Analects 14.21
The Analects (論語), BOOK XIV. HSIEN WAN 憲問第十四
子曰、其言之不怍、則爲之也難。
The Master said, "He who speaks without modesty will find it difficult to make his words good."
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
- 其qíhis, her, its, their; that
- 言yánwords, speech; to speak, to say
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 怍zuòashamed
- 則zérule, law, regulation; grades
- 爲wèido, handle, govern, act; be
- 也yěalso, too
- 難nánhard, difficult, arduous; unable
Passages with shared wording
- Zhuangzi On Declining Power
- Analects 19.16
- Mencius 7A.20
- Zhuangzi Knowledge travels North
- Zhuangzi Man Among Men
- Zhuangzi The Tao of God
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.