Q0137

“The Master said: When three people walk together, one of them is…” — Confucius (Analects 7.22)

Verified English quotation. Primary source: Analects 7.22. Theme: learning.

English

The Master said: When three people walk together, one of them is sure to be my teacher. I select what is good in them and follow it; what is not good, I correct in myself.
Thinker Confucius
School Confucianism
Source Analects 7.22
Theme Learning
Another quotation More from this thinker

Source and attribution

The archive attributes this English wording to Analects 7.22 and files it under Confucianism. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.

About Confucius

Confucius (Kong Qiu, 551–479 BCE) taught in the late Spring and Autumn period amid the Zhou order’s political fragmentation. Born in the state of Lu, he briefly held local office and then spent years seeking rulers who would adopt ritual-based, virtue-centered government.

How to read this passage

Education is not only information transfer; it is the shaping of attention and character. Confucian learning, Socratic midwifery, and Deweyan growth offer rival models. This passage enters that discussion through learning, humility.

Concepts in this quote

Learning
Learning is philosophy’s practical twin: how judgment is formed through study, error, dialogue, and habit.
Humility
Humility appears in this archive as a live philosophical concern—not a slogan. These verified English passages show how thinkers treat humility as a problem of judgment, practice, or explanation.

How to cite this quotation

APA: Confucius. (n.d.). The Master said: When three people walk together, one of them is sure to be my teacher. I select what is good in them and follow it; what is not good, I correct in myself. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0137

MLA: Confucius. “The Master said: When three people walk together,….” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0137.

Chicago: Confucius. “The Master said: When three people walk together,….” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0137.

Frequently asked questions

What is the source of the quotation “The Master said: When three people walk together,…”?

The passage is attributed to Confucius, Analects 7.22. The archive attributes this English wording to Analects 7.22 and files it under Confucianism. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.

What does Confucius mean by learning?

Education is not only information transfer; it is the shaping of attention and character. Confucian learning, Socratic midwifery, and Deweyan growth offer rival models. This passage enters that discussion through learning, humility.

Explore Confucius on learning

Same thinker

More from Confucius

  1. The Master said: Is it not a pleasure to learn and to practice what one has learned in due time? Is it not a joy to have friends come from afar? Is it not the mark of a gentleman to remain unresentful when others fail to appreciate one?
  2. The Master said: What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.
  3. The Master said: You, shall I teach you what knowing is? To know what you know, and to know what you do not know — that is true knowing.
  4. The Master said: When you see the worthy, think of equaling them; when you see the unworthy, examine yourself within.
  5. The Master said: If one hears the Way in the morning, one may die content that evening.

All quotations by Confucius

Same theme

More on learning

  1. Leisure without study is death — a tomb for a living man.
  2. The Master said: Is it not a pleasure to learn and to practice what one has learned in due time? Is it not a joy to have friends come from afar? Is it not the mark of a gentleman to remain unresentful when others fail to appreciate one?
  3. Zengzi said: Each day I examine myself on three counts: In acting on behalf of others, have I been loyal? In dealings with friends, have I been trustworthy? Have I practiced what was passed on to me?
  4. The Master said: Those who know it are not equal to those who love it; those who love it are not equal to those who delight in it.
  5. Indigo is taken from the indigo plant, yet is bluer than the plant; ice is made of water, yet is colder than water.

Browse the learning theme