Lesson 8 Duke Mu Forgives the Horse-Eaters

Lesson 8: Duke Mu Forgives the Horse-Eaters

秦穆公嘗出而亡其駿馬，自往求之。見人已殺其馬，方共食其肉。穆公謂曰﹕「是吾駿馬也﹗」諸人皆懼而起。穆公曰﹕「吾聞食駿馬肉不飲酒者殺人。」

即以次飲之酒。殺馬者皆慚而去。居三年，晉攻秦穆公圍之。往時食馬肉者相謂曰﹕「可以出死報食馬得酒之恩矣﹗」

遂潰圍。穆公卒得以解難勝晉，獲惠公以歸。此德出而福反也。

770-481 BC

秦穆公 r. 659-621 BC

晉惠公 r. 650-637 BC

•ADV indicating past tense in the sense of "once in the past. "

•In the affirmative, often paired with the final particle 矣.

•Verbs with 嘗 are negated by 未 not 不; 未嘗 is often paired with final particle 也.

嘗

吾嘗聞大勇於夫子矣。 I once heard about great courage from the Master (孟子 2A/2).

未嘗與之言行事也。 [You] never spoke with him about the business of the mission (孟子 2B/6).

未嘗至於偃之室也。 [You] have never come to Yan's house (論語 6).

•TV to lose, to destroy, to die, to be lost, to escape

•sometimes a loan for 無, "to not have," "to not exist." In such cases, 亡 is conventionally pronounced wú instead of wáng

穆公亡秦往晉。 Duke Mu fled the state of Qin and went to Jin.

人皆有兄弟。我獨亡。 Everyone [else] has brothers. I alone have not. (論語 12/5)

亡

方 just then; just at that time (indicates simultaneity)

• sometimes used adverbially • sometimes used to introduce a subordinate “just when” clause

方鼓而志在太山。

方伯牙子[之]鼓琴，志在太山。

已

V to end, to bring to an end ADV already 伯牙至，鍾子期已死矣。 孟子對曰：「王！何必曰利？亦有仁義而已矣。

謂

1. TV: to name; to assume, to think. 2. CV: to say [to someone], to address [someone] Note that when the object of the coverb is 之, it is often omitted.

TV: 得其天性謂之德。 As for obtaining one's heavenly nature, [we] call this "virtue."

CV: 穆公謂[之]曰… Duke Mu said to them…

諸

1: 諸人皆懼而起。

2: 公賜邑於曾子。 公賜之於曾子 公賜諸曾子。

3: 曾子受邑乎？ 曾子受之乎？ 曾子受諸?

1. Noun modifier indicating a group or multiplicity • not simply a pluralizer (which is typically unmarked in CC) • “all the…” “the various,” “the whole group of”; e.g.諸侯

2. FUSION of 之於

3. FINAL PARTICLE: fusion of 之乎

• “all” or “in all cases” (similar to the MC 都). • Subject 皆 Verb (adverbial usage). • X 皆 Y 也. • Can refer to plural subject or plural object. •When the subject is omitted, often translated as indefinite pronoun

1. 群兒皆樂． The entire group of children was happy.

2. 汝皆樂之乎． Do you enjoy all of these? (note plural object)

3. 四海之內皆兄弟也． Within the 4 seas, all are brothers.

4. 皆古聖人也． All were sages of old. (omitted subject)

皆

食

shí : N food, rice; V to eat ----------- sì: TV to feed (i.e. to cause/allow one to eat)

即

1. TV to approach, to come to 2. ADV immediately, right at that time 3. CONJ then (similar to 則) 4. CONJ if…, even if… 5. EMPHATIC X即Y

X is indeed Y; X is precisely Y, X is none other than Y

1. 宋以其善於晉侯也，叛楚即晉。

2. 穆公曰﹕「吾聞食駿馬肉不飲酒者殺人。」即以次飲之酒。

3. 今魯城壞，即壓齊境﹗君其圖之﹗」

4. 即飢寒毒熱不可忍，不去也。

5. 吾何愛一牛？即不忍其觳觫，若無罪而就死地，故以羊易之也。」

Song, because of having made friends with the Marquis of Jin, revolted against Chu and went over to Jin.

Duke Mu said, “I have heard that eating the flesh of a swift horse but not drinking ale [with it] will kill a person.” Immediately he gave them something to drink in turn.

Now, were the walls of Lu (that is the capital city of Lu) to crumble, then they would cover over the borders of Qi.

Even if the hunger, cold, noxious fumes, or heat were intolerable, he would not leave [the stables].

How could I be greedy over a single ox? It is simply that that I couldn’t bear its whimpering like an innocent man being taken to the execution ground, so I told them to substitute a sheep.

即以次飲之酒。 TV IO DO

居

1. to occupy [a place], to live [in a place]. 2. to pass by [of time].

太王居岐山之下。 King Tai made his residence at the foot of Mt. Qi.

居數月，孔子返魯。 After three months,

Confucius returned to Lu.

相 xiāng: ADV mutually, each other ----------- xiàng: N assistant, government minister, V to serve as minister

獸相食。 Animals eat each other. 管仲相齊桓公。 Guan Zhong served as prime

minister to Duke Huan of Qi.

相 (adverb) • always appears immediately before a verb or coverb • works only with transitive verbs • object of verb typically omitted because it is implicit in 相

• when subject of the verb is plural, 相 indicates that the object of the

verb are the members of the plural subject set off against each other.

諸侯相爭。 The various lords compete against one another.

• sometimes used when the action is not reciprocal to show a mutual

bond between subject and object (Pulleyblank, 137).

兒童相見而不相識。 The children saw [me] but didn't recognize [me].

相 can also work with coverbs:

四人相與語曰。 The four men speaking with each other said…

Note the following combinations: 相[與] with one another 相[為] for one another 相[謂[ addressing one another 相[對] facing one another

Sometimes the coverb is omitted but clearly implied:

猶相積惡也。 They are still accumulating evils against each other.

相 (and coverbs)

可以出死報食馬得酒之恩矣﹗

可 •SV permissible, suitable, acceptable •AUX V transforms (by making passive) a TV into a SV : "-able" •AUX V may, can (abbreviated form of 可以) •AUX V (hortatory) should, ought

事親若曾子者，可也。 One who serves one's parent like Master Zeng did is OK (孟子 4A19).

王可殺。 The king is killable. The king can be killed

王可殺人。 The king can kill people.

秦女絕美，王可自取。 The woman of Qin is extremely beautiful. You Majesty should take her for yourself (史記 66.2171).

矣 •used in verbal predicates (not X Y 也) •shows completed action (often used in conjunction with 已) •indicates new situation •similar to 了 in modern Chinese

臣曰: 「勿出! 」而鳥已亡矣。 The Minister said, "Do not allow him to go out," but the bird had already fled. (completed action)

往時之恩，我今能報矣。 As for that favor from long

ago, I am now able to repay it. (new situation)

矣 也 • only in verbal predicates • conveys action or change

古聖皆死矣。

• basic usage: X Y 也 • extended usage in verbal predicate • conveys identity, classification, judgment

是吾駿馬也﹗ 參之言，足以全其節也。 臣笑其曠也。 驥不自至千里者，待伯樂而後至也。

遂

TV to accord with, to follow CONJ then, thereupon (always used pre-verbally)

TV: 性不得不遂。 One cannot but follow one's nature. CONJ: 往時食馬肉者遂潰圍。 Those who had previously eaten the

horsemeat thereupon broke through the siege.

卒

1. N foot soldier2. V to end, to come to an end; to die; ADV finally, in the end

王卒戰而不勝。 The royal troops went to battle but did not win.

居三月秦穆公卒。 After three months, Duke Mu of Qin died.

以

COVERB •instrument ("by means of...") •direct obj. (used w/ verbs of giving) •reason ("for the reason that...")

CONJUNCTION

•"in order to..."

我以觴飲酒。 君賜臣以邑。 妻以夫追女大怒。 往田以耕。

verb phrase A 以 verb phrase B 桓公舉觴以飲之。 Duke Huan raised his cup in order to have him drink.

桓公舉觴以飲之。

verb phrase A, 以之 verb phrase B 桓公舉觴,以之飲之。 Duke Huan raised his cup and by means of this had him drink.