短談《論語》 short talks on "The Analects"
《季氏》
子曰：「益者三友，損者三友。友直，友諒，友多聞，益矣。友便辟，友善柔，友便佞，損矣。」
The above is mostly translated into the following contemporary Chinese:
有益的朋友有三種，有害的朋友有三種。
正直的朋友、誠實的朋友、見多識廣的朋友，是有益的 ；
走邪門歪道的朋友、讒媚奉迎朋友、花言巧語朋友，是有害的。
May I ask "what is the difference between 正直
and 誠實?"
It seems to me 正直
and 誠實 come very close or sometimes interchangeable.
May be you can say 正直 = frank, 誠實
= honest -> so they are different.
If you check back the original scripts, one is 直
and one is 諒.
To me, they means 2 different moral qualities.
直 = frank and honest
諒 = 寬容
= tolerant
In its context, 直 is the opposite of 善柔. I believe the original meaning of 諒 meant 寬容 (tolerant) rather than 誠實.
便 means the act of/behave, such as 辟
(歪) 佞(花言巧語)
So if you mean to learn from the web, look for reliable sources.
Nowadays, most on the web copied from the same source. The 1st one
makes mistake, everybody makes mistake!
《里仁》
子曰：「朝聞道，夕死可矣。」
It is a simple one, actually no need further explanation.
Some say, it has profound meaning：懂得了仁義的道理，就應該用自己的一生去實踐它，有時為了捍衛之，甚至不惜犧牲自己的生命。
Trust it or not, you yourselves to determine.
To me, these 2 phrases reflect each others. Let re-order the 2nd phrase
a bit to 夕可死矣. You will find them a proper pair.
朝 - word of time
聞 –verb, word of action
道 - object about (here is about moral)
夕 - word of time
可 - verb, word of action
死 - object about (here is about death)
矣 - auxiliary
In simple English, it is:
“there is no regret in life once you understand the truth of morality”
一旦明白道德的真諦，人生便沒有遺憾了。
