Confucius said that words are shameless and bows freely.

Confucius said, "The ancients were ashamed of bowing and failing.

This chapter is the Analects of Confucius: Establishing Man.

original text

4.22 Confucius said, "The ancients were unspeakable and shameless."

To annotate ...

(1) catch (dài): and catch up.

translate

Confucius said: "Ancient gentlemen never spoke easily. It is a shame that they said it but didn't do it. "

interpret

Don't promise easily.

Confucius said, "The reason why the ancients didn't talk easily was that they were ashamed of their incompetence."

Gong Xue explained this sentence in "On Outline", "The ancients didn't talk easily, for fear that they wouldn't do it if they said it, because it was a shame. This sentence really means this. Therefore, the ancients did not speak, and they had to do what they said. If you can't do it, isn't that a lie? What a pity. Self-deception is the most shameful thing for a gentleman. Therefore, "it is a shame to bow." Bowing is the body, including one's own behavior. Not if you don't catch it. Especially those of us who study traditional culture and sage education have the responsibility to persuade others to study together, but we must do it first. After you have done it, you are a saint; You can do it if you keep your word. This is a saint; It's a lie to say that you can't do it.

In Zhu's Notes on Four Books, he said, "It's Song Confucian Fan Zuyu. He said," A gentleman has words, and then he speaks. It is not difficult to say, but it is difficult to act. "What is a gentleman's word, your word? Try not to say it unless you have to. It's not hard to say. It's not difficult to say it. What's so hard about it? Because it's hard to do, you should keep your word. It's easier said than done. Therefore, the ancients were cautious about words and sensitive to behavior. Do more in behavior and say less in words, and you will stay away from shame. Next, Fan Zuyu said: "People can't do it, but they are speaking out of turn. "This is often a person, this is true, he can't do it, he just likes to say that he can't do it! However, what he said was inappropriate, casual and boastful. He can speak clearly and eloquently about the way of sages. Seeing that the apprentice rules himself, he didn't even do well. This is a shame! The more you talk, the more people laugh. Isn't it just hitting yourself in the mouth?

So it's really not easy for us to talk on this computer. We talk every day, and now we talk for four hours a day. Look at what we have achieved. It's a pity that saints can't do it. Why? The saints do it first, and we don't do it. But to say, why say? Or because no one said it, too few people said it. If anyone wants to say it, we don't have to say it. It's too difficult to find a saint now, and no one says anything, so no one says anything about this dharma, and all beings suffer. I can't bear the suffering of all beings, so I have to bite the bullet and speak out. Hope for what? I said I had to convince myself to do it first. A saint can't be a saint, or a saint can't be a gentleman, at least be a gentleman and don't be a villain. The villain said he wouldn't do it. This is the villain.