Analects 18.2
The Analects (論語), BOOK XVIII. WEI TSZE 微子第十八
柳下惠爲士師、三黜、人曰、子未可以去乎。曰、直道而事人、焉往而不三黜、枉道而事人、何必去父母之邦。
Hui of Liu-hsia being chief criminal judge, was thrice dismissed from his office. Some one said to him, "Is it not yet time for you, sir, to leave this?" He replied, "Serving men in an upright way, where shall I go to, and not experience such a thrice-repeated
dismissal? If I choose to serve men in a crooked way, what necessity is there for me to leave the country of my parents?"
James Legge (1861), Confucian Analects, The Chinese Classics vol. 1 (1861; 2nd ed. 1893) — public domain.
Character glossary
- 柳liǔwillow tree; pleasure; surname
- 下xiàbelow, underneath; inferior; to bring do
- 惠huìfavor, benefit, blessing, kindness
- 爲wèido, handle, govern, act; be
- 士shìscholar, gentleman; soldier
- 師shīteacher, professional, master
- 三sānthree
- 黜chùto dismiss; to downgrade, to demote
- 人rénman, person; people
- 曰yuēto speak; to say
- 子zison, child; seed, egg; fruit; small thin
- 未wèinot yet; 8th terrestrial branch
- 可kěmay, can, -able; possibly
- 以yǐaccording to; so as to; because of; then
- 去qùto go away, to leave, to depart
- 乎hūinterrogative or exclamatory final parti
- 直zhístraight, vertical; candid, direct, fran
- 道dàomethod, way; path, road
- 而érand, and then, and yet; but
- 事shìaffair, matter, business; to serve; acci
- 焉yānwhy? where? how?; strange; thereupon, th
- 往wǎngto go, to depart; past, former
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 枉wǎnguseless, in vain; crooked, bent
- 何héwhat, why, where, which, how
- 必bìsurely, certainly; must; will
- 父fùfather, dad
- 母mǔmother; female elders; female
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 邦bāngcountry, nation, state
Passages with shared wording
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.