Poesia kaiera
XIII. Kantua
Kung promenatzen ari zen
Tenplu dinastikoaren ondoan
Eta zedroen artean sartu zen
Eta gero Ibiaren behealdean berriro agertu
eta berarekin Khien, Tchi
eta Tian, apalki mintzo zena,
eta Kung-ek esan zuen “Ezezagunak gara”
“Guda-gurdien lasterketei ekin nahi izango zeniekete?
Horrela ospetsuak izango zinatekete
Edo agian neronek ekin beharko nieke guda-gurdien lasterketei edo arkularitzari?
Edota bestela jende aurrean mintzatzen trebatu?”.
Eta Teu-louk honakoa esan zuen: “nik defentsak antolatuko nituzke”
Eta Khien-ek orduan: “Probintzia bateko nagusia izango banintz
hau baino hobeto antolatuko nuke”
Eta Tchik esan zuen “Nik mendiko tenplu txiki bat nahiago nuke
Non eta zeremoniak oro zuzen egingo liratekeen
Eta ospakizunak ongi burutuko”
Eta Tian-ek ondoren, eskuak lautearen harien gainean pausaturik
Soinu baxuak entzuten ziren oraindik
Eskuak harietatik urrundu zituenean
Eta soinua gora joan zen, hostoen azpian,
Eta Tian-en begirada soinuari jarraitu zitzaion:
“Mutilek igeri egiteko darabilten urmaela,
Oholetatik salto eginez, pulunpatzen direlarik,
Non eta zuhaixken artean mandolina jotzen esertzen diren”.
Eta Kung-ek guztiek irri egin zien berdin.
Eta Thseng-siek zera jakin nahi izan zuen:
“Nork eman du erantzun zuzena?”.
Eta Kung-ek esan zuen: “Denek eman dute erantzun zuzena,
Hau da, nork bere jitearen arabera”.
Eta Kung-ek bere makila jaso zuen Yuang Jang-en aurka,
Yuang Jang zaharrena baitzen,
Zeren Yuang Jang
Bide ertzean eserita zegoen jakintza jasotzen
ari zelako itxurak eginez
Eta Kung-ek esan zuen orduan:
“Agure zahar, inozo hori, utzi txorakeriak,
Zutitu zaitez eta egizu zerbait baliagarri”.
Eta Kung-ek esan zuen:
“Errespeta itzazu haurraren gaitasunak
”Aire garbia arnasten duen unetik beretik
”Baina deus ez dakien berrogeita hamar urteko gizon batek
Ez du begirunerik merezi”.
Eta “Printzeak bere inguruan jakintsu eta artista guztiak
bildu dituenean, bere ondasunak ezin hobeto baliatuko ditu”.
Eta Kung-ek esan zuen eta bo-hostoetan idatzi:
Gizon batek ez badu ordenarik bere baitan
Ezin du ordena zabaldu bere inguruan;
Eta gizon batek ez badu ordenarik bere baitan,
Bere familiak ez du jardungo ordena egokian;
Eta printze batek ez badu ordenarik bere baitan
Ezin izango du ordenarik ezarri bere agindupeko lurretan.
Eta Kung “ordenaz” mintzo zen
Baita “anaitasunezko errespetuaz” ere
Baina ez zuen “heriotzaren ondoko bizitza” aipatu.
Eta esan zuen: “edonork egin dezake desmasia eta gehiegikeriarik,
erraza da neurria gainditzea
eta zaila, ordea, erdian irmo irautea”.
Eta esan zuten: Gizakiak hilketarik burutzen badu
Aitak babestu behar du eta gordelekua eman?
Eta Kung-ek esan zuen:
Iheslekua eskaini behar dio.
Eta Kung-ek bere alaba opa egin zion Kong-Tch’ang-i,
Kong-Tch’ang espetxean bazegoen ere.
Eta bere iloba Nan-Young-i eman zion,
Nahiz eta Nan Young-ek inongo kargu publikorik ez izan.
Eta Kung-ek hauxe esan zuen: “Wang neurriz aritu zen bere agintaldian.
Haren garaian Estatua ongi kudeatua izan zen,
Eta nik neuk gogoan dut oraindik
Historiagileek beren idazkietan hutsuneak uzten zituzteneko garaia,
Zera esan nahi dut, ez zekizkiten gauzetarako.
Baina badirudi garai hura iragana dela dagoeneko”.
Eta Kung-ek orduan: “Adorerik gabe
Ez zara musika-tresna hori jotzeko gai izango
Ezta Odetarako doinu egokia sortzeko ere.
Abrikoten loreak
Sortaldetik sartaldera doaz hegan
Eta ni eror daitezen galaraztera entseatu naiz”.
Canto XIII
Kung walked / by the dynastic temple / and into the cedar grove, / and then out by the lower river, / And with him Khieu Tchi / and Tian the low speaking / And “we are unknown,” said Kung, / “You will take up charioteering? / “Then you will become known, / “Or perhaps I should take up charioterring, or archery? / “Or the practice of public speaking?” / And Tseu-lou said, “I would put the defences in order,” / And Khieu said, “If I were lord of a province / “I would put it in better order than this is.” / And Tchi said, “I would prefer a small mountain temple, / “With order in the observances, / with a suitable performance of the ritual,” / And Tian said, with his hand on the strings of his lute / The low sounds continuing / after his hand left the strings, / And the sound went up like smoke, under the leaves, / And he looked after the sound: / “The old swimming hole, / “And the boys flopping off the planks, / “Or sitting in the underbrush playing mandolins.” / And Kung smiled upon all of them equally. / And Thseng-sie desired to know: / “Which had answered correctly?” / And Kung said, “They have all answered correctly, / “That is to say, each in his nature.” / And Kung raised his cane against Yuan Jang, / Yuan Jang being his elder, / For Yuan Jang sat by the roadside pretending to / be receiving wisdom. / And Kung said / “You old fool, come out of it, / “Get up and do something useful.” / And Kung said / “Respect a child's faculties / “From the moment it inhales the clear air, / “But a man of fifty who knows nothng / Is worthy of no respect.” / And "When the prince has gathered about him / “All the savants and artists, his riches will be fully employed.” // And Kung said, and wrote on the bo leaves: / If a man have not order within him / He can not spread order about him; / And if a man have not order within him / His family will not act with due order; / And if the prince have not order within him / He can not put order in his dominions. / And Kung gave the words “order” / and “brotherly deference” / And said nothing of the “life after death.” / And he said / “Anyone can run to excesses, / “It is easy to shoot past the mark, / “It is hard to stand firm in the middle.” // And they said: If a man commit murder / Should his father protect him, and hide him? / And Kung said: / He should hide him. // And Kung gave his daughter to Kong-Tchang / Although Kong-Tchang was in prison. / And he gave his niece to Nan-Young / although Nan-Young was out of office. / And Kung said “Wan ruled with moderation, / “In his day the State was well kept, / “And even I can remember / “A day when the historians left blanks in their writings, / “I mean, for things they didn't know, / “But that time seems to be passing. / A day when the historians left blanks in their writings, / But that time seems to be passing.” / And Kung said, “Without character you will / “be unable to play on that instrument / “Or to execute the music fit for the Odes. / “The blossoms of the apricot / “blow from the east to the west, / “And I have tried to keep them from falling.”