《孔子家语·问礼》
没有礼就不能有节制地侍奉天地神灵，没有礼就无法区别君臣、上下、长幼的地位，没有礼就不能分别男女、父子、兄弟的亲情关系以及婚姻亲族交往的亲疏远近。
非礼则无以节事天地之神焉，非礼则无以辨君臣上下长幼之位焉，非礼则无以别男女父子兄弟婚姻亲族疏数之交焉。
Without ritual, there would be no way to serve the spirits of Heaven and Earth in a controlled manner. Without ritual, there would be no way to differentiate between rulers and ministers, between superiors and inferiors, between elders and youths. Without ritual, there would be no way to distinguish between men and women, between fathers and sons, between brothers, and between the near and the distant in terms of marriage and kinship.