Analects 4.16
The Analects (論語), BOOK IV. LE JIN 里仁第四
子曰、君子喻於義、小人喻於利。
The Master said, "The mind of the superior man is conversant with righteousness; the mind of the mean man is conversant with gain."
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
- 君jūnsovereign, ruler, prince, monarch, chief
- 喻yùmetaphor, analogy; example; such as, lik
- 於yúat, in, on; to, from; alas!
- 義yìright conduct, propriety; justice
- 小xiǎosmall, tiny, insignificant
- 人rénman, person; people
- 利lìgains, advantage, profit, merit
Passages with shared wording
- Mencius 4A.1
- Analects 1.13
- Zhuangzi On Letting Alone
- Zhuangzi The Universe
- Zhuangzi The Circling Sky
- Analects 4.12
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.