Original text
6.27 Confucius said: "A gentleman is knowledgeable in literature, and if he makes an appointment with etiquette, he can still be with you!"
Translation
Confucius said: "A gentleman studies literature and classics extensively, and then uses rituals to restrain them, so that he will not deviate from the Taoism."
Insights
Confucius believed that a gentleman should both Study humanistic classics extensively, and at the same time, know how to restrain yourself with etiquette, so that you will not deviate from the norm or do anything deviant.
Through learning, a person has extensive knowledge and develops shrewd and sophisticated abilities. Through the learning of cultural knowledge, it can have a subtle impact on people, because knowledge contains the knowledge of how to behave and do things. As learners broaden their horizons, their moral cultivation will also improve.
However, the amount of cultural knowledge is not directly related to moral cultivation, so "promise with etiquette" is added later. Only by consciously accepting the constraints of etiquette can one become a true gentleman. Like water pouring down from the ocean, only when it flows in rivers and farmland can it truly benefit the people, otherwise it will become a flood. The same is true for a person's intelligence. Only under the constraints of legislation can it benefit society and the country.