Analects 7.14
The Analects (論語), BOOK VII. SHU R 述而第七
冉有曰、夫子爲衞君乎。子貢曰、諾、吾將問之。入曰、伯夷叔齊、何人也。曰、古之賢人也。曰、怨乎。曰、求仁而得仁、又何怨。出曰、夫子不爲也。
1. Yen Yu said, "Is our Master for the ruler of Wei?" Tsze-kung said, "Oh! I will ask him."
2. He went in accordingly, and said, "What sort of men were Po-i and Shu-ch'i?" "They were ancient worthies," said the Master. "Did they have any repinings because of their course?" The Master again replied, "They sought to act virtuously, and they did so; what was there for them to repine about?" On this, Tsze-kung went out and said, "Our Master is not for him."
James Legge (1861), Confucian Analects, The Chinese Classics vol. 1 (1861; 2nd ed. 1893) — public domain.
Character glossary
- 冉rǎntender; weak; to proceed gradually
- 有yǒuto have, to own, to possess; to exist
- 曰yuēto speak; to say
- 夫fūman, husband; worker; those
- 子zison, child; seed, egg; fruit; small thin
- 爲wèido, handle, govern, act; be
- 衞wèiguard, protect, defend
- 君jūnsovereign, ruler, prince, monarch, chief
- 乎hūinterrogative or exclamatory final parti
- 貢gòngto offer, to contribute; tribute, gifts
- 諾nuòto promise; to approve, to assent to
- 吾wúI, my, our; to resist, to impede
- 將jiāngthe future, what will be; ready, prepare
- 問wènto ask about, to inquire after
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 入rùto enter, to come in; to join
- 伯bóolder brother; father's elder brother; s
- 夷yíancient barbarian tribes
- 叔shūuncle; father's younger brother
- 齊qíeven, uniform, of equal length
- 何héwhat, why, where, which, how
- 人rénman, person; people
- 也yěalso, too
- 古gǔold, classic, ancient
- 賢xiánvirtuous, worthy; good, able
- 怨yuànto blame, to complain, to hate; enmity,
- 求qiúto seek; to request, to demand; to besee
- 仁rénbenevolent, humane, kind
- 而érand, and then, and yet; but
- 得déto obtain, to get, to acquire; suitable,
- 又yòuand, also, again, in addition
- 出chūto go out, to send out; stand; produce
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
Passages with shared wording
- Zhuangzi The Great Supreme
- Analects 20.2
- Zhuangzi On Declining Power
- Zhuangzi Robber Chê
- Zhuangzi Knowledge travels North
- Mencius 5A.1
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.