叶公语孔子曰，吾党有直躬者，其父攘羊，而子证之。孔子曰，吾党之直者异于是，父为子隐，子为父隐，直在其中矣。
白话导读
叶公告诉孔子说：我家乡有个坦白正直的人，他父亲偷了羊，他便去告发。孔子说：我家乡正直的人和这不同：父亲替儿子隐瞒，儿子替父亲隐瞒，正直就在这里面了。
James Legge 英译
1. The Duke of Sheh informed Confucius, saying, "Among us here there are those who may be styled upright in their conduct. If their father have stolen a sheep, they will bear witness to the fact." 2. Confucius said, "Among us, in our part of the country, those who are upright are different from this. The father conceals the misconduct of the son, and the son conceals the misconduct of the father. Uprightness is to be found in this."
译注：James Legge 公版英译，1893 年原版。
注释
- 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。