Analects 2.13: 為政 (Wei Zheng)
Confucius and his disciples · Classical Chinese original · new English translation and commentary by Text Atlas
Overview
Book 2 connects government with the character and practices of those who govern. The pole-star image and the contrast between punishment and ritual give two ways of thinking about how people respond to authority. Four answers about filial devotion move through ritual, parental concern, reverence, and demeanor. Sayings on learning then test how knowledge appears in thought, conduct, and honest acknowledgment of limits. The closing exchanges return to public authority, trustworthiness, inherited ritual, and the courage to act on what is right. The collection repeatedly asks what gives outward action its substance.
Analects 2.13
子貢問君子、子曰、先行其言、而後從之。
Zigong asked about the exemplary person. The Master said, “They first do what they would say, and then let their words follow.”
Commentary
ethics Words follow deeds Zigong asks what marks the exemplary person. 先 and 後 make acting and speaking a deliberate sequence: first do what one would say, then let speech follow. Conduct gives the words their substance.
Basis: textual-inference
Confidence: high