On Government
君子之过也，如日月之食焉。过也，人告见之;更也，人皆仰之。
"The errors of a noble person are like eclipses of the sun and moon: when he errs, everyone sees it; when he corrects it, everyone looks up to him."
Chinese Original
君子之过也，如日月之食焉。过也，人告见之;更也，人皆仰之。
English Rendering
The errors of a noble person are like eclipses of the sun and moon: when he errs, everyone sees it; when he corrects it, everyone looks up to him.
Chinese Translation
子贡说:"执政者的过错,好比日蚀月蚀一样挂在天上，对他的过错，人人都看得见;改正之后,大家更敬仰他。"
Modern Meaning
In "君子之过也，如日月之食焉," Confucius focuses on the errors of a noble person are like eclipses of the sun and moon. The exact principle is that moral progress begins by turning judgment inward before turning it outward. The tension is not generic self examination; it is the specific problem that people notice faults in others faster than they correct the same pattern in themselves, which still appears in feeling irritated by another person's mistake, weakness, or success.
How to Apply Today
Use this teaching today in feeling irritated by another person's mistake, weakness, or success. Because this line says "The errors of a noble person are like eclipses of the sun and moon," identify the matching habit in yourself and choose one observable correction, so the lesson becomes visible in one behavior.
Reflection Question
For "君子之过也，如日月之食焉" (row 90, 为政篇 / On Government), Which criticism of another person also exposes work I need to do in myself?
Action Step
Write one fault you noticed in someone else and one matching correction you will make today, specifically in response to this demand: "The errors of a noble person are like eclipses of the sun and moon."
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