Analects 7.8

Original Text:

子曰不愤不启不悱不发举一隅不以三隅反则不复也

Translation:

Other Translations:

The Master said, “I will not open the door for a mind that is not already striving to understand, nor will I provide words to a tongue that is not already struggling to speak. If I hold up one corner of a problem, and the student cannot come back to me with the other three, I will not attempt to instruct him again.”

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

The Master said, If they’re not eager to learn, I don’t enlighten them; if they’re not struggling to put it into words, I don’t assist them. I hold up one corner to show them, and if they can’t come back with the other three, then I don’t go on.

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