Analects 13.17: 子路 (Zi Lu)
Confucius and his disciples · Classical Chinese original · new English translation and commentary by Text Atlas
Overview
Book 13 asks what makes government effective and what qualifies someone to serve. Leading by example, appointing capable people, setting names right, creating prosperity, and teaching all place demands on the ruler. Short claims about conduct stand beside long exchanges about speech, judgment, and the time needed for change. The book also tests uprightness, reputation, reliability, and harmony through particular relationships, sometimes leaving a difficult tension visible, as when family concealment is praised. Its closing sayings make preparation for war a responsibility toward the people who must fight.
Analects 13.17
子夏為莒父宰、問政。子曰、無欲速、無見小利。欲速則不達、見小利則大事不成。
Zixia, serving as governor of Jufu, asked about government. The Master said, “Do not seek quick results; do not fix your eye on small gains. Seeking quick results keeps you from reaching your goal; fixing your eye on small gains keeps great undertakings from being accomplished.”
Commentary
politics What haste and small gains cost Zixia is introduced through his responsibility for Jufu. Each prohibition has a corresponding consequence: haste blocks arrival at the goal, and small gains block great undertakings. The second warning concerns what captures the governor’s attention; a small advantage can determine choices whose scale is much larger.
Basis: textual-inference
Confidence: high