The Sayings of Confucius.
The Harvard Classics. 1909–14.
XVII
He said to Confucius: “Come, let us speak together. To cherish a gem and undo the kingdom, is that love?”
“It is not,” said Confucius.
“To be fond of power and let each chance of office slip, is that wisdom?”
“It is not,” said Confucius.
“The days and months glide by; the years do not tarry for us.”
“True,” said Confucius; “I must take office.”
“Why use an ox-knife to kill a fowl?” said the Master, with a pleased smile.
Tzu-yu answered: “Master, I have heard you say of yore: ‘A gentleman who has conned the truth will love mankind; poor folk who have conned the truth are easy to rule.’”
“My boys,” said the Master, “Yen is right. I spake before in play.”
Tzu-lu said in displeasure: “This cannot be. Why must ye go to Kung-shan?”
The Master said: “This lord summons me, and would that be all? Could I not make an Eastern Chou of him that employed me?”
“Love,” said Confucius, “is to mete out five things to all below heaven.”
“May I ask what they are?”
“Modesty and bounty,” said Confucius, “truth, earnestness, and kindness. Modesty escapes insult; bounty wins the many; truth gains men’s trust; earnestness brings success; kindness is the key to men’s work.”
Tzu-lu said: “Master, I have heard you say of yore: ‘When the man in touch with the soul does evil, a gentleman stands aloof.’ Pi Hsi holds Chung-mou in rebellion: how, Sir, could ye join him?”
“Yes, I said so,” answered the Master. “But is not a thing called hard that cannot be ground thin; white, if steeping will not turn it black? and am I a gourd? can I hang without eating?”
He answered: “No.”
“Sit down that I may tell thee. The thirst for love, without love of learning, sinks into fondness. Love of knowledge, without love of learning, sinks into presumption. Love of truth, without love of learning, sinks into cruelty. Love of uprightness, without love of learning, sinks into harshness. Love of courage, without love of learning, sinks into turbulence. Love of strength, without love of learning, sinks into oddity.”
Tzu-kung said: “If ye, Sir, were silent, what would your disciples have to tell?”
The Master said: “Does Heaven speak? The seasons four revolve, and all things multiply. Does Heaven speak?”
“If for three years pomp is scouted by the gentry, will not courtesy suffer? If music stop for three years, will not music decay? The old grain vanishes, the new springs up; the round of woods for the fire drill is ended in one year.”
The Master said: “Feeding on rice, clad in brocade, couldst thou feel happy?”
“I could feel happy,” he answered.
“Then do what makes thee happy. A gentleman, when in mourning, has no taste for sweets, no ear for music; he is unhappy in his home. And so he forsakes these things. But since thou art happy in them, keep them.”
When Tsai Wo had left, the Master said: “A man without love! At the age of three a child first leaves his parents’ arms, and three years is the time for mourning everywhere below heaven. But did Yü enjoy for three years a father’s and a mother’s love?”
The Master said: “Right comes first for a gentleman. Courage, without sense of right, makes rebels of the great, and robbers of the poor.”
“He does,” said the Master. “He hates the sounding of evil deeds; he hates men of low estate who slander their betters; he hates courage without courtesy; he hates daring matched with blindness.”
“And Tz´u,”11 he added, “dost thou hate too?”
“I hate those who mistake spying for wisdom. I hate those who take want of deference for courage. I hate evil speaking, cloaked as honesty.”