Analects 3.26
The Analects (論語), BOOK III. PA YIH 八佾第三
子曰、居上不寬、爲禮不敬、臨喪不哀、吾何以觀之哉。
The Master said, "High station filled without indulgent generosity; ceremonies performed without reverence; mourning conducted without sorrow;—wherewith should I contemplate such ways?"
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
- 居jūto live, to reside; to dwell; to sit
- 上shàngabove, on top, superior; to go up; to at
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 寬kuānbroad, spacious, vast, wide
- 爲wèido, handle, govern, act; be
- 禮lǐcourtesy, manners, social customs
- 敬jìngto respect, to honor; respectfully
- 臨línto draw near, to approach; to descend
- 喪sàngmourning; mourn; funeral
- 哀āisad, mournful, pitiful; to pity; to grie
- 吾wúI, my, our; to resist, to impede
- 何héwhat, why, where, which, how
- 以yǐaccording to; so as to; because of; then
- 觀guānto observe, to spectate; appearance, vie
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 哉zāifinal exclamatory particle
Passages with shared wording
- Zhuangzi The Great Supreme
- The Doctrine of the Mean Passage 28
- Analects 17.21
- Zhuangzi Horses' Hoofs
- Zhuangzi Tien Tzŭ Fang
- Analects 18.7
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.