Analects 17.23
The Analects (論語), BOOK XVII. YANG HO 陽貨第十七
子路曰、君子尙勇乎。子曰、君子義以爲上、君子有勇而無義、爲亂、小人有勇而無義、爲盜。
Tsze-lu said, "Does the superior man esteem valour?" The Master said, "The superior man holds righteousness to be of highest importance. A man in a superior situation, having valour without righteousness, will be guilty of insubordination; one of the lower people having valour without righteousness, will commit robbery."
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
- 路lùroad, path, street; journey
- 曰yuēto speak; to say
- 君jūnsovereign, ruler, prince, monarch, chief
- 尙shàngstill, yet; even; fairly, rather
- 勇yǒngbrave, courageous, fierce
- 乎hūinterrogative or exclamatory final parti
- 義yìright conduct, propriety; justice
- 以yǐaccording to; so as to; because of; then
- 爲wèido, handle, govern, act; be
- 上shàngabove, on top, superior; to go up; to at
- 有yǒuto have, to own, to possess; to exist
- 而érand, and then, and yet; but
- 無wúno, not; lacking, -less
- 亂luànanarchy, chaos; revolt
- 小xiǎosmall, tiny, insignificant
- 人rénman, person; people
- 盜dàoto rob, to steal; thief, bandit
Passages with shared wording
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.