Analects 11.24
The Analects (論語), BOOK XI. HSIEN TSIN 先進第十一
子路使子羔爲費宰。子曰、賊夫人之子。子路曰、有民人焉、有社稷焉、何必讀書、然後爲學。子曰、是故惡夫佞者。
1. Tsze-lu got Tsze-kao appointed governor of Pi.
2. The Master said, "You are injuring a man's son."
3. Tsze-lu said, "There are (there) common people and officers; there are the altars of the spirits of the land and grain. Why must one read books before he can be considered to have learned?"
4. The Master said, "It is on this account that I hate your glib-tongued people."
James Legge (1861), Confucian Analects, The Chinese Classics vol. 1 (1861; 2nd ed. 1893) — public domain.
Character glossary
- 子zison, child; seed, egg; fruit; small thin
- 路lùroad, path, street; journey
- 使shǐcause, mission, orders; envoy, messenger
- 羔gāolamb
- 爲wèido, handle, govern, act; be
- 費fèiexpenses, fees; to cost, to spend; waste
- 宰zǎito slaughter, to butcher; to govern, to
- 曰yuēto speak; to say
- 賊zéithief, traitor; cunning, sly
- 夫fūman, husband; worker; those
- 人rénman, person; people
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 有yǒuto have, to own, to possess; to exist
- 民míncitizens, subjects; a nation's people
- 焉yānwhy? where? how?; strange; thereupon, th
- 社shègroup, organization, society; a god of t
- 稷jìgod of cereals; minister of agriculture
- 何héwhat, why, where, which, how
- 必bìsurely, certainly; must; will
- 讀dúto study, to learn; to read, to pronounc
- 書shūbook, letter, document; writing
- 然ráncertainly; naturally; suddenly
- 後hòuafter; behind, rear; descendants
- 學xuélearning, knowledge, science; to study,
- 是shìto be; indeed, right, yes; okay
- 故gùreason, cause; happening, instance
- 惡èbad, evil, wicked; to hate, to loathe; f
- 佞nìngflattery; glib
- 者zhěthat which; they who; those who
Passages with shared wording
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.