Analects 6.27
The Analects (論語), BOOK VI. YUNG YEY 雍也第六
子曰、中庸之爲德也、其至矣乎、民鮮久矣。
The Master said, "Perfect is the virtue which is according to the Constant Mean! Rare for a long time has been its practise among the people."
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
- 中zhōngcentral; center, middle; amidst; to hit
- 庸yōngusual, common, ordinary, mediocre
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 爲wèido, handle, govern, act; be
- 德déethics, morality; compassion, kindness
- 也yěalso, too
- 其qíhis, her, its, their; that
- 至zhìreach, arrive; very, extremely
- 矣yǐparticle of completed action
- 乎hūinterrogative or exclamatory final parti
- 民míncitizens, subjects; a nation's people
- 鮮xiānfresh; delicious; attractive
- 久jiǔlong ago; a long time
Passages with shared wording
- The Doctrine of the Mean Passage 3
- Zhuangzi Hsü Wu Kuei
- Zhuangzi Contingencies
- Zhuangzi The Tao of God
- Zhuangzi Tien Tzŭ Fang
- Zhuangzi Autumn Floods
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.