Analects 15.30
The Analects (論語), BOOK XV. WEI LING KUNG 衞靈公第十五
子曰、吾嘗終日不食、終夜不寢、以思、無益、不如學也。
The Master said, "I have been the whole day
without eating, and the whole night without sleeping:—occupied with thinking. It was of no use. The better plan is to learn."
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
- 嘗chángto taste; to experience, to experiment w
- 終zhōngend; finally, in the end
- 日rìsun; day; daytime
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 食shífood; to eat
- 夜yènight, dark; under cover of night
- 寢qǐnto sleep, to rest; bedroom
- 以yǐaccording to; so as to; because of; then
- 思sīto think, to ponder, to consider; final
- 無wúno, not; lacking, -less
- 益yìto profit, to benefit; advantage
- 如rúas, as if, like, such as, supposing
- 學xuélearning, knowledge, science; to study,
- 也yěalso, too
Passages with shared wording
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.