Analects 13.14
The Analects (論語), BOOK XIII. TSZE-LU 子路第十三
冉子退朝、子曰、何晏也。對曰、有政。子曰、其事也、如有政、雖不吾以、吾其與聞之。
The disciple Zan returning from the court, the Master said to him, "How are you so late?" He replied, "We had government business." The Master said, "It must have been family affairs. If there had been government business, though I am not now in office, I should have been consulted about it."
James Legge (1861), Confucian Analects, The Chinese Classics vol. 1 (1861; 2nd ed. 1893) — public domain.
Character glossary
- 冉rǎntender; weak; to proceed gradually
- 子zison, child; seed, egg; fruit; small thin
- 退tuìto retreat, to step back, to withdraw
- 朝cháoto face; direct, facing; dynasty; mornin
- 曰yuēto speak; to say
- 何héwhat, why, where, which, how
- 晏yànpeaceful, tranquil, quiet; clear; late i
- 也yěalso, too
- 對duìcorrect, right; facing, opposed
- 有yǒuto have, to own, to possess; to exist
- 政zhènggovernment, politics
- 其qíhis, her, its, their; that
- 事shìaffair, matter, business; to serve; acci
- 如rúas, as if, like, such as, supposing
- 雖suīalthough, even though
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 吾wúI, my, our; to resist, to impede
- 以yǐaccording to; so as to; because of; then
- 與yǔand; with; to; for; to give, to grant
- 聞wénnews; to hear, to smell; to make known
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
Passages with shared wording
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.