论语·文良篇13

子禽问於子贡曰：“夫子至於是邦也，必闻其政，求之与？抑与之与？子贡曰：“夫子温、良、恭、俭、让以得之。夫子之求之也，其诸异乎人之求之与？”

Tsze-ch'in asked Tsze-kung saying, "When our master comes to any country, he does not fail to learn all about its government. Does he ask his information? or is it given to him?"Tsze-kung said, "Our master is benign, upright, courteous, temperate, and complaisant and thus he gets his information. The master's mode of askinginformation,-is it not different from that of other men?"

温、良、恭、俭、让
temperate/gentle
honest/nice
deferential/courteous
simple/frank
modest/earnest

夫子到了任何一个国家，总是清楚地了解到这个国家的政事。这是他自己向别人求教的呢，还是人家主动告诉他的呢?
夫子为人处世温和、善良、恭敬、俭朴、谦和，所以才会随时获得他所需要的各种信息。
他获取这些信息的方法，大概与其他人的方式不同吧？