Analects 5.12
The Analects (論語), BOOK V. KUNG-YE CH'ANG 公冶長第五
子貢曰、夫子之文章、可得而聞也、夫子之言性與天道、不可得而聞也。
Tsze-kung said, "The Master's personal displays of his principles and ordinary descriptions of them may be heard. His discourses about man's nature, and the way of Heaven, cannot be heard."
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
- 貢gòngto offer, to contribute; tribute, gifts
- 曰yuēto speak; to say
- 夫fūman, husband; worker; those
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 文wénculture, literature, writing
- 章zhāngchapter, section, writing; seal
- 可kěmay, can, -able; possibly
- 得déto obtain, to get, to acquire; suitable,
- 而érand, and then, and yet; but
- 聞wénnews; to hear, to smell; to make known
- 也yěalso, too
- 言yánwords, speech; to speak, to say
- 性xìngsex, nature, character; suffix convertin
- 與yǔand; with; to; for; to give, to grant
- 天tiānsky, heaven; god, celestial
- 道dàomethod, way; path, road
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
Passages with shared wording
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.