The Master said, "T'ai-po may be said to have reached the highestpoint of virtuous action. Thrice he declined the kingdom, and thepeople in ignorance of his motives could not express their approbationof his conduct."The Master said, "Respectfulness, without the rules of propriety,becomes laborious bustle; carefulness, without the rules of propriety,becomes timidity; boldness, without the rules of propriety, becomesinsubordination; straightforwardness, without the rules of propriety,becomes rudeness.
"When those who are in high stations perform well all their dutiesto their relations, the people are aroused to virtue. When old friendsare not neglected by them, the people are preserved from meanness."The philosopher Tsang being ill, he cared to him the disciples ofhis school, and said, "Uncover my feet, uncover my hands. It is saidin the Book of Poetry, 'We should be apprehensive and cautious, asif on the brink of a deep gulf, as if treading on thin ice, I andso have I been. Now and hereafter, I know my escape from all injuryto my person. O ye, my little children."The philosopher Tsang being ill, Meng Chang went to ask how he was.
Tsang said to him, "When a bird is about to die, its notes are mournful;when a man is about to die, his words are good.
"There are three principles of conduct which the man of high rankshould consider specially important:-that in his deportment and mannerhe keep from violence and heedlessness; that in regulating his countenancehe keep near to sincerity; and that in his words and tones he keepfar from lowness and impropriety. As to such matters as attendingto the sacrificial vessels, there are the proper officers for them."The philosopher Tsang said, "Gifted with ability, and yet puttingquestions to those who were not so; possessed of much, and yet puttingquestions to those possessed of little; having, as though he had not;full, and yet counting himself as empty; offended against, and yetentering into no altercation; formerly I had a friend who pursuedthis style of conduct."The philosopher Tsang said, "Suppose that there is an individual whocan be entrusted with the charge of a young orphan prince, and canbe commissioned with authority over a state of a hundred li, and whomno emergency however great can drive from his principles:-is sucha man a superior man? He is a superior man indeed."The philosopher Tsang said, "The officer may not be without breadthof mind and vigorous endurance. His burden is heavy and his courseis long.
"Perfect virtue is the burden which he considers it is his to sustain;-isit not heavy? Only with death does his course stop;-is it not long?
The Master said, "It is by the Odes that the mind is aroused.
"It is by the Rules of Propriety that the character is established.
"It is from Music that the finish is received."The Master said, "The people may be made to follow a path of action,but they may not be made to understand it."The Master said, "The man who is fond of daring and is dissatisfiedwith poverty, will proceed to insubordination. So will the man whois not virtuous, when you carry your dislike of him to an extreme."The Master said, "Though a man have abilities as admirable as thoseof the Duke of Chau, yet if he be proud and niggardly, those otherthings are really not worth being looked at."The Master said, "It is not easy to find a man who has learned forthree years without coming to be good."The Master said, "With sincere faith he unites the love of learning;holding firm to death, he is perfecting the excellence of his course.
"Such an one will not enter a tottering state, nor dwell in a disorganizedone. When right principles of government prevail in the kingdom, hewill show himself; when they are prostrated, he will keep concealed.
"When a country is well governed, poverty and a mean condition arethings to be ashamed of. When a country is ill governed, riches andhonor are things to be ashamed of."The Master said, "He who is not in any particular office has nothingto do with plans for the administration of its duties."The Master said, "When the music master Chih first entered on hisoffice, the finish of the Kwan Tsu was magnificent;-how it filledthe ears!"The Master said, "Ardent and yet not upright, stupid and yet not attentive;simple and yet not sincere:-such persons I do not understand."The Master said, "Learn as if you could not reach your object, andwere always fearing also lest you should lose it."The Master said, "How majestic was the manner in which Shun and Yuheld possession of the empire, as if it were nothing to them!
The Master said, "Great indeed was Yao as a sovereign! How majesticwas he! It is only Heaven that is grand, and only Yao correspondedto it. How vast was his virtue! The people could find no name forit.
"How majestic was he in the works which he accomplished! How gloriousin the elegant regulations which he instituted!"Shun had five ministers, and the empire was well governed.
King Wu said, "I have ten able ministers."Confucius said, "Is not the saying that talents are difficult to find,true? Only when the dynasties of T'ang and Yu met, were they moreabundant than in this of Chau, yet there was a woman among them. Theable ministers were no more than nine men.
"King Wan possessed two of the three parts of the empire, and withthose he served the dynasty of Yin. The virtue of the house of Chaumay be said to have reached the highest point indeed."The Master said, "I can find no flaw in the character of Yu. He usedhimself coarse food and drink, but displayed the utmost filial pietytowards the spirits. His ordinary garments were poor, but he displayedthe utmost elegance in his sacrificial cap and apron. He lived ina low, mean house, but expended all his strength on the ditches andwater channels. I can find nothing like a flaw in Yu."