Analects 15.34
The Analects (論語), BOOK XV. WEI LING KUNG 衞靈公第十五
子曰、民之於仁也、甚於水火、水火吾見蹈而死者矣、未見蹈仁而死者也。
The Master said, "Virtue is more to man than either water or fire. I have seen men die from treading on water and fire, but I have never seen a man die from treading the course of virtue."
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
- 民míncitizens, subjects; a nation's people
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 於yúat, in, on; to, from; alas!
- 仁rénbenevolent, humane, kind
- 也yěalso, too
- 甚shénconsiderably; very, extremely; a great e
- 水shuǐwater, liquid, lotion, juice
- 火huǒfire, flame; to burn; anger, rage
- 吾wúI, my, our; to resist, to impede
- 見jiànto see, to observe, to meet, to appear
- 蹈dǎoto dance, to stamp the feet
- 而érand, and then, and yet; but
- 死sǐdead; death; impassable, inflexible
- 者zhěthat which; they who; those who
- 矣yǐparticle of completed action
- 未wèinot yet; 8th terrestrial branch
Passages with shared wording
- Zhuangzi On Letting Alone
- Zhuangzi Man Among Men
- Mencius 6A.10
- Mencius 2A.1
- Mencius 3B.5
- Zhuangzi Tien Tzŭ Fang
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.