Confucian Analects · Analects 4.22
The Master said, 'The reason why the ancients did not readily give utterance to their words, was that they feared lest their actions should not come up to them.'
Chinese · source text【廿二章】子曰、古者言之不出、恥躬之不逮也。
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Confucius · English translation by James Legge · bilingual transcription
James Legge, The Chinese Classics, Volume 1: Confucian Analects · Project Gutenberg #4094
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