Analects 12.3
The Analects (論語), BOOK XII. YEN YUAN 顏淵第十二
司馬牛問仁。子曰、仁者其言也訒。曰、其言也訒、斯謂之仁矣乎。子曰、爲之難、言之得無訒乎。
1. Sze-ma Niu asked about perfect virtue.
2. The Master said, "The man of perfect virtue is cautious and slow in his speech."
3. "Cautious and slow in his speech!" said Niu;—"is this what is meant by perfect virtue?" The Master said, "When a man feels the difficulty of doing, can he be other than cautious and slow in speaking?"
James Legge (1861), Confucian Analects, The Chinese Classics vol. 1 (1861; 2nd ed. 1893) — public domain.
Character glossary
- 司sīto take charge of, to control, to manage
- 馬mǎhorse; surname
- 牛niúox, cow, bull
- 問wènto ask about, to inquire after
- 仁rénbenevolent, humane, kind
- 子zison, child; seed, egg; fruit; small thin
- 曰yuēto speak; to say
- 者zhěthat which; they who; those who
- 其qíhis, her, its, their; that
- 言yánwords, speech; to speak, to say
- 也yěalso, too
- 訒rènhesitate to say, reluctant to speak
- 斯sīthis, thus, such; emphatic particle; use
- 謂wèito call, to say, to tell; name, title; m
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 矣yǐparticle of completed action
- 乎hūinterrogative or exclamatory final parti
- 爲wèido, handle, govern, act; be
- 難nánhard, difficult, arduous; unable
- 得déto obtain, to get, to acquire; suitable,
- 無wúno, not; lacking, -less
Passages with shared wording
- Analects 12.4
- Zhuangzi Knowledge travels North
- Analects 12.5
- Zhuangzi On Declining Power
- Mencius 2A.2
- Zhuangzi The Tao of God
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.