The Master said: My teaching makes no head-way. How and if I were to board a raft and float away over the sea? My friend Yu would come with me, I feel sure.—Tzŭ Lu, hearing this, was glad. The Master continued: Yu surpasses me in his love of daring, but he lacks discretion and judgment.
Mêng Wu Po asked whether Tzŭ Lu had true moral virtue. The Master replied: I do not know.—- Asked a second time, the Master said: Yu might be trusted to organise the military levies of a large and powerful State, but whether he is possessed of true virtue I cannot say.—And what is your opinion with regard to Ch‘iu?—The Master said: Ch‘iu might be entrusted with the government of a district numbering a thousand households or a hundred war-chariots, but whether he has true virtue I cannot say.—And Ch‘ih, what of him?—The Master said: Ch‘ih might be employed to stand in his official dress at a royal levee and converse with the visitors and guests; whether he has true virtue I cannot say.[2]
The Master addressing Tzŭ Kung said: Which of the two is the better man, you or Hui?—Tzŭ Kung replied: How can I venture to compare myself with Hui? Hui hears one point and promptly masters the whole. I hear one point and am only able to feel my way to a second.—The Master agreed: No, you are not equal to Hui; neither of us two[3] is equal to Hui.
Tsai Yü used to sleep during the day. The Master said: Rotten wood cannot be carved, walls made of dirt and mud cannot be plastered: —what is the good of reprimanding Yü? At first, he continued, my way of dealing with others was to listen to their words and to take their actions upon trust. Now, my way is to listen to what they say and then to watch what they do. This change in me is owing to Yü.
The Master said: I have never yet met a really strong character.—Some one suggested Shên Ch‘êng.—The Master said: Ch‘êng is a slave to his passions. How can he possess strength of character?
Tzŭ Kung said: I am anxious to avoid doing to others that which I would not have them do to me. The Master said: Tz‘ŭ, you have not got as far as that.
The Master said of Tzŭ Ch‘an[4] that he had four of the qualities of the princely man:—in his personal demeanour he was grave, in serving those above him he was attentive, in his care for the people he was kind, in his ordering of the people he was just.
The Master said: Yen P'ing[5] knows the art of associating with his friends: however old the acquaintance may be, he always treats them with the same respect.
Ning Wu Tzŭ's[6] behaviour was wise so long as his country was well governed; when revolution came, his behaviour was stupid. His wisdom may be equalled by others, but his stupidity is beyond all imitation.