Original Text:
子张问崇德辨惑子曰主忠信徙义崇德也爱之欲其生恶之欲其死既欲其生又欲其死是惑也诚不以富亦只以异
Translation:
Other Translations:
Zizhang asked about accumulating Virtue and resolving confusion.
The Master said, “Make it your guiding principle to be dutiful and trustworthy, and always move in the direction of what is right. This is what it means to accumulate Virtue. If you love someone, you desire that they live; if you hate them, you desire that they perish. Now, having already desired that someone live, and then to desire that they perish—this is confusion.
‘Not for the sake of wealth,
But simply for the sake of variety.’ ”
Confucius, & Slingerland, E. (2003). Analects: With selections from traditional commentaries. Hackett Publishing.
Zizhang asked how to uphold virtue and detect faulty thinking.
The Master said, Concentrate on loyalty and trustworthiness and follow what is right—that’s the way to uphold virtue. When you love someone, you hope that the person will live, but if you hate him, you wish that he were dead. Having wished for life, you turn around and wish for death—this is faulty thinking.
Confucius, & Watson, B. (2007). The Analects of Confucius. Columbia University Press.