Analects 17.12
The Analects (論語), BOOK XVII. YANG HO 陽貨第十七
子曰、色厲而內荏、譬諸小人、其猶穿窬之盜也與。
The Master said, "He who puts on an appearance of stern firmness, while inwardly he is weak, is like one of the small, mean people;—yea, is he not like the thief who breaks through, or climbs over, a wall?"
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
- 色sècolor, tint, hue, shade; beauty, form; s
- 厲lìwhetstone; to grind, to sharpen, to whet
- 而érand, and then, and yet; but
- 內nèiinside
- 荏rěnherb, mint; soft, pliable
- 譬pìexample; metaphor, simile
- 諸zhūall, many, various; surname
- 小xiǎosmall, tiny, insignificant
- 人rénman, person; people
- 其qíhis, her, its, their; that
- 猶yóusimilar to, just like, as
- 穿chuānto drill, to pierce; to dress, to wear
- 窬yúdoor, window; a hole in a wall
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 盜dàoto rob, to steal; thief, bandit
- 也yěalso, too
- 與yǔand; with; to; for; to give, to grant
Passages with shared wording
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.