Analects 12.4

Original Text:

司马牛问君子子曰君子不忧不惧曰不忧不惧斯谓之君子已乎子曰内省不疚夫何忧何惧

Translation:

Other Translations:

Sima Niu asked about the gentleman.

The Master replied, “The gentleman is free of anxiety and fear.”

“ ‘Free of anxiety and fear’—is that all there is to being a gentleman?”

“If you can look inside yourself and find no faults, what cause is there for anxiety or fear?”

Confucius, & Slingerland, E. (2003). Analects: With selections from traditional commentaries. Hackett Publishing.

Sima Niu asked about the gentleman. The Master said, A gentleman has no worries and has no fears.

Having no worries and no fears—is that what it means to be a gentleman?

The Master said, If, when he looks inside himself, he finds nothing to censure, then what could he worry about—what could he fear?

Confucius, & Watson, B. (2007). The Analects of Confucius. Columbia University Press.

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