Yang Ho wished to see Confucius, but Confucius would not go to see him. He sent a present of a pig. Confucius chose a time when Ho was not at home, went to pay his respects for the gift, and met him on the way. Can he be called benevolent who keeps his jewel in his bosom and leaves his country to confusion. No. Can he be called wise who is anxious to be engaged in public employment and yet is constantly losing the opportunity of being so. No. The days and months are passing away. The years do not wait for us. Right. I will go into office. By nature, men are nearly alike; by practice, they get to be wide apart. There are only the wise of the highest class, and the stupid of the lowest class, who cannot be changed. At Wu-ch'ang he heard stringed instruments and singing. Why use an ox knife to kill a fowl. Tsze-yu reminded him that when the man of high station is well instructed he loves men, and when the man of low station is well instructed he is easily ruled. Yen's words are right. What I said was only in sport. Kung-shan Fu-zao, holding Pi in an attitude of rebellion, invited him, and he was rather inclined to go. Tsze-lu was displeased. Can it be without some reason that he has invited me. If any one employ me, may I not make an eastern Chau.
Tsze-chang asked about perfect virtue. To be able to practise five things everywhere under heaven: gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness, and kindness. Pi Hsi invited him, holding Chung-mau in rebellion, and he was inclined to go. Tsze-lu quoted him: when a man in his own person is guilty of doing evil, a superior man will not associate with him. Yes, I did use these words. But if a thing be really hard, it may be ground without being made thin. If a thing be really white, it may be steeped in a dark fluid without being made black. Am I a bitter gourd. How can I be hung up out of the way of being eaten. Yu, have you heard the six words to which are attached six becloudings. Love of being benevolent without the love of learning leads to a foolish simplicity. Knowing without learning, dissipation of mind. Sincerity without learning, an injurious disregard of consequences. Straightforwardness without learning, rudeness. Boldness without learning, insubordination. Firmness without learning, extravagant conduct. Why do you not study the Book of Poetry. The Odes stimulate the mind, serve for self-contemplation, teach sociability, regulate resentment, and show the nearer duty of serving one's father and the remoter one of serving one's prince. The man who has not studied the Chau-nan and the Shao-nan is like one who stands with his face right against a wall. They say it is according to the rules of propriety. Are gems and silk all that is meant by propriety. They say it is music. Are bells and drums all that is meant by music. He who puts on an appearance of stern firmness, while inwardly he is weak, is like the thief who breaks through, or climbs over, a wall. Your good, careful people of the villages are the thieves of virtue. To tell, as we go along, what we have heard on the way, is to cast away our virtue. Those mean creatures: while they have not got their aims, their anxiety is how to get them; when they have got them, their anxiety is lest they should lose them; and then there is nothing to which they will not proceed. Anciently men had three failings which now perhaps are not to be found. The high-mindedness of antiquity showed itself in a disregard of small things; that of the present day shows itself in wild licence. Fine words and an insinuating appearance are seldom associated with virtue. I hate the manner in which purple takes away the lustre of vermilion. I hate the songs of Chang that confound the music of the Ya. I hate those who with their sharp mouths overthrow kingdoms and families.
I would prefer not speaking. If you, Master, do not speak, what shall we, your disciples, have to record. Does Heaven speak. The four seasons pursue their courses, and all things are continually being produced, but does Heaven say anything. Zu Pei wished to see him. He declined on the ground of being sick. When the bearer of this message went out at the door, he took his lute and sang to it, in order that Pei might hear him. Tsai Wo asked about the three years' mourning for parents, saying that one year was long enough. Within a year the old grain is exhausted and the new grain has sprung up. If you were, after a year, to eat good rice and wear embroidered clothes, would you feel at ease. I should. If you can feel at ease, do it. But a superior man, during the whole period of mourning, does not enjoy pleasant food, nor derive pleasure from music, nor feel at ease if he is comfortably lodged. This shows Yu's want of virtue. It is not till a child is three years old that it is allowed to leave the arms of its parents. Did Yu enjoy the three years' love of his parents. Hard is it to deal with him who will stuff himself with food the whole day without applying his mind to anything good. Are there not gamesters and chess players. To be one of these would still be better than doing nothing at all. Does the superior man esteem valour. He holds righteousness to be of highest importance. Valour without righteousness, in a superior situation, is insubordination; among the lower people, robbery. Has the superior man his hatreds also. He hates those who proclaim the evil of others, the man in a low station who slanders his superiors, those who have valour merely and are unobservant of propriety, and those who are forward and determined and of contracted understanding. Tsze-kung hates those who pry out matters and ascribe the knowledge to their wisdom, those who are only not modest and think that they are valorous, and those who make known secrets and think that they are straightforward. When a man at forty is the object of dislike, he will always continue what he is.
