On Learning

T o learn something, and then to keep coming back to it — isn't that a pleasure? To have friends arrive from far away — isn't that a joy? And to go unrecognized by others without taking offense — isn't that the mark of a gentleman? To learn and at the right times to practice what you have learned — is that not a pleasure? To have friends come from distant places — is that not a delight? To be unknown to others and yet not resentful — is that not a gentleman?

Keep your old learning warm, and draw something new from it. Do that, and you are fit to teach. The Master said: Warm up the old and know the new — then you can be a teacher.

Learning without thinking leaves you lost. Thinking without learning leaves you in danger. The Master said: To learn and not think is to be lost; to think and not learn is to be in peril.

“I have spent a whole day without food and a whole night without sleep, just to think. It got me nowhere. Better to learn.”

Zilu, shall I teach you what knowing is? When you know a thing, to know that you know it; and when you do not know a thing, to know that you do not. That is knowing. The Master said: You — shall I teach you what it is to know? When you know it, to hold that you know it; when you do not know it, to hold that you do not know it. That is knowing.

To store things up in silence, to learn without growing tired of it, to teach others without wearing out — which of these have I managed? To keep knowledge in silence, to learn without tiring, to teach others without weariness — which of these is in me?

I do not open the door for a student who is not already burning to get in. I do not supply the word for one not already struggling to say it. Show someone one corner and they cannot come back with the other three — I leave it there. If a student is not eager, I do not instruct him; if he is not straining to speak, I do not help him out. If I lift one corner and he does not return with the other three, I do not go on.

I once spent a whole day without food and a whole night without sleep, just to think. It got me nowhere. Better to learn. The Master said: I once went a whole day without eating and a whole night without sleeping, in order to think. It was no use — better to learn.

Walk with two others and one of them is bound to be my teacher. I pick out what is good in them and follow it, and what is not good, and correct it in myself. The Master said: When three of us walk together, there is always a teacher for me among them. I choose their good points and follow them, and their bad points, and change them in myself.

In any village of ten households you will find someone as honest and trustworthy as I am. What you will not find is someone who loves learning the way I do. The Master said: In a hamlet of ten households there is sure to be someone as loyal and trustworthy as I am — but not someone who loves learning as I do.

Zixia said: Learn widely and hold to your purpose. Ask about what presses close, and reflect on what is near at hand. Goodness is to be found right there. Zixia said: To learn broadly and be steadfast in purpose, to question with urgency and reflect on what is close — goodness lies within this.

There are six good things, Confucius told Zilu, and each has a blind spot when you love it without loving learning. Love goodness but not learning, and the blind spot is foolishness. Love cleverness but not learning, and you drift. Love honesty but not learning, and you do harm. Love plain speaking but not learning, and you cut. Love courage but not learning, and you make chaos. Love firmness but not learning, and you run to recklessness. The Master said: You, have you heard of the six terms and their six blind spots? — Not yet. — Sit, and I will tell you. To love goodness without loving learning: the blind spot is foolishness. To love knowing without learning: dissipation. To love trust without learning: doing harm. To love straightness without learning: harshness. To love courage without learning: disorder. To love firmness without learning: recklessness.

學 The original Chinese · honored as an artifact

學而時習之，不亦說乎？有朋自遠方來，不亦樂乎？人不知而不慍，不亦君子乎？

Opening lines, classical Chinese · The Analects 論語