Analects 3.17
The Analects (論語), BOOK III. PA YIH 八佾第三
子貢欲去吿朔之餼羊。子曰、賜也、爾愛其羊、我愛其禮。
1. Tsze-kung wished to do away with the offering of a sheep connected with the inauguration of the first day of each month.
2. The Master said, "Ts'ze, you love the sheep; I love the ceremony."
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
- 貢gòngto offer, to contribute; tribute, gifts
- 欲yùdesire, want, longing, intent
- 去qùto go away, to leave, to depart
- 吿gàotell, announce, inform; accuse
- 朔shuòbeginning; the first day of the lunar mo
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 餼xìsacrficial victim; gift; grain
- 羊yángsheep, goat
- 曰yuēto speak; to say
- 賜cìto give; to bestow a favor; to appoint
- 也yěalso, too
- 爾ěryou; that, those; final particle
- 愛àito love, to like, to be fond of; love, a
- 其qíhis, her, its, their; that
- 我wǒI, me, my; our, us
- 禮lǐcourtesy, manners, social customs
Passages with shared wording
- Mencius 1A.7
- Zhuangzi Joined Toes
- The Doctrine of the Mean Passage 19
- Mencius 5A.1
- Mencius 2A.1
- Mencius 5B.1
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.