Book 2: 《為政》 Wei Zheng (Governance)
《為政》 Passage 2.15
Legge Translation (1861)
The Master said: "Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is perilous."Word by word
- 子曰 zǐ yuē
the Master said
- 子 master, teacher; honorific term for Confucius
- 曰 said, spoke
- 學 xué
to learn, study
- 而不…則 ér bù … zé
...without...then..., conditional-consequence frame
- 則 zé
then, in that case: marks the consequent
- 思 sī
to think, reflect
- 罔 wǎng
confused, deluded, bewildered
Legge, Roberts, and Watson read 罔 as the effort of learning being wasted, rather than the learner being left confused
- 思 sī
to think, reflect
- 而不…則 ér bù … zé
...without...then..., conditional-consequence frame
- 則 zé
then, in that case: marks the consequent
- 學 xué
to learn, study
- 殆 dài
dangerous, perilous, in peril
Roberts renders 殆 as 'fruitless', paralleling a futility reading rather than danger
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