先せん憂ゆう後こう楽らく

noun

a ruler should worry before the people and enjoy only after the people

A Confucian precept for leadership: the ideal ruler endures hardship first and seeks pleasure only after the people are content. Used as a yojijukugo in formal or literary contexts.

• 先せん憂ゆう後こう楽らくは、為い政せい者しゃの心こころ得えとして古ふるくから重おもんじられてきた。

  The principle of 'worry first, enjoy later' has long been valued as a precept for rulers.