Analects 14.41
The Analects (論語), BOOK XIV. HSIEN WAN 憲問第十四
子路宿於石門、晨門曰、奚自。子路曰、自孔氏。曰、是知其不可而爲之者與。
Tsze-lu happening to pass the night in Shih-man, the gatekeeper said to him, "Whom do you come from?" Tsze-lu said, "From Mr. K'ung." "It is he,—is it not?"—said the other, "who knows the impracticable nature of the times and yet will be doing in them."
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
- 宿sùto stop, to rest, to lodge; constellatio
- 於yúat, in, on; to, from; alas!
- 石shístone, rock, mineral
- 門méngate, door, entrance, opening
- 晨chéndawn, early morning
- 曰yuēto speak; to say
- 奚xīwhere, what, why, how
- 自zìself; private, personal; from
- 孔kǒngopening, hole, orifice; great
- 氏shìclan, family; maiden name
- 是shìto be; indeed, right, yes; okay
- 知zhīto know, to perceive, to comprehend
- 其qíhis, her, its, their; that
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 可kěmay, can, -able; possibly
- 而érand, and then, and yet; but
- 爲wèido, handle, govern, act; be
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 者zhěthat which; they who; those who
- 與yǔand; with; to; for; to give, to grant
Passages with shared wording
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.