Analects 8.16
The Analects (論語), BOOK VIII. T'AI-PO 泰伯第八
子曰、狂而不直、侗而不愿、悾悾而不信、吾不知之矣。
The Master said, "Ardent and yet not upright; stupid and yet not attentive; simple and yet not sincere:—such persons I do not understand."
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
- 狂kuánginsane, mad; violent; wild
- 而érand, and then, and yet; but
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 直zhístraight, vertical; candid, direct, fran
- 侗dòngbig; ignorant, rude, rustic
- 愿yuàndesire, wish; honest, virtuous; ready, w
- 悾kōngnaive, guileless, simple-minded
- 信xìnto trust, to believe; letter, sign
- 吾wúI, my, our; to resist, to impede
- 知zhīto know, to perceive, to comprehend
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 矣yǐparticle of completed action
Passages with shared wording
- Zhuangzi Transcendental Bliss
- Zhuangzi The Evidence of Virtue Complete
- Mencius 3A.5
- Zhuangzi On Letting Alone
- The Doctrine of the Mean Passage 13
- The Doctrine of the Mean Passage 14
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.