7.29 互乡难与言1，童子见，门人惑。子曰：“与其进也2，不与其退也，唯何甚？人洁己以进，与其洁也，不保其往也。”
【译文】
互乡这个地方的人难于交谈，但那里一个少年得到了孔子的接见，学生们疑惑不解。孔子说：“我是赞许他的进步，不是赞许他的退步，何必把事情做得太过分呢？别人怀着洁身自好的想法来了，我赞许他的就是洁身自好的态度，不是确保他过去的表现。”
【YZG解释】
互乡这个地方的人很难交谈，但那里一个少年得到了孔子的接见，学生们疑惑不解。孔子说：“我是赞许他有上进的心，不是赞许他的落后，何必把事情做得太过分呢？别人怀着洁身自好以求上进的想法来了，我赞许他的就是洁身自好的态度，不会计较他过去的表现。”
【English Translation】
The people in the place of Hu Xiang1 were very difficult to communicate with. However, a young man there was received by Confucius, which made Confucius’s students puzzled. Confucius said: “I commend him for his eagerness to make progress, not his backwardness. Why take things too far? When someone comes with the intention of keeping himself pure and striving for progress, what I commend is his attitude, and I won’t care about his past performance.”
【Note】