0

貪人之有者殘 is a phrase from 素書. I am not able to understand the grammatical structure of this sentence.

For instance:

  • 貪: does it mean greedy or make s.o. greedy, or consider s.o. greedy , or greed (noun)

  • 貪人: is it just "greedy person" or is 人 not immediately connected with 貪

  • 之: is it here an object pronoun or genitive-particle or the word "go"
  • 有: does it mean "have" or "exist" or "come into existence"
  • 者: is this the particle that makes the whole part infront of it a noun-phrase ?
  • 殘: is it "to injure" or an adjective "being in state of being injured" ?

Could you explain to me the grammatical structure of this sentence and its meaning in English ?

Improve this question
2

The structure is <贪[人之有]者> <残>. "贪 人之有 者" can be translated as "he who is lust for other people's possessions". But I am sorry I don't know the exact meaning of 残 here. Maybe it means "harm", "impair" or "to be bad".

Improve this answer
  • that is perfect for me , thx – Abdul Al Hazred Oct 14 '15 at 17:38
  • "人" in "人之有" means "not oneself (only)"; it can refer to "other people" or even "the whole society". – Henry HO Oct 15 '15 at 2:08
  • iciba：貪人之有者殘 The remnant of a corrupt man。殘 1. （形）不完整；残缺：这部书很好；可惜～了。(what is left of one who coveted what others have) – user6065 Mar 12 '16 at 22:48

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.