Sacred Text · The Analects

The Analects 2:15

Book 2, chapter 15 · the sayings of Confucius

“The Master said, 'Learning without thought is labour lost; thought without learning is perilous.'”
Analects 2:15 · Legge

Translation: James Legge, The Chinese Classics: Confucian Analects (1861, revised 1893), public domain, via Project Gutenberg (ebook 3330). Reproduced in full and in context; the sayings 15:23 (the negative Golden Rule), 6:28 (ren), 4:15 (the one thread) and 2:4 (the stages of life) were validated against the source before publishing. References follow Legge’s standard book:chapter numbering.

Christian comparison

How this connects to Jesus

Learning without thought is labour lost, Confucius said; thought without learning is perilous. He prized a wisdom both studied and pondered. Jesus is called the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:24), and invites us not only to learn about him but to know him and walk with him: learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart (Matthew 11:29).

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