Kabanata Kabanata 2 · _Good Government--Filial Piety--The Superior Man_

Sayings of the Master:--

"Let a ruler base his government upon virtuous principles, and he will

be like the pole-star, which remains steadfast in its place, while all

the host of stars turn towards it.

"The 'Book of Odes' contains three hundred pieces, but one expression

in it may be taken as covering the purport of all, viz., Unswerving

mindfulness.

"To govern simply by statute, and to reduce all to order by means of

pains and penalties, is to render the people evasive, and devoid of

any sense of shame.

"To govern upon principles of virtue, and to reduce them to order by

the Rules of Propriety, would not only create in them the sense of

shame, but would moreover reach them in all their errors.

"When I attained the age of fifteen, I became bent upon study. At

thirty, I was a confirmed student. At forty, nought could move me from

my course. At fifty, I comprehended the will and decrees of Heaven. At

sixty, my ears were attuned to them. At seventy, I could follow my

heart's desires, without overstepping the lines of rectitude."

To a question of Mang-i, as to what filial piety consisted in, the

Master replied, "In not being perverse." Afterwards, when Fan Ch[']i

was driving him, the Master informed him of this question and answer,

and Fan Ch[']i asked, "What was your meaning?" The Master replied, "I

meant that the Rules of Propriety should always be adhered to in

regard to those who brought us into the world: in ministering to them

while living, in burying them when dead, and afterwards in the

offering to them of sacrificial gifts."

To a query of Mang Wu respecting filial piety, the Master replied,

"Parents ought to bear but one trouble--that of their own sickness."

To a like question put by Tsz-yu, his reply was this: "The filial

piety of the present day simply means the being able to support one's

parents--which extends even to the case of dogs and horses, all of

which may have something to give in the way of support. If there be no

reverential feeling in the matter, what is there to distinguish

between the cases?"

To a like question of Tsz-hia, he replied: "The manner is the

difficulty. If, in the case of work to be done, the younger folks

simply take upon themselves the toil of it; or if, in the matter of

meat and drink, they simply set these before their elders--is this to

be taken as filial piety?"

Once the Master remarked, "I have conversed with Hwui the whole day

long, and he has controverted nothing that I have said, as if he were

without wits. But when his back was turned, and I looked attentively

at his conduct apart from me, I found it satisfactory in all its

issues. No, indeed! Hwui is not without his wits."

Other observations of the Master:--

"If you observe what things people (usually) take in hand, watch their

motives, and note particularly what it is that gives them

satisfaction, shall they be able to conceal from you what they are?

Conceal themselves, indeed!

"Be versed in ancient lore, and familiarize yourself with the modern;

then may you become teachers.

"The great man is not a mere receptacle."

In reply to Tsz-kung respecting the great man:---

"What he first says, as a result of his experience, he afterwards

follows up.

"The great man is catholic-minded, and not one-sided. The common man

is the reverse.

"Learning, without thought, is a snare; thought, without learning, is

a danger.

"Where the mind is set much upon heterodox principles--there truly and

indeed is harm."

To the disciple of Tsz-lu the Master said, "Shall I give you a lesson

about knowledge? When you know a thing, maintain that you know it; and

when you do not, acknowledge your ignorance. This is characteristic of

knowledge."

Tsz-chang was studying with an eye to official income. The Master

addressed him thus: "Of the many things you hear hold aloof from those

that are doubtful, and speak guardedly with reference to the rest;

your mistakes will then be few. Also, of the many courses you see

adopted, hold aloof from those that are risky, and carefully follow

the others; you will then seldom have occasion for regret. Thus, being

seldom mistaken in your utterances, and having few occasions for

regret in the line you take, you are on the high road to your

preferment."

To a question put to him by Duke Ngai[2] as to what should be done in

order to render the people submissive to authority, Confucius replied,

"Promote the straightforward, and reject those whose courses are

crooked, and the thing will be effected. Promote the crooked and

reject the straightforward, and the effect will be the reverse."

When Ki K[']ang[3] asked of him how the people could be induced to

show respect, loyalty, and willingness to be led, the Master answered,

"Let there be grave dignity in him who has the oversight of them, and

they will show him respect; let him be seen to be good to his own

parents, and kindly in disposition, and they will be loyal to him;

let him promote those who have ability, and see to the instruction of

those who have it not, and they will be willing to be led."

Some one, speaking to Confucius, inquired, "Why, sir, are you not an

administrator of government?" The Master rejoined, "What says the

'Book of the Annals,' with reference to filial duty?--'Make it a point

to be dutiful to your parents and amicable with your brethren; the

same duties extend to an administrator.' If these, then, also make an

administrator, how am I to take your words about being an administrator?"

On one occasion the Master remarked, "I know not what men are good

for, on whose word no reliance can be placed. How should your

carriages, large or little, get along without your whipple-trees or

swing-trees?"

Tsz-chang asked if it were possible to forecast the state of the

country ten generations hence. The Master replied in this manner: "The

Yin dynasty adopted the rules and manners of the Hia line of kings,

and it is possible to tell whether it retrograded or advanced. The

Chow line has followed the Yin, adopting its ways, and whether there

has been deterioration or improvement may also be determined. Some

other line may take up in turn those of Chow; and supposing even this

process to go on for a hundred generations, the result may be known."

Other sayings of the Master:--

"It is but flattery to make sacrificial offerings to departed spirits

not belonging to one's own family.

"It is moral cowardice to leave undone what one perceives to be right

to do."

[Footnote 2: Of Lu (Confucius's native State).]

[Footnote 3: Head of one of the "Three Families" of Lu.]

BOOK 3.