Original text

Confucius said: "Those who are virtuous must have words, and those who have words do not need to be virtuous. Those who are benevolent must be brave, and those who are brave do not need to be benevolent."

Translation

Confucius said: "A virtuous person must have good words, but a person with good words may not necessarily be virtuous. A person who is kind and fierce must have courage, but a person who has courage does not necessarily have kindness. . ”

Interpretation

These sentences are easy to understand. A person who is virtuous and cultivated will definitely have good speeches and good writings passed down to the world. However, conversely, a person with good speeches and good writings passed down from generation to generation may not necessarily be very moral and cultivated. The same goes for Yong and Ren’s relationship. A virtuous person must have courage. This kind of courage refers to great wisdom and courage, rather than the courage of an ordinary man to fight fiercely. On the other hand, a person with courage may not necessarily be virtuous.

The most noteworthy thing here is the sentence "He who has words does not have to be virtuous". It became the theoretical basis for later generations to say that "literati are incompetent". A literati, a famous writer, of course is very "eloquent", and some may even have "a prolific volume of works", but he does not necessarily have good moral cultivation. This is the so-called phenomenon of "literati without skills".

Of course, saying "literati have no virtue" does not mean that all literati have no virtue. This is just like saying "one who has words does not have to be virtuous" and "does not have to" is not necessarily the same. One does not necessarily have virtue, and one does not necessarily have no virtue. Therefore, there are also situations where "one who speaks out" also has virtue.

The same is true for the relationship between courage and benevolence. "A brave man does not have to be benevolent", and it does not rule out that a brave man also has benevolence.

In terms of aspirations, we certainly hope that those who speak out will also be virtuous, and those who will be brave and benevolent.