Book 4: 《里仁》 Li Ren (Dwelling in Ren)
《里仁》 Passage 4.24
Legge Translation (1861)
The Master said: "The superior man wishes to be slow in his speech and earnest in his conduct."Word by word
- 子曰 zǐ yuē
the Master said
- 子 the Master, i.e. Confucius
- 曰 said, spoke (verb introducing a quotation)
- 君子 jūn zǐ
exemplary person, gentleman
- 君 lord, ruler; 君子 is literally a lord's son
- 子 son; 君子 is literally a lord's son, one of the ruling class, which the Analects makes a term of character
Legge renders 'superior man' and Roberts 'true prince'; same referent, differing register.
- 欲 yù
to want, wish, desire to
Roberts recasts 欲 as modal obligation ('should be') and Chin as a settled disposition ('tends to be') rather than an act of will.
- 訥 nè
slow, halting, hesitant (in speech)
- 於 yú
preposition: in, with regard to
- 言 yán
speech, words, speaking
Peimin Ni construes 言 as 'making claims' rather than speech in general, sharpening 訥 into reluctance to assert.
- 而 ér
contrastive conjunction: but, yet
- 敏 mǐn
quick, prompt, swift (in action)
Legge alone renders 敏 as 'earnest', shading it toward diligence rather than speed.
- 於 yú
preposition: in, with regard to
- 行 xíng
action, conduct
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