Adaptation to the suitable; being as one is because more adapted to that than to something to which one is not adapted. See ch. ii, where this idea is first broached. * * * * * Confucius asked the historiographers Ta T'ao, Poh Ch'ang Ch'ien, and Hsi Wei, saying, "Duke Ling was fond of wine and given up to pleasure, and neglected the administration of his State. He spent his time in hunting, and did not cultivate the goodwill of the other feudal princes. How was it he came to be called _Ling_?" The name _Ling_ means "knowing," which may be taken in two senses. "For those very reasons," replied Ta T'ao. "The Duke," said Poh Ch'ang Ch'ien, "had three wives. He was having a bath together with them when Shih Ch'in, summoned by his Highness, entered the apartment. Thereupon the Duke covered himself and the ladies. So outrageously did he behave on the one hand, and yet so respectful was he towards a virtuous man. Hence he was called _Ling_." "When the Duke died," said Hsi Wei, "divination showed that it would be inauspicious to bury him in the old family burying-ground, but auspicious to bury him at Sha-ch'iu. And upon digging a grave there, several fathoms deep, a stone coffin was found, which, being cleaned, yielded the following inscription:--_Posterity cannot be trusted. Duke Ling will seize this for his tomb._ "As a matter of fact, Duke Ling had been named Ling long before. What should these two persons know about it?" As evidenced by the inscription, the Duke had been so named long before, in the Book of Fate. * * * * * Shao Chih asked T'ai Kung Tiao, saying, "What is meant by society?" The first name signifies _Small Knowledge_. Of the second personage there is no record. "Society," replied T'ai Kung Tiao, "is an agreement of a certain number of families and individuals to abide by certain customs. Discordant elements unite to form a harmonious whole. Take away this unity and each has a separate individuality. "Point at any one of the many parts of a horse, and that is not a horse, although there is the horse before you. It is the combination of all which makes the horse. "Similarly, a mountain is high because of its individual particles. A river is large because of its individual drops. And he is a just man who regards all parts from the point of view of the whole. "Thus, in regard to the views of others, he holds his own opinion, but not obstinately. In regard to his own views, while conscious of their truth, he does not despise the opinions of others. "The four seasons have different characteristics, but God shows no preference for either, and therefore we have the year complete. With results which could not be otherwise achieved.