Analects 15.15
The Analects (論語), BOOK XV. WEI LING KUNG 衞靈公第十五
子曰、不曰如之何、如之何者、吾末如之何也已矣。
The Master said, "When a man is not in the habit of saying—'What shall I think of this? What shall I think of this?' I can indeed do nothing with him!"
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
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 如rúas, as if, like, such as, supposing
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 何héwhat, why, where, which, how
- 者zhěthat which; they who; those who
- 吾wúI, my, our; to resist, to impede
- 末mòend, final, last; insignificant
- 也yěalso, too
- 已yǐalready; finished; to stop; then, afterw
- 矣yǐparticle of completed action
Passages with shared wording
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.