Analects 17.3
The Analects (論語), BOOK XVII. YANG HO 陽貨第十七
子曰、唯上知與下愚不移。
The Master said, "There are only the wise of the highest class, and the stupid of the lowest class, who cannot be changed."
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
- 唯wéionly; sole
- 上shàngabove, on top, superior; to go up; to at
- 知zhīto know, to perceive, to comprehend
- 與yǔand; with; to; for; to give, to grant
- 下xiàbelow, underneath; inferior; to bring do
- 愚yústupid, foolish
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 移yíto shift, to move about, to drift
Passages with shared wording
- Zhuangzi Autumn Floods
- Analects 5.20
- Zhuangzi Tsê Yang
- Analects 10.2
- Zhuangzi The Tao of God
- Analects 4.15
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.