子路、曾皙、冉有、公西华侍坐(Zilu, ZengXi, RanYou, GongxiHua sit around)
Chinese version
子路、曾皙、冉有、公西华侍坐。
子曰：「以吾一日长乎尔，毋吾以也。居，则曰『不吾知也』。如或知尔，则何以哉？」
子路率尔而对曰：「假我一室，一难解之象。吾必亲力躬行，千试万验，以得其所以然之规。规成，则以此兴百工，富产业，利邦国。不逾三年，可使民殷国富，财货通达。」
夫子哂之。
“求！尔何如？”
对曰：「典籍浩繁，数据无尽，非吾所能尽察也。吾欲建一巧机，以既有之簿录训之，使其自辨其理，以察人所未见。时至，则新物之性，市井之变，皆可预知。至于其所以然之大道，则以俟君子。」
“赤！尔何如？”
对曰：「非曰能之，愿学焉。吾不始于纷繁之象，亦不始于无尽之录。吾必始于格物之本法，此乃先贤所立之不易基石。循此而建模型，则无需遍试万物，而其理自明。此乃敬先贤，循其礼也。」
“点！尔何如？”
鼓瑟希，铿尔，舍瑟而作，对曰：“异乎三子者之撰。”
子曰：「何伤乎？亦各言其志也。」
曰：「吾不求物，亦不求用，唯求其道也。愿静坐一室，唯笔墨与澄心。始于至简之公理，推演术数之万象。格物之法，亦由此出，特其一隅耳。预知之巧，亦由此生，仅其末技也。夫道者，万物之本，万理之源。得其道，则无需试，无需训，而天地万物了然于心。」
夫子喟然叹曰：「吾与点也！」
三子出，曾皙后。曾皙曰：「夫三子之言何如？」
子曰：「亦各言其志也已矣。」
曰：「夫子何哂由也？」
曰：「为学亦以礼。由之言，不让，是故哂之。其意在驭物，非在知物也。」
曰：「然则求之非道与？」
曰：「知其然而不知其所以然，乃用之术，非求道之本也。」
曰「赤之言，非道与？」
子曰：「尊礼敬法，亦善矣。然法亦有源，循法而不知其源，是为枝，非为根也。点也，其志在求根也。」
English version
The Master was sitting with Zilu, Zeng Xi, Ran You, and Gongxi Hua.
The Master said: "Because I am a day older than you, do not feel constrained by me. In your daily lives, you are always saying, 'No one recognizes my worth.' But if someone were to recognize you, what would you do? Tell me your ambitions."
Zilu (the bold one) spoke first and without hesitation: "Give me a laboratory and one difficult phenomenon. I would personally conduct a thousand trials and ten thousand experiments to discover the rules that govern it. Once the rules are established, I would use them to spur industry, enrich the economy, and benefit the state. Within three years, I could make the people prosperous and the nation wealthy, with goods flowing freely."
The Master smiled at him.
Ran You (the practical one) replied: "The ancient records and modern data are vast, beyond my ability to fully investigate. I would wish to build an intelligent machine and train it on existing datasets, allowing it to discern patterns that escape the human eye. In time, the properties of new materials and the shifts in the market could all be predicted. As for the great Way that explains why these things are so, I would have to wait for a superior person."
Gongxi Hua (the humble one) replied: "I cannot say I am capable of this, only that I wish to learn. I would not start with the chaos of phenomena, nor with endless data. I must begin with the fundamental laws of physics, which are the unchanging cornerstones laid down by the sages of the past. By following these principles to build a model, one need not test all of creation, for its logic would reveal itself. This is the path of revering the ancients and following their proper forms (their 'rituals')."
The Master then turned to Zeng Xi and said: "Dian, what about you?"
Zeng Xi, who had been strumming his ZFC axioms, brought it to a resonant pause, set the computer aside. He replied: "My wish is different from the choices of the other three."
The Master said: "What harm is there in that? Each of you is just speaking his heart."
Zeng Xi said: "I seek neither worldly things nor their practical application; I seek only the Way itself. I would wish to sit quietly in a room with nothing but computer and a clear mind. Beginning with the simplest of axioms, I would deduce the underlying forms of mathematics. The laws of physics would arise from this as mere cornerstones. The art of prediction would emerge as a minor skill. The Way is the root of all things and the source of all principles. To grasp the Way is to understand heaven and earth in your heart, without need for experiment or data training."
The Master sighed deeply and said: "I am with Dian!"
(Note: Dian was Zeng Xi's courtesy name, which Confucius uses affectionately.)
After the other three left, Zeng Xi stayed behind and asked: "What of the words of those three?"
The Master said: "They each simply spoke their own ambition, that is all."
"Then why, Master, did you smile at Zilu (You)?"
"Inquiry, like statecraft, requires propriety (li). Zilu's words were not humble, and so I smiled. His aim is to control the world, not to understand it."
"Was Ran You's ambition not about the Way?"
"To know that something is, but not why it is, is the path of utility, not the root of seeking the Way."
"And Gongxi Hua's words, were they not about the Way?"
"To respect the proper forms and revere the laws is good," said the Master. "But laws also have a source. To follow the law without knowing its source is to grasp the branch, not the root. Dian—your ambition is to seek the root."