司马牛问仁。子曰，仁者其言也讱。曰，其言也讱，斯谓之仁矣乎。子曰，为之难，言之得无讱乎。
Modern Chinese Guide
司马牛请教什么是仁。孔子说：仁人说话是慎重而不轻易出口的。司马牛说：说话慎重不轻易出口，这就叫作仁了吗？孔子说：做起来很难，说话能不慎重吗？
James Legge Translation
1. Sze-ma Niu asked about perfect virtue. 2. The Master said, "The man of perfect virtue is cautious and slow in his speech." 3. "Cautious and slow in his speech!" said Niu;—"is this what is meant by perfect virtue?" The Master said, "When a man feels the difficulty of doing, can he be other than cautious and slow in speaking?"
Source: James Legge, public domain, 1893.
Notes
- 底本：Wikisource 整理的 James Legge《The Chinese Classics》公版中英文本（1893–1895）。
- 简体化：原文由繁体转为简体（OpenCC），与公版英译逐句对应。
- 白话参考底本：《白话论语读本》，张兆瑢、沈元起编译，上海广益书局1948 年新三版。