he is; such a man may also be considered a type of gentleman next in degree." The disciple finally asked, saying, "But now what is your opinion of the gentlemen now in the public service?" "They are," replied Confucius, "only redtaped 5 bureaucrats not worth taking into account." 65 21. Confucius remarked, "If I cannot find equitable and reasonable men to have to do with, upon necessity I would choose men of enthusiastic or even fanatical 66 character. Enthusiastic men are zealous and there are always limits which fanatical men would not pass." 22. Confucius remarked, "The southern people have a saying,A man without perseverance cannot be a doctor or a magician.' How true! "Again, it is said in the I-king, 'The reputation for a virtue once acquired unless persevered in will lead to disgrace.'" Commenting on this, Confucius remarked, "It is much better not to assume the reputation for the virtue at all." 67 65 The Chinese expression for "red tape" is "pecks and hampers," from the fact that the duty of mere routine officers in ancient times was to weigh and measure the grain and other produce collected from the people." 66 Literally dog-ged-the Chinese character meaning a fierce, tenacious animal like the bull-dog. In fact, man with a fixed idea. 67 The great Chinese commentator, Chu Fu-tzu gives up this last passage, saying that he does not understand it. We venture here to submit the above explanation of the passage as given in the translation, 23. Confucius remarked, "A wise man is sociable, but not familiar. A fool is familiar but not sociable." 24. A disciple of Confucius enquired of him, saying, "What do you say of a man who is popular with all his fellow townsmen in a place?" "He is not necessarily a good man," answered Confucius. "What do you say then," asked the disciple, "of a man who is unpopular with all his fellow townsmen ?" "He is neither," replied Confucius, "necessarily a good nor a bad man. A really good man is he who is popular with the good men of a place and unpopular with the bad men." 25. Confucius remarked, "A wise and good man is easy to serve, but difficult to please. If you go beyond your duty to please him, he will not be pleased. But in his employment of men, he always takes into consideration their capacity. A fool, on the other hand, is easy to please, but difficult to serve. If you go beyond your duty to please him, he will be pleased. But in his employment of men, he expects them to be able to do everything." 26. Confucius remarked, "A wise man is dignified, but not proud. A fool is proud, but not dignified." 27. Confucius remarked, "A man of strong, resolute, simple character approaches nearly to the true moral character." 28. A disciple of Confucius enquired, "What must a man be in order to be considered a gentleman ?" Confucius answered, "He must be sympathetic, obliging and affectionate sympathetic and obliging to his friends and affectionate to the members of his family." 29. Confucius remarked, "A good honest man, after educating the people for seven years, will be able to lead them to war." 30. Confucius remarked, "To allow a people to go to battle without first instructing them, is to betray them." CHAPTER XIV. 1. A disciple of Confucius enquired what constituted dishonour. Confucius answered, "When there is justice and order in the government of the country, to think only of pay is dishonourable. When there is no justice and order in the government of the country, to think only of pay is also dishonourable." 2. The same disciple went on to ask, saying: "A man with whom ambition, vanity, envy and selfishness have ceased to act as motives,-may he be considered a moral character?" "What you suggest," answered Confucius, "may be considered as something difficult to achieve; but I cannot say that it constitutes a moral character." 3. Confucius remarked, "A gentleman who only thinks of the comforts of life, cannot be a true gentleman." 4. Confucius remarked, "When there is justice and order in the government of the country a man may be bold and lofty in the expression of his opinions as well as in his actions. When, however, there is no justice and order in the government of the country, a man may be bold and lofty in his action, but he should be reserved in the expression of his opinions." 5. Confucius remarked, "A man who possesses moral worth will always have something to say worth listening to; but a man who has something to say is not necessarily a man of moral worth. A moral character always has courage; but a man of courage is not necessarily a moral character. 6. A disciple of Confucius on one occasion remarked in his presence: "There was a famous man in ancient time who was an excellent marksman in archery, and there was another man famous for his feats of strength: both of these men eventually came to an unnatural end. On the other hand, there were also in ancient time two men who worked in the fields and toiled as husbandmen: both these latter finally came to the government of the Empire." Confucius at the time did not say anything in reply. But when the disciple had left, Confucius said: "What a really wise and good man he is! How much he honours moral worth in what he has said!" 7. Confucius remarked, "There are wise men who are not moral characters; but a fool is never a moral character." |