Analects 13.24: 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 13.24
子貢問曰、鄉人皆好之、何如。子曰、未可也。鄉人皆惡之、何如。子曰、未可也。不如鄉人之善者好之、其不善者惡之。
Zigong asked, “What would you say of someone whom everyone in the community likes?” The Master said, “That is not enough to judge.” “What would you say of someone whom everyone in the community dislikes?” The Master said, “That is not enough to judge. Better that the good people in the community like them and the bad people dislike them.”
Commentary
ethics Who approves matters Zigong tests unanimous liking and then unanimous dislike. Both receive 未可也, an answer withholding judgment. The final criterion asks which people approve and which disapprove. The section therefore demands discrimination among the judges, not just a count of favorable opinions.
Basis: textual-inference
Confidence: high