Analects 3.1 · Ba Yi
“If this can be tolerated, what cannot be tolerated?”
Meaning, context, and how to apply it today
是可忍也 孰不可忍也 (shì kě rěn yě, shú bù kě rěn yě) means “If this can be tolerated, what cannot be tolerated?” It is a passage from the Analects of Confucius, Book 3 (Ba Yi), Chapter 1.
是可忍也 孰不可忍也
- Pinyin
- shì kě rěn yě, shú bù kě rěn yě
- Translation
- If this can be tolerated, what cannot be tolerated?
- Source
- Analects, Book 3 (Ba Yi), Chapter 1
What does this passage mean?
The first chapter of Ba Yi records what is often considered the angriest moment of Confucius in the Analects. The Ji family, who held real power in Lu, staged a dance of eight rows, sixty-four performers in all, in their own courtyard. By the rules of ritual, eight rows belonged to the Son of Heaven alone; feudal lords used six and grandees four. The Ji family, mere grandees, had usurped the ceremony of the king. If this can be tolerated, Confucius says, then nothing cannot be. The verb also carries the sense of ‘bring oneself to do,’ so some read the line as: if they can bring themselves to do this, what would they not do?
How can we apply it today?
What angered Confucius was not the dance but the arrogance that dismantled order. Overlook a small violation and it soon becomes the standard. When one person’s privileges recur in an organization and no one objects, a larger transgression follows. This passage asks where the line should be drawn. Those who cannot distinguish what to tolerate from what not to tolerate end up tolerating everything, and that is not patience but complicity. Knowing how to be angry when anger is called for is also a virtue.
Questions to reflect on
- ·What around you feels like something that must not be tolerated?
- ·Have you seen a small lapse grow into a serious problem because it was overlooked?
- ·Are you able to express justified anger?
Character-by-character breakdown
| Character | Pinyin | Meaning | Strokes | Radical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 是 | shì | this | 9 | 日 (sun) |
| 可 | kě | right | 5 | 口 (mouth) |
| 忍 | rěn | endure | 7 | 心 (heart) |
| 也 | yě | grammatical particle | 3 | 乙 (second) |
| 孰 | shú | who | 11 | 子 (child) |
| 不 | bù | not | 4 | 一 (one) |
| 可 | kě | right | 5 | 口 (mouth) |
| 忍 | rěn | endure | 7 | 心 (heart) |
| 也 | yě | grammatical particle | 3 | 乙 (second) |
Frequently asked questions
Q. What does “If this can be tolerated, what cannot be…” mean?
是可忍也 孰不可忍也 (shì kě rěn yě, shú bù kě rěn yě) means “If this can be tolerated, what cannot be tolerated?” It comes from the Analects, Book 3 (Ba Yi), Chapter 1.
Q. Where does this passage appear in the Analects?
It is Analects 3.1: Book 3 (Ba Yi), Chapter 1.
Q. How can this teaching be applied today?
What angered Confucius was not the dance but the arrogance that dismantled order.Overlook a small violation and it soon becomes the standard.