The Master said: Yen P'ing[5] knows the art of associating with his friends: however old the acquaintance may be, he always treats them with the same respect. Ning Wu Tzŭ's[6] behaviour was wise so long as his country was well governed; when revolution came, his behaviour was stupid. His wisdom may be equalled by others, but his stupidity is beyond all imitation. Po I and Shu Ch‘i[7] never remembered old injuries, and therefore their enemies were few. Who will say that Wei-sheng Kao[8] was an upright man? When asked by somebody for some vinegar, he went and begged it of a neighbour, and gave this to the man who had asked him. For the space of three months together Hui[9] would not deviate in spirit from the path of perfect virtue. My other disciples may attain this height once in a day or in a month, but that is all. Po Niu[10] lying sick unto death, the Master went to visit him. He clasped his hand through the window and said: He is dying. Such is fate. Alas! that such a man should have such an illness, that such a man should have such an illness! The Master said: Hui was indeed a philosopher! Other men living as he did, in a miserable alley, with a single dish of food and a single bowl of drink, could not have endured the distress. But Hui was invariably cheerful. He was a philosopher indeed! Jan Ch‘iu said: It is not that I have no joy in my Master's teaching, it is my strength that fails me.--The Master replied: Those whose strength fails them fall fainting by the way. What you do is to set up bounds which you will not attempt to pass. The Master said: Mêng Chih-fan is no braggart. Once after a defeat, when he was bringing up the rear, he whipped his horse as he was about to enter the city gate, and cried: It is not courage that makes me last, it is my horse that won't gallop fast enough.[11] The Master addressing Yen Yüan said: It is only you and I who would be content to accept public employment when it was offered to us, and to retire into obscurity when we were dismissed.--Tzŭ Lu then said: If you, Sir, had the conduct of three legions, whom would you associate with yourself in the command?--I would not, replied the Master, choose a man who would attack a tiger unarmed, cross a river without a boat, or sacrifice his life without a moment's regret. Rather should it be one who would not embark on an enterprise without anxiety, and who was accustomed to lay his plans well before putting them into execution.[12] The Master said: T‘ai Po may be said to have reached the summit of virtue. Having resolutely renounced the Imperial throne, he put it out of the people's power to glorify his act of renunciation![13]