The Master said, “It is difficult to be poor without resentment; it is easier to be rich without arrogance.”
Note
Though concise, this saying from the Analects of Confucius offers profound insight into the moral challenges people face in different circumstances.
- “It is difficult to be poor without resentment”: Poverty often brings hardship, injustice, and social contempt, making it easy to fall into bitterness, envy, or despair. To remain calm, content, and free from blaming heaven or others amid material deprivation requires exceptional self-cultivation and unwavering commitment to moral principles – hence, it is “difficult.”
- “It is easier to be rich without arrogance”: The wealthy may easily become proud, but with even modest education and an understanding of ritual propriety (li), one can restrain the impulse to show off and maintain humility. Compared to the inner fortitude needed in poverty, this outward behavioral restraint is relatively “easier.”
Importantly, Confucius does not claim that “being rich without arrogance” is truly easy; rather, he uses contrast to emphasize that the true test of virtue lies in adversity. This aligns with the Confucian ideal expressed later in Mencius (Chapter 13.9 or 7A.9): “In poverty, one does not lose righteousness; in success, one does not depart from the Way.” It also echoes the notion that “the noble person remains steadfast in poverty”(Analects 15.2 Wei Ling Gong). The remark reminds us: the depth of one’s moral cultivation is revealed not by grace in prosperity, but by non-resignation and non-bitterness in hardship.
Further Reading
Zigong said, “What about being poor without flattery and rich without arrogance?” The Master replied, “That is acceptable – but not as good as being poor yet joyful, and rich yet fond of ritual propriety.” Analects 1.15 (Xue Er)
Both address the moral posture toward wealth and poverty; Confucius elevates the ideal beyond mere absence of vice to positive virtue (joy in poverty, love of ritual in wealth).
The Master said, “Eating coarse food, drinking water, and resting my head on a bent arm – I find joy in this. Wealth and rank gained through unrighteousness are to me like floating clouds.” Analects 7.16 (Shu Er)
Illustrates the ideal of “poor yet joyful,” showing how inner moral satisfaction transcends material lack – directly related to “poor without resentment.”
The Master said, “The unhumane person cannot long remain in straitened circumstances, nor can he long dwell in joy.” Analects 4.2 (Li Ren)
Suggests that only the virtuous can stably endure both poverty and prosperity – underscoring why “poor without resentment” is so rare and difficult.
子曰：「貧而無怨難，富而無驕易。」
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