Analects 15.7
The Analects (論語), BOOK XV. WEI LING KUNG 衞靈公第十五
子曰、可與言、而不與之言、失人、不可與言、而與之言、失言、知者不失人、亦不失言。
The Master said, "When a man may be spoken with, not to speak to him is to err in reference to the man. When a man may not be spoken with, to speak to him is to err in reference to our words. The wise err neither in regard to their man nor to their words."
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
- 可kěmay, can, -able; possibly
- 與yǔand; with; to; for; to give, to grant
- 言yánwords, speech; to speak, to say
- 而érand, and then, and yet; but
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 失shīto lose; to make a mistake, to neglect
- 人rénman, person; people
- 知zhīto know, to perceive, to comprehend
- 者zhěthat which; they who; those who
- 亦yìalso, too; likewise
Passages with shared wording
- Zhuangzi Knowledge travels North
- Zhuangzi The Great Supreme
- Zhuangzi Hsü Wu Kuei
- Zhuangzi Contingencies
- Zhuangzi The Empire
- Zhuangzi The Identity of Contraries
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.