Analects 15.24
The Analects (論語), BOOK XV. WEI LING KUNG 衞靈公第十五
子曰、吾之於人也誰毀、誰譽、如有所譽者、其有所試矣。斯民也、三代之所以直道而行也。
1. The Master said, "In my dealings with men, whose evil do I blame, whose goodness do I praise, beyond what is proper? If I do sometimes exceed in praise, there must be ground for it in my examination of the individual.
2. "This people supplied the ground why the three dynasties pursued the path of straightforwardness."
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
- 吾wúI, my, our; to resist, to impede
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 於yúat, in, on; to, from; alas!
- 人rénman, person; people
- 也yěalso, too
- 誰shuíwho? whom? whose? anyone?
- 毀huǐto damage, to ruin; to defame, to slande
- 譽yùfame, reputation; to praise
- 如rúas, as if, like, such as, supposing
- 有yǒuto have, to own, to possess; to exist
- 所suǒplace, location; "that which", a particl
- 者zhěthat which; they who; those who
- 其qíhis, her, its, their; that
- 試shìto try, to experiment; exam, test
- 矣yǐparticle of completed action
- 斯sīthis, thus, such; emphatic particle; use
- 民míncitizens, subjects; a nation's people
- 三sānthree
- 代dàiera, generation; to substitute for, to r
- 以yǐaccording to; so as to; because of; then
- 直zhístraight, vertical; candid, direct, fran
- 道dàomethod, way; path, road
- 而érand, and then, and yet; but
- 行xíngto go, to walk, to move; professional
Passages with shared wording
- Mencius 5B.4
- Analects 18.2
- Zhuangzi Tsê Yang
- Mencius 4A.3
- Zhuangzi Transcendental Bliss
- Zhuangzi Contingencies
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.