Original Text:
子曰衣敝缊袍与衣狐貉者立而不耻者其由也与不忮不求何用不臧子路终身诵之子曰是道也何足以臧
Translation:
Other Translations:
The Master said, “Clad only in a shabby quilted gown, and yet unashamed to stand side-by-side with someone dressed in expensive furs—does this not describe Zilu?
‘Not envious, not covetous,
How could he not be good?’ ”
Zilu took to reciting this stanza constantly. The Master thereupon remarked, “The Way summed up in these lines is hardly worth treasuring so.”
Confucius, & Slingerland, E. (2003). Analects: With selections from traditional commentaries. Hackett Publishing.
The Master said, Wearing a shoddy floss-wadded jacket, standing beside someone clad in fox and badger furs, and feeling no shame—that would be You (Zilu)!
Doing no harm, seeking nothing—
why am I not seen as good?
Zilu was forever reciting these lines. The Master said, That approach—why would anyone rate it as good?
Confucius, & Watson, B. (2007). The Analects of Confucius. Columbia University Press.