Confucian Analects · Analects 18.2
Hui of Liu-hsia being chief criminal judge, was thrice dismissed from his office. Some one said to him, 'Is it not yet time for you, sir, to leave this?' He replied, 'Serving men in an upright way, where shall I go to, and not experience such a thrice-repeated dismissal? If I choose to serve men in a crooked way, what necessity is there for me to leave the country of my parents?'
Chinese · source text【第二章】柳下惠為士師、三黜、人曰、子未可以去乎。曰、直道而事人、焉往而不三黜、枉道而事人、何必去父母之邦。
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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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