Then said the Master, "Without Propriety use not your eyes; without it use not your ears, nor your tongue, nor a limb of your body."
"I may be lacking in diligence," said Yen Yuen, "but with your favor I will endeavor to carry out this advice."
Chung-kung asked about man's proper regard for his fellows.
To him the Master replied thus: "When you go forth from your door, be as if you were meeting some guest of importance. When you are making use of the common people (for State purposes), be as if you were taking part in a great religious function. Do not set before others what you do not desire yourself. Let there be no resentful feelings against you when you are away in the country, and none when at home."
"I may lack diligence," said Chung-kung, "but with your favor I will endeavor to carry out this advice."
Sz-ma Niu asked the like question. The answer he received was this: "The words of the man who has a proper regard for his fellows are uttered with difficulty."
"'His words—uttered with difficulty?'" he echoed, in surprise. "Is that what is meant by proper regard for one's fellow-creatures?"
"Where there is difficulty in doing," the Master replied, "will there not be some difficulty in utterance?"
The same disciple put a question about the "superior man." "Superior men," he replied, "are free from trouble and apprehension."
"'Free from trouble and apprehension!'" said he. "Does that make them 'superior men'?"