Hear Widely, Set Doubts Aside, and Speak the Rest with Care

“Hear widely, set doubtful points aside, and speak the rest with care.” The sentence comes from the Wei Zheng chapter of the Analects. When Zizhang asks how to obtain office, Confucius advises him to listen broadly, reserve judgement on what remains doubtful, and speak cautiously about what is better supported, thereby reducing error. The next clause applies the same discipline to action.

Here, setting doubt aside does not mean eliminating it. It means leaving the question open rather than forcing a conclusion. With incomplete information today, restraint need not mean silence. We can distinguish what is known, inferred and unknown, and match the certainty of our language to the strength of the evidence. Care is not endless delay; it keeps expression from running ahead of understanding.

https://ctext.org/analects/wei-zheng/zh