Analects 16.8
The Analects (論語), BOOK XVI. KE SHE 季氏第十六
孔子曰、君子有三畏、畏天命、畏大人、畏聖人之言。小人不知天命、而不畏也、狎大人、侮聖人之言。
1. Confucius said, "There are three things of which the superior man stands in awe. He stands in awe of the ordinances of Heaven. He stands in awe of great men. He stands in awe of the words of sages.
2. "The mean man does not know the ordinances of Heaven, and consequently does not stand in awe of them. He is disrespectful to great men. He makes sport of the words of sages."
James Legge (1861), Confucian Analects, The Chinese Classics vol. 1 (1861; 2nd ed. 1893) — public domain.
Character glossary
- 孔kǒngopening, hole, orifice; great
- 子zison, child; seed, egg; fruit; small thin
- 曰yuēto speak; to say
- 君jūnsovereign, ruler, prince, monarch, chief
- 有yǒuto have, to own, to possess; to exist
- 三sānthree
- 畏wèifear, dread, awe, reverence
- 天tiānsky, heaven; god, celestial
- 命mìnglife; destiny, fate, luck; an order, ins
- 大dàbig, great, vast, high, deep
- 人rénman, person; people
- 聖shèngholy, sacred; sage, saint
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 言yánwords, speech; to speak, to say
- 小xiǎosmall, tiny, insignificant
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 知zhīto know, to perceive, to comprehend
- 而érand, and then, and yet; but
- 也yěalso, too
- 狎xiáto be familiar with; to disrespect
- 侮wǔinsult, ridicule, disgrace
Passages with shared wording
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.
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