窮以事賢則不侮，通而舉窮則忠於朋友，富而分貧則宗族親之，貴而禮賤則百姓戴之；其得之固道也，失之命也。
Why?” “When in difficulty,” replied Zigong, “he served worthy men; when successful, he assisted those in difficulty; when wealthy, he shared his wealth with the poor; and, when in high position, he was courteous to those of low status.
」曰：「失而不得者，何也？
Because he served worthy men when in difficulty, he did not suffer dishonor; because he assisted those in difficulty when he was successful, he showed that he was loyal to his friends; because he shared his wealth with the poor when wealthy, the various clans drew near to him; and, because he was courteous to those of low status when in high position, the people supported him.
」曰：「其窮不事實，其通不舉窮，其富不分貧，其貴不理賤：其得之命也，其失之固道也。」
His successes were in accord with the established way; his failures were due to fate.” “Why do some people fail and never recover from failure?” asked General Wenzi.
Zigong said, “When a person fails to serve worthy men when in difficulty; when he fails to assist those in difficulty when successful; when he fails to share his wealth with the poor when wealthy; and, when he fails to be courteous to those of low status when in high position, his successes will be due to fate, and his failures will be in accord with the established way.