Analects 13.13
The Analects (論語), BOOK XIII. TSZE-LU 子路第十三
子曰、苟正其身矣、於從政乎何有、不能正其身、如正人何。
The Master said, "If a minister make his own conduct correct, what difficulty will he have in assisting in government? If he cannot rectify himself, what has he to do with rectifying others?"
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
- 曰yuēto speak; to say
- 苟gǒucareless, frivolous, illicit; but, if on
- 正zhèngstraight, right, proper, correct, just,
- 其qíhis, her, its, their; that
- 身shēnbody, torso; person; pregnancy
- 矣yǐparticle of completed action
- 於yúat, in, on; to, from; alas!
- 從cóngfrom, by, since, whence, through
- 政zhènggovernment, politics
- 乎hūinterrogative or exclamatory final parti
- 何héwhat, why, where, which, how
- 有yǒuto have, to own, to possess; to exist
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 能néngcan, may; capable, full of energy
- 如rúas, as if, like, such as, supposing
- 人rénman, person; people
Passages with shared wording
- Analects 6.6
- Zhuangzi The Evidence of Virtue Complete
- Analects 20.2
- Mencius 5A.7
- Mencius 3B.9
- Zhuangzi Autumn Floods
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.