Analects 4.22
The Analects (論語), BOOK IV. LE JIN 里仁第四
子曰、古者言之不出、恥躬之不逮也。
The Master said, "The reason why the ancients did not readily give utterance to their words, was that they feared lest their actions should not come up to them."
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
- 古gǔold, classic, ancient
- 者zhěthat which; they who; those who
- 言yánwords, speech; to speak, to say
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 出chūto go out, to send out; stand; produce
- 恥chǐshame, humiliation; ashamed
- 躬gōngto bow; personally, in person; oneself
- 逮dǎito catch, to seize; to arrive, to reach
- 也yěalso, too
Passages with shared wording
- Hexagram 39
- Zhuangzi The Evidence of Virtue Complete
- Mencius 4B.11
- Zhuangzi The Great Supreme
- Zhuangzi The Circling Sky
- Analects 17.16
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.