The noble-minded worry about their lack of ability, not about people’s failure to recognize their ability.
[君子病無能焉、不病人之不己知也]
Confucius (c. 551- c. 479 BC) Chinese philosopher, sage, politician [孔夫子 (Kǒng Fūzǐ, K'ung Fu-tzu, K'ung Fu Tse), 孔子 (Kǒngzǐ, Chungni), 孔丘 (Kǒng Qiū, K'ung Ch'iu)]
The Analects [論語, 论语, Lúnyǔ], Book 15, verse 19 (15.19) (6th C. BC – AD 3rd C.) [tr. Hinton (1998)]
(Source)
(Source (Chinese)). See also 1.16, 4.14, 14.30. Legge and other early translators numbered this, as shown below, 15.18. Alternate translations:
The superior man is distressed by his want of ability. He is not distressed by men's not knowing him.
[tr. Legge (1861), 15.18]
The trouble of the superior man will be his own want of ability: it will be no trouble to him that others do not know him.
[tr. Jennings (1895), 15.18]
A wise and good man should be distressed that he has no ability ; he should never be distressed that men do not take notice of him.
[tr. Ku Hung-Ming (1898), 15.18]
The noble man is pained over his own incompetency, he is not pained that others ignore him.
[tr. Soothill (1910), 15.18]
The proper man is irritated by his incapacities, not irritated by other people not recognizing him.
[tr. Pound (1933), 15.18]
A gentleman is distressed by his own lack of capacity; he is never distressed at the failure of others to recognize his merits.
[tr. Waley (1938), 15.18]
The perfect gentleman complains about his own inabilities; not about people’s ignorance of himself.
[tr. Ware (1950)]
The gentleman is troubled by his own lack of ability, not by the failure of others to appreciate him.
[tr. Lau (1979)]
The gentleman is pained at the lack of ability within himself; he is not pained at the fact that others do not appreciate him.
[tr. Dawson (1993)]
A gentleman resents his incompetence; he does not resent his obscurity.
[tr. Leys (1997)]
The gentleman worries about his incapability; he does not worry about men not knowing him.
[tr. Huang (1997)]
A gentleman worries about that he does not have the ability, does not worry about that others do not understand him.
[tr. Cai/Yu (1998), #403]
Exemplary persons (junzi) are distressed by their own lack of ability, not by the failure of others to acknowledge them.
[tr. Ames/Rosemont (1998)]
The gentleman takes it as a fault if he is incapable of something; he does not take it as a fault if others do not know him.
[tr. Brooks/Brooks (1998)]
The gentleman is distressed by his own inability, rather than the failure of others to recognize him.
[tr. Slingerland (2003)]
The gentleman is troubled by his own lack of ability. He is not troubled by the fact that others do not understand him.
[tr. Watson (2007)]
The gentleman is worried about his own lack of ability and not about the fact that others do not appreciate him.
[tr. Chin (2014)]
A Jun Zi is disappointed about his own incompetency. He is not distressed that he is not known by others.
[tr. Li (2020)]
Quotations about:
incompetence
Note not all quotations have been tagged, so Search may find additional quotes on this topic.
A certain combination of incompetence and indifference can cause almost as much suffering as the most acute malevolence.
Bruce Catton (1899-1978) American historian and journalist
A Stillness at Appomattox (1953)
(Source)
Regarding prison camps during the US Civil War.
There is nothing more common than to hear of men losing their energy on being raised to a higher position, to which they do not feel themselves equal.
[Nichts gewöhnlicher ist als Beispiele von Männern, die ihre Thätigkeit verlieren, sobald sie zu höheren Stellen gelangen, denen ihre Einsichten nicht mehr gewachsen sind.]
Karl von Clausewitz (1780-1831) Prussian soldier, historian, military theorist
On War [Vom Kriege], Book 1, ch. 3 “On Military Genius [Der Kriegerishe Genius],” (1.3) (1832) [tr. Graham (1873)]
(Source)
(Source (German)). Alternate translations:
There is nothing more common than to hear of men losing their energy on being raised to a higher position, to which their abilities are no longer equal.
[tr. Jolles (1943)]
No case is more common than that of the officer whose energy declines as he rises in rank and fills positions that are beyond his abilities.
[tr. Howard & Paret (1976)]
“Violence,” came the retort, “is the last refuge of the incompetent.”
Isaac Asimov (1920-1992) Russian-American author, polymath, biochemist
“Bridle and Saddle,” Astounding (Jun 1942)
Retitled "The Mayors" in Foundation (1951). The phrase appears multiple times in the story. See Johnson.
In a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence.
Lawrence J. Peter (1919-1990) American educator, management theorist
The Peter Principle, ch. 1 (1969)
