Analects 3.12
The Analects (論語), BOOK III. PA YIH 八佾第三
祭如在、祭神如神在。子曰、吾不與祭、如不祭。
1. He sacrificed to the dead, as if they were present. He sacrificed to the spirits, as if the spirits were present.
2. The Master said, "I consider my not being present at the sacrifice, as if I did not sacrifice."
James Legge (1861), Confucian Analects, The Chinese Classics vol. 1 (1861; 2nd ed. 1893) — public domain.
Character glossary
- 祭jìto sacrifice to, to worship
- 如rúas, as if, like, such as, supposing
- 在zàiat, in, on; to exist; used to indicate t
- 神shéngod, spirit; divine, mysterious, superna
- 子zison, child; seed, egg; fruit; small thin
- 曰yuēto speak; to say
- 吾wúI, my, our; to resist, to impede
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 與yǔand; with; to; for; to give, to grant
Passages with shared wording
- The Doctrine of the Mean Passage 25
- The Doctrine of the Mean Passage 16
- Mencius 3B.3
- Zhuangzi Robber Chê
- Analects 7.11
- Analects 8.17
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.