Fan Ch‘ih asked to be taught the art of husbandry. The Master said: Any farmer can teach you that better than I can. He then asked to be taught gardening. The Master said: Any gardener will teach you that better than I can. Fan Ch‘ih having gone out, the Master said: What a small-minded man is Fan Hsü! If the ruler is addicted to modesty and self-control, his people will not permit themselves to be irreverent. If the ruler loves justice and duty, his people will not venture to be unruly. If the ruler loves sincerity and good faith, the people will not be slow to respond. Such being his qualities, the people will flock to him from all quarters, with their babes strapped to their backs. What need for him to know the art of husbandry?[5] The Master said: If the ruler is personally upright, his subjects will do their duty unbidden; if he is not personally upright, they will not obey, whatever his bidding. When the Master went to Wei, Jan Yu drove his carriage. The Master said: What an abundant population!--Jan Yu said: Now that the people are so abundant, what is the next thing to be done?--Enrich them, said Confucius.--And having enriched them, what then?--Teach them, was the reply. The Master said: If a country had none but good rulers for a hundred years, crime might be stamped out and the death-penalty abolished. How true this saying is! If a kingly sovereign were to appear, by the end of one generation natural goodness would prevail. If a man can reform his own heart, what should hinder him from taking part in government? But if he cannot reform his own heart, what has he to do with reforming others? Duke Ting[6] asked if there was a single sentence by which a country might be made to flourish. Confucius answered: No single sentence can be expected to have such a virtue as this. But there is the common saying: "To be a good king is difficult; to be a good minister is not easy." He who realises the difficulty of being a good king--has he not almost succeeded in making his country prosper by a single sentence? --Is there a single sentence, continued the Duke, by which a country can be ruined?--Confucius answered: No such power can reside in any single sentence. But there is a saying: "I have no joy in kingly rule, I rejoice only because none can oppose my will." Now if the king's will is good, and none opposes it, all may be well; but if it is not good, and yet none opposes it, has he not almost succeeded in ruining his country be a single sentence? The Duke of Shê[7] asked about the conditions of good government. The Master said: Government is good when it makes happy those who live under it and attracts those who live far away. Tzü Hsia, when governor of Chü-fu,[8] asked for advice on government. The Master said: Do not try to do things in a hurry. Do not be intent on small gains. What is done quickly is not done thoroughly; and if small gains are considered, great things remain unaccomplished.