Analects 7.32
The Analects (論語), BOOK VII. SHU R 述而第七
子曰、文、莫吾猶人也、躬行君子、則吾未之有得。
The Master said, "In letters I am perhaps equal to other men, but the character of the superior man, carrying out in his conduct what he professes, is what I have not yet attained to."
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
- 文wénculture, literature, writing
- 莫mòcannot; do not; is not; negative
- 吾wúI, my, our; to resist, to impede
- 猶yóusimilar to, just like, as
- 人rénman, person; people
- 也yěalso, too
- 躬gōngto bow; personally, in person; oneself
- 行xíngto go, to walk, to move; professional
- 君jūnsovereign, ruler, prince, monarch, chief
- 則zérule, law, regulation; grades
- 未wèinot yet; 8th terrestrial branch
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 有yǒuto have, to own, to possess; to exist
- 得déto obtain, to get, to acquire; suitable,
Passages with shared wording
- Zhuangzi Autumn Floods
- Analects 12.13
- The Great Learning Passage 8
- Zhuangzi Hsü Wu Kuei
- Mencius 7A.24
- Zhuangzi Mountain Trees
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.