Analects 4.17
The Analects (論語), BOOK IV. LE JIN 里仁第四
子曰、見賢思齊焉、見不賢而內自省也。
The Master said, "When we see men of worth, we should think of equalling them; when we see men of a contrary character, we should turn inwards and examine ourselves."
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
- 見jiànto see, to observe, to meet, to appear
- 賢xiánvirtuous, worthy; good, able
- 思sīto think, to ponder, to consider; final
- 齊qíeven, uniform, of equal length
- 焉yānwhy? where? how?; strange; thereupon, th
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 而érand, and then, and yet; but
- 內nèiinside
- 自zìself; private, personal; from
- 省shěngprovince; frugal; to save, to leave out
- 也yěalso, too
Passages with shared wording
- Analects 5.26
- Mencius 5B.7
- Analects 16.11
- The Great Learning Passage 14
- Mencius 1B.7
- Zhuangzi How to Govern
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.