Not so, said the Master: why not take it and give it to thy neighbours
and countryfolk?
4. The Master said of Chung-kung, If the calf of a brindled cow be red
and horned, though men be shy to offer him, will the hills and streams
reject him?
5. The Master said, For three months together Hui's[52] heart never
sinned against love. The others may hold out for a day, or a month,
but no more.
6. Chi K'ang[53] asked whether Chung-yu[3] was fit to govern.
The Master said, Yu[54] is firm; what would governing be to him?
And is Tz'u[55] fit to govern?
Tz'u is thorough; what would governing be to him?
And is Ch'iu[56] fit to govern?
Ch'in is clever; what would governing be to him?
7. The Chi sent to make Min Tzu-ch'ien[6] governor of Pi.
Min Tzu-ch'ien said, Make some good excuse for me. If he sends again I
must be across the Wen.
8. When Po-niu[57] was ill the Master asked after him. Grasping his
hand through the window, he said, He is going. It is the Bidding; but
why this man of such an illness? Why this man of such an illness?
[Footnote 52: Yen Yuean.]
[Footnote 53: The head of the Chi clan after Chi Huan.]
[Footnote 54: The disciple Tzu-lu.]
[Footnote 55: The disciple Tzu-kung.]
[Footnote 56: The disciple Jan Yu.]
[Footnote 57: A disciple.]
9. The Master said. What a man was Hui![58] A bowl of rice, a gourd of
water, in a low alley; man cannot bear such misery! Yet Hui never fell
from mirth. What a man he was!
10. Jan Ch'iu[59] said, It is not that I take no pleasure in the
Master's Way: I want strength.
[Footnote 58: Yen Yuean.]
[Footnote 59: Jan Yu.]
The Master said, He that wants strength faints midway; but thou
drawest a line.
11. The Master said to Tzu-hsia, Study to be a gentleman, not as the
small man studies.
12. When Tzu-yu was governor of Wu-ch'eng, the Master said, Hast thou
gotten any men?
He answered, I have Tan-t'ai Mieh-ming. He will not take a short cut
when walking, and he has never come to my house except on business.
13. The Master said, Meng Chih-fan never brags. He was covering the
rear in a rout; but on coming to the gate he whipped his horse and
cried, Not courage kept me behind; my horse won't go!
14. The Master said, Unless we are glib as the reader T'o and fair as
Chao of Sung, escape is hard in the times that be!
15. The Master said, Who can go out except by the door? Why is it no
one keeps to the Way?
16. The Master said, Matter outweighing art begets roughness; art
outweighing matter begets pedantry. Matter and art well blent make a
gentleman.
17. The Master said, Man is born straight. If he grows crooked and
yet lives, he is lucky to escape.
18. The Master said, He that knows is below him that loves, and he
that loves below him that delights therein.
19. The Master said, To men above the common we can talk of higher
things; to men below the common we must not talk of higher things.
20. Fan Ch'ih[60] asked, What is wisdom?
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