Q0291
“Things have roots and branches; affairs have ends and beginnings. To know…” — The Great Learning (The Great Learning)
Verified English quotation. Primary source: The Great Learning. Theme: order.
English
Things have roots and branches; affairs have ends and beginnings. To know what comes first and what follows is to be near the Way.
Source and attribution
The archive attributes this English wording to The Great Learning 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 The Great Learning
The Great Learning appears in this archive through verified English quotations associated with the Confucianism tradition. Biographical certainty varies by figure and text; where the “author” is a scripture or school anthology, read the name as a traditional attribution rather than a modern individual biography.
Interpretation
The Great Learning uses the root-and-branch image to make a claim about order of dependence. Affairs have a sequence, and attending to what comes later without securing what comes earlier produces effort that cannot succeed. The claim is therefore about priority rather than importance: both root and branch matter, but they do not matter at the same time. Knowing which is which counts as being near the Way.
Why it matters
It supplies the question missing from most plans: what has to be true first? Getting the sequence wrong wastes work that is otherwise correct.
Concepts in this quote
- Order
- Order names cosmos, ritual, law, and the patterned stability that makes shared life possible—or oppressive.
How to cite this quotation
APA: The Great Learning. (n.d.). Things have roots and branches; affairs have ends and beginnings. To know what comes first and what follows is to be near the Way. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0291
MLA: The Great Learning. “Things have roots and branches; affairs have ends….” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0291.
Chicago: The Great Learning. “Things have roots and branches; affairs have ends….” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0291.
Frequently asked questions
What is the source of the quotation “Things have roots and branches; affairs have ends…”?
The passage is attributed to The Great Learning, The Great Learning. The archive attributes this English wording to The Great Learning 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 The Great Learning mean by order?
Philosophers ask whether order is discovered in nature, imposed by rulers, or cultivated through custom. Chaos and creativity stand as its counterparts. This passage enters that discussion through order.