Analects 7:8

Confucius said

I do not instruct those who lack eagerness, and I do not guide those whose who lack a feeling of urgency. If I present a corner and the person does not come back with the other three, I will not continue.

I do not open up the truth to one who is not eager [to get knowledge], nor help out any one who is not anxious to explain himself. When I have presented one corner of a subject to any one, and he cannot from it learn the other three, I do not repeat my lesson. L

I do not expound my teaching to any who are not eager to learn; I do not help out any one who is not anxious to explain himself; if, after being shown one corner of a subject, a man cannot go on to discover the other three, I do not repeat the lesson. G

If a student is not eager, I won’t teach him; if he is not struggling with the truth, I won’t reveal it to him. If I lift up one corner and he can’t come back with the other three, I won’t do it again. M

Commentary

The chun tzu sets a good example for all of manknid, but only actively guides true aspirants who fulfill certain criteria when it comes to their eagerness for hsueh and what it can provide, their willingness to personally contribute to this process, and their subsequent unflagging passion for learning. People like this will without doubt only need one corner to learn the other three.