Analects 8.18
The Analects (論語), BOOK VIII. T'AI-PO 泰伯第八
子曰、巍巍乎、舜禹之有天下也、而不與焉。
The Master said, "How majestic was the manner in which Shun and Yu held possession of the empire, as if it were nothing to them!"
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
- 巍wēihigh, lofty; eminent, majestic
- 乎hūinterrogative or exclamatory final parti
- 舜shùnlegendary ruler
- 禹yǔlegendary Hsia dynasty founder
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 有yǒuto have, to own, to possess; to exist
- 天tiānsky, heaven; god, celestial
- 下xiàbelow, underneath; inferior; to bring do
- 也yěalso, too
- 而érand, and then, and yet; but
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 與yǔand; with; to; for; to give, to grant
- 焉yānwhy? where? how?; strange; thereupon, th
Passages with shared wording
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.