The Master said, “Can a vulgar and petty man be employed to serve a ruler together with others? Before he obtains office and profit, he is anxious about not getting them; once he has obtained them, he is anxious about losing them. If a man is constantly anxious about losing what he has, there is nothing he will not do to keep it.”
Note
This passage is Confucius’ psychological portrait of a “vulgar man” (a person of low character and narrow vision) in the political arena and the pursuit of fame and fortune, profoundly revealing how the expansion of selfish desires corrupts human nature.
- Psychological Analysis (Anxious about Gains and Losses): Confucius accurately grasped the core weakness of such people – extreme egoism and insecurity. Their motivation for doing things stems entirely from selfish desires, not from public interest or moral righteousness. Therefore, they are always in a state of anxiety: envious and anxious when they don’t have it, and terrified of losing it once they do.
- Moral Bottom Line (Nothing They Will Not Do): This is the finishing touch of the entire passage. Confucius pointed out that when a person is completely dominated by the fear of “losing,” in order to protect their power, position, and interests, they will completely lose their moral bottom line, and no despicable, cruel, or treacherous means will be beyond them.
This thought reflects the Confucian extremely high requirements for the moral integrity of politicians. Confucius believed that only a gentleman possessing “Benevolence” (Ren) and “Righteousness” (Yi) can achieve “being firm without selfish desires,” acting openly and adhering to principles in politics. In contrast, a “vulgar man” who places personal profit above morality cannot truly benefit the country but will instead become the root cause of political chaos.
Further Reading
The Master said, “The gentleman understands what is moral; the petty man understands what is profitable.”
— The Analects, Chapter 4.16
The Master said, “The gentleman is calm and at ease; the petty man is always full of anxiety.”
— The Analects, Chapter 7.37
The Master said, “If you yourself are not desirous, though you should reward them for stealing, they would not steal.”
— The Analects, Chapter 12.18
These chapters collectively depict the fundamental opposition between the “gentleman” and the “petty man” in terms of values and psychological states in Confucian thought. Whether pointing out that the petty man is driven solely by profit (“understands what is profitable”), is constantly full of anxiety (“always full of anxiety”), or revealing that a person anxious about losing will stop at nothing for personal desires (“nothing he will not do”), their core logic is highly consistent: Selfish desire is the root of moral degradation, while moral righteousness is the cornerstone of inner peace and upright behavior. They jointly prove that, in the Confucian view, the bottom line of politics and self-cultivation lies in transcending personal gains and losses. Only by putting “righteousness” first can one become an open, reliable, and upright person.
子曰：「鄙夫！可與事君也與哉？其未得之也，患得之；既得之，患失之。苟患失之，無所不至矣。」
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