How to understand that the benevolent must be brave

Questions 14 and 4 of The Analects of Confucius.

Confucius said, "Those who have virtue must have words, and those who have words need not have virtue. The benevolent must be brave, and the brave need not be benevolent. "

generous

In Confucius culture, "virtue" and "benevolence" are usually synonyms, and "ruling the country by virtue" means "ruling the country by benevolence". Virtue is also commonly known as "benevolence".

This chapter is actually about the relationship between benevolence, wisdom and courage. The Doctrine of the Mean says: "Knowledge, benevolence and courage are the virtues of the world". Benevolence, courage and wisdom, "benevolence" is also called "universal virtue", and "benevolence" includes courage and wisdom. Benevolence is higher than wisdom, and wisdom is higher than courage, which means that courage is not as good as wisdom and wisdom is not as good as benevolence. The benevolent is higher than the brave.

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There is a dialogue in The Analects, which shows that Confucius has different views on the level of the realm of the benevolent and the brave: "Confucius said that Yan Yuan said,' If you use it, you will do it, but if you give it up, you will be hidden. Only you and I are right, "Lutz said.' If you join the three armed forces, who will join you?' Confucius said:' The tiger is angry and the river is angry, so are those who die without regrets. You must also be afraid of emergencies, and people who are good at it are also successful. " "

Confucius said to Yan Yuan: "If you use me, take active action;" If you don't need me, hide. Only you and I can do it! " Lutz said, "If you were to lead the three armed forces, who would you like to work with? Confucius said, "I don't associate with people who beat tigers with their bare hands and wade across the river on foot, even if they die without regret." "The person I am looking for must be a cautious person, good at planning and able to complete the task."

Yan Hui's attitude towards life was greatly appreciated by Confucius, and he was known as a gentleman's benevolence.

In The Analects of Confucius Gongye Chang, Confucius said, "If the idea really can't come true, I will drift overseas by raft (if the road doesn't work, I will drift on the sea by fork). But I'm afraid I'm the only one following me. " Lutz was very happy to hear that. Confucius said, "Zhong You is much more brave than me, but he is not good at judging things."

Confucius thought poor Luz was a brave man.

A person with benevolence and righteousness must have courage, and he is a brave man with great wisdom and courage. But only courage, but not necessarily benevolence. The courage of those who work hard is also courage. A man with such courage can't be regarded as kind.

On the relationship between "benevolence" and "courage"

In The Analects of Confucius, Li Chong was quoted as saying: "Being eloquent is specious, but being eloquent is also smart. To paraphrase Chen Zhicheng's defeat, he is also a lobbyist. Talk in spirit, talk in many ways, and the words of scholars are also. The combination of virtue and intonation is a clear training that can be heard all over the world. If there are stones, there will be words of virtue. Therefore, if there is virtue, there must be words, and if there is words, there is no need for virtue. People who walk on land and don't avoid tigers have enough courage to kill their husbands. Fishermen are brave enough to swim without biting dragons. If the blade is in front, it is heroic. Those who know the poor have a life, those who know sometimes retreat from difficulties, and those who are benevolent have courage. Therefore, the benevolent must be brave, and the brave need not be ruthless. "