本文從論辯這一問題出發，進而考察《論語》中孔子對言的某種「曖昧」態度，以闡明孔子何以一方面警告言對於社會和道德秩序的危險性，另一方面又強調言在建立與維持這些秩序時的重要性，以及他何以自己欲無言而又不得無言。本文指出，孔子對言的這一「曖昧」態度是結構性的，亦即，是由言本身的某種雙重性質所決定的。本文由此又進而討論了《論語》中兩種已經不再能為傳統修辭學概念所範圍的修辭方式，即反問與提喻，分析此二種言說方式所蘊涵的哲學意義，並闡明它們與孔子思想的內在聯繫。

Starting with the question of argumentation, the article examines in The Analects a certain ambivalent attitude that Confucius has towards language and speech, explaining how Confucius has, on the one hand, to warn against the dangerous power of language/speech in social and moral aspects, and why he must, on the other hand, insist on the importance of language/speech in maintaining these, as well as why he has to keep saying something while not wanting to speak at all. The article shows that Confucius' ambivalence towards language/speech is structural, i.e., it is determined by the double nature of language and speech themselves. Based on this, the article discusses two modes of speech found in The Analects, traditionally defined as rhetorical questions and synecdoche, and shows why they can no longer be confined within the boundaries set by traditional rhetoric, what philosophical implications they may contain, and how they are intrinsically related to Confucius's thought.