Analects of Confucius 7.25

translated from Classical Chinese by James Legge, 1893

  1. The Master said, ‘A sage it is not mine to see; could I see a man of real talent and virtue, that would satisfy me.’ 2. The Master said, ‘A good man it is not mine to see; could I see a man possessed of constancy, that would satisfy me. 3. ‘Having not and yet affecting to have, empty and yet affecting to be full, straitened and yet affecting to be at ease:— it is difficult with such characteristics to have constancy.’