Q0404

“The Master said: The wise are not perplexed; the humane are not…” — Confucius (Analects 9.29)

Verified English quotation. Primary source: Analects 9.29. Theme: wisdom.

English

The Master said: The wise are not perplexed; the humane are not anxious; the brave are not afraid.
Thinker Confucius
School Confucianism
Source Analects 9.29
Theme Wisdom
Another quotation More from this thinker

Source and attribution

The archive attributes this English wording to Analects 9.29 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

Unlike mere information, wisdom concerns judgment. Ancient schools linked it to virtue, moderation, and the right relation to desire. This passage enters that discussion through wisdom, courage.

Concepts in this quote

Wisdom
Wisdom is practical insight under uncertainty: knowing what matters, what one does not know, and how to act without false certainty.
Courage
Courage is the virtue of facing fear without abandoning judgment—central to ethics from Aristotle to modern existential resolve.

How to cite this quotation

APA: Confucius. (n.d.). The Master said: The wise are not perplexed; the humane are not anxious; the brave are not afraid. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0404

MLA: Confucius. “The Master said: The wise are not perplexed;….” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0404.

Chicago: Confucius. “The Master said: The wise are not perplexed;….” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0404.

Frequently asked questions

What is the source of the quotation “The Master said: The wise are not perplexed;…”?

The passage is attributed to Confucius, Analects 9.29. The archive attributes this English wording to Analects 9.29 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 wisdom?

Unlike mere information, wisdom concerns judgment. Ancient schools linked it to virtue, moderation, and the right relation to desire. This passage enters that discussion through wisdom, courage.

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 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.
  5. The Master said: When you see the worthy, think of equaling them; when you see the unworthy, examine yourself within.

All quotations by Confucius

Same theme

More on wisdom

  1. The unexamined life is not worth living for a human being.
  2. What I do not know, I do not claim to know.
  3. Let us not become haters of argument — that is a great danger to the soul.
  4. Death is nothing to us: for what has been dissolved has no sensation, and what has no sensation is nothing to us.
  5. Of all that wisdom provides for the happiness of a whole life, by far the greatest is the possession of friendship.

Browse the wisdom theme