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"Is the philanthropic spirit far to seek, indeed?" the Master exclaimed; "I wish for it, and it is with me!"
The Minister of Crime in the State of Ch‘in asked Confucius whether Duke Ch‘au, of Lu was acquainted with the Proprieties; and he answered, "Yes, he knows them."
When Confucius had withdrawn, the minister bowed to Wu-ma K‘i, a disciple, and motioned to him to come forward. He said, "I have heard that superior men show no partiality; are they, too, then, partial? That prince took for his wife a lady of the Wu family, having the same surname as himself, and had her named 'Lady Tsz of Wu, the elder.' If he knows the Proprieties, then who does not?"
The disciple reported this to the Master, who thereupon remarked, "Well for me! If I err in any way, others are sure to know of it."
When the Master was in company with any one who sang, and who sang well, he must needs have the song over again, and after that would join in it.
"Although in letters," he said, "I may have none to compare with me, yet in my personification of the 'superior man' I have not as yet been successful."
"'A Sage and a Philanthropist?' How should I have the ambition?" said he. "All that I can well be called is this—An insatiable student, an unwearied teacher;—this, and no more."—"Exactly what we, your disciples, cannot by any learning manage to be," said Kung-si Hwa.
Once when the Master was seriously ill, Tsz-lu requested to be allowed to say prayers for him. "Are such available?" asked the Master. "Yes," said he; "and the Manual of Prayers [Pg 41] says, 'Pray to the spirits above and to those here below.'"
"My praying has been going on a long while," said the Master.
"Lavish living," he said, "renders men disorderly; miserliness makes them hard. Better, however, the hard than the disorderly."
Again, "The man of superior mind is placidly composed; the small-minded man is in a constant state of perturbation."
The Master was gentle, yet could be severe; had an overawing presence, yet was not violent; was deferential, yet easy.
[16] In reference to his editing the six Classics of his time.
[17] This was one of his "beloved ancients," famous for what he did in helping to found the dynasty of Chow, a man of great political wisdom, a scholar also, and poet. It was the "dream" of Confucius's life to restore the country to the condition in which the Duke of Chow left it.
[18] These were six in number, viz.: Ceremonial, Music, Archery, Horsemanship, Language, and Calculation.
[19] Lit., three forces. Each force consisted of 12,500 men, and three of such forces were the equipment of a greater State.
Speaking of T‘ai-pih the Master said that he might be pronounced a man of the highest moral excellence; for he allowed the empire to pass by him onwards to a third heir; while the people, in their ignorance of his motives, were unable to admire him for so doing.
"Without the Proprieties," said the Master, "we have these results: for deferential demeanor, a worried one; for calm attentiveness, awkward bashfulness; for manly conduct, disorderliness; for straightforwardness, perversity.
"When men of rank show genuine care for those nearest to them in blood, the people rise to the duty of neighborliness and sociability. And when old friendships among them are not allowed to fall off, there will be a cessation of underhand practices among the people."
The Scholar Tsang was once unwell, and calling his pupils to him he said to them, "Disclose to view my feet and my hands. What says the Ode?—
At all times, my children, I know how to keep myself free from bodily harm."
Again, during an illness of his, Mang King, an official, went to ask after him. The Scholar had some conversation with him, in the course of which he said—
There are three points which a man of rank in the management of his duties should set store upon:—A lively manner and deportment, banishing both severity and laxity; a frank and open expression of countenance, allied closely with sincerity; and a tone in his utterances utterly free from any approach to vulgarity and impropriety. As to matters of bowls and dishes, leave such things to those who are charged with the care of them."
Another saying of the Scholar Tsang: "I once had a friend who, though he possessed ability, would go questioning men of none, and though surrounded by numbers, would go with his questions to isolated individuals; who also, whatever he might have, appeared as if he were without it, and, with all his substantial acquirements, made as though his mind were a mere blank; and when insulted would not retaliate;—this was ever his way."
Again he said: "The man that is capable of being intrusted with the charge of a minor on the throne, and given authority over a large territory, and who, during the important term of his superintendence cannot be forced out of his position, is not such a 'superior man'? That he is, indeed."
Again:—"The learned official must not be without breadth and power of endurance: the burden is heavy, and the way is long.
"Suppose that he take his duty to his fellow-men as his peculiar burden, is that not indeed a heavy one? And since only with death it is done with, is not the way long?"
Sentences of the Master:—
"From the 'Book of Odes' we receive impulses; from the 'Book of the Rules,' stability; from the 'Book on Music,' refinement. [20]
[Pg 44] "The people may be put into the way they should go, though they may not be put into the way of understanding it.
"The man who likes bravery, and yet groans under poverty, has mischief in him. So, too, has the misanthrope, groaning at any severity shown towards him.
"Even if a person were adorned with the gifts of the Duke of Chow, yet if he were proud and avaricious, all the rest of his qualities would not indeed be worth looking at.
"Not easily found is the man who, after three years' study, has failed to come upon some fruit of his toil.
"The really faithful lover of learning holds fast to the Good Way till death.
"He will not go into a State in which a downfall is imminent, nor take up his abode in one where disorder reigns. When the empire is well ordered he will show himself; when not, he will hide himself away. Under a good government it will be a disgrace to him if he remain in poverty and low estate; under a bad one, it would be equally disgraceful to him to hold riches and honors.
