Analects 4.7
The Analects (論語), BOOK IV. LE JIN 里仁第四
子曰、人之過也、各於其黨、觀過、斯知仁矣。
The Master said, "The faults of men are characteristic of the class to which they belong. By observing a man's faults, it may be known that he is virtuous."
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
- 人rénman, person; people
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 過guòpass; to go across, to pass through
- 也yěalso, too
- 各gèindividual; each, every; all
- 於yúat, in, on; to, from; alas!
- 其qíhis, her, its, their; that
- 黨dǎngpolitical party, gang, faction
- 觀guānto observe, to spectate; appearance, vie
- 斯sīthis, thus, such; emphatic particle; use
- 知zhīto know, to perceive, to comprehend
- 仁rénbenevolent, humane, kind
- 矣yǐparticle of completed action
Passages with shared wording
- Zhuangzi Contingencies
- The Doctrine of the Mean Passage 20
- Mencius 7B.4
- Zhuangzi The Old Fisherman
- Analects 19.8
- Analects 19.21
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.