The Gentleman
T he Master said: the gentleman is not a tool. The Master said: the gentleman is not a vessel.
The gentleman draws people together and takes no sides. The small man takes sides and draws no one together. The gentleman is inclusive and not partisan. The small man is partisan and not inclusive.
The gentleman understands what is right. The small man understands what pays. The gentleman is at home with rightness. The small man is at home with profit.
“The gentleman looks for the fault in himself. The small man looks for it in everyone else.”
The gentleman wants to be slow to speak and quick to act. The gentleman wishes to be halting in speech and prompt in action.
The gentleman brings out what is good in people. He does not bring out the bad. The small man does the reverse. The gentleman helps complete what is admirable in others, and does not help complete what is bad in them. The small man does the opposite.
The gentleman is in harmony with others but does not merely echo them. The small man echoes everyone and is in harmony with no one. The gentleman is harmonious but not conforming. The small man conforms but is not harmonious.
The gentleman looks for the fault in himself. The small man looks for it in everyone else. The gentleman seeks it in himself. The small man seeks it in others.
The gentleman is calm and at ease. The small man is forever fretting. The gentleman is composed and unhurried. The small man is always full of distress.
The gentleman is ashamed to let his words outrun his deeds. The gentleman is ashamed to have his words exceed his actions.
Sima Niu asked about the gentleman. The Master said: the gentleman is free of worry and free of fear. Sima Niu said: no worry, no fear — and that makes a gentleman? The Master said: look inward and find nothing wrong — then what is there to worry about, what is there to fear? Sima Niu asked about the gentleman. The Master said: the gentleman has neither anxiety nor fear. He said: without anxiety or fear — is that all it takes to be called a gentleman? The Master said: when he looks within and finds no fault, what has he to be anxious about, what has he to fear?
Don't be troubled that others don't know you. Be troubled that you don't know them. Do not be distressed that others do not know you. Be distressed that you do not know others.
君子 The original Chinese · honored as an artifact
君子不器。
Opening lines, classical Chinese · The Analects 論語
Confucius & his disciples 孔子
The teacher (551–479 BCE) traditionally called Confucius — Master Kong — who never wrote a book. The Analects is the record his disciples kept of what he said and did, gathered after his death. We retell from the classical Chinese in a plain, dry register, grouping the scattered sayings by theme and flagging every loaded term we had to render rather than keep.
We render freely so the story lives — then flag every interpretation where we took a liberty. Switch to Faithful read to see how close the source runs.
Read our full standard →The Analects (Lunyu) · sayings of c. 500 BCE. Received text · Chinese via Chinese Wikisource.