Once he made the remark, "The governments of Lu and of Wei are in brotherhood."
Of King, a son of the Duke of Wei, he observed that "he managed his household matters well. On his coming into possession, he thought, 'What a strange conglomeration!'—Coming to possess a little more, it was, 'Strange, such a result!' And when he became wealthy, 'Strange, such elegance!'"
The Master was on a journey to Wei, and Yen Yu was driving him. "What multitudes of people!" he exclaimed. Yen Yu asked him, "Seeing they are so numerous, what more would you do for them?"
"Enrich them," replied the Master.
"And after enriching them, what more would you do for them?"
"Instruct them."
"Were any one of our princes to employ me," he said, "after a twelvemonth I might have made some tolerable progress;"
Again, "How true is that saying, 'Let good men have the management of a country for a century, and they would be adequate to cope with evil-doers, and thus do away with capital punishments,'"
Again, "Suppose the ruler to possess true kingly qualities, then surely after one generation there would be good-will among men."
Again, "Let a ruler but see to his own rectitude, and what trouble will he then have in the work before him? If he be unable to rectify himself, how is he to rectify others?"