰：“伯夷叔齊不念舊惡，怨是用希。”
Bo Yi and Shu Qi, said the Master, who would not accede to the trone, bore no old grudge, so few bore a grudge against them.
5.24. 子曰：“孰謂微生高直？或乞醯焉，乞諸鄰而與之。”
Who says Wei Shenggao is honest? said the Master. Someone asked him for vinegar, he begged it from his neighbor and then gave it as his own.
5.25. 子曰：“巧言、令色、足恭，左丘明耻之，丘亦耻之。匿怨而友其人，左丘明耻之，丘亦耻之。”
Flowery words, hypocritical deeds, excessive respect, said the Master, are shamefulin the eyes of Zuo Qiuming, so are they in mine. To befriend those whom one resents is shameful in the eyes of Zuo Qiuming, so is it in mine.
5.26. 顏淵季路侍。 子曰：“盍各言爾志？”子路曰：“願車馬，衣輕裘，與朋友共，蔽之而無憾。”顏淵曰：“願無伐善，無施勞。”子路曰：“願聞子之志。”子曰：“老者安之，朋友信之，少者懷之。”
The Master said to Yan Yuan and Zi Lu in attendance, "Will each of you tell me what you wish?" Zi Lu said, "I would have carriage and horses, clothes and fur dress to share with my friends till these things are outworn, and I would feel no regret." Yan Hui said, "I would not show the good I have done nor the trouble I have taken for others." Zi Lu asked what the Master's wish was. The Master said, "I would comfort the old, be trusted by my friends and be loved by the young."
5.27. 子曰：“已矣乎，吾未見能見其過而內自訟者也。”
In vain, said the Master, have I looked for one who could find out his own faults and blame himself.
5.28. 子曰：“十室之邑，必有忠信如丘者焉，不如丘之好學也。”
In a hamlet of ten houses, said the Master, there must be someone as faithful and as trustworthy as I am, but he may not be so fond of learning.