Men's natures are alike; it is their habits that carry them far apart.
Only two classes of men never change: the wisest of the wise and the dullest of the dull.
Speaking to Tzŭ Lu, the Master said: Have you ever heard, Yu, of the six shadows which attend six several virtues?—No, he replied.—Sit down, then, and I will tell you. Love of goodness without the will to learn[24] casts the shadow called foolishness. Love of knowledge without the will to learn casts the shadow called instability. Love of truth without the will to learn casts the shadow called insensibility. Love of candour without the will to learn casts the shadow called rudeness. Love of daring without the will to learn casts the shadow called turbulence. Love of firmness without the will to learn casts the shadow called eccentricity.
Ceremonies, forsooth! Can ceremonies be reduced to a mere matter of silken robes and jade ornaments? Music, forsooth! Can music be reduced to a mere matter of bells and drums?[25] Men who are grave and stern in appearance, but inwardly weak and unprincipled—are they not comparable to the lowest class of humanity—sneaking thieves that break into houses by night?
Your goody-goody people are the thieves of virtue.
The Master said: Would that I could do without speaking!—Tzŭ Kung said: If our Master never spoke, how could we, his disciples, transmit his doctrines?—The Master replied: Does God speak? The four seasons hold on their course, and all things continue to live and grow. Yet, tell me, does God speak?
Girls and servants are the most difficult people to handle. If you treat them familiarly, they become disrespectful; if you keep them at a distance, they resent it.
[1] The rather inappropriate name given by foreigners to the songs or ballads contained in the Shih Ching or Book of Poetry (see [note] on [p. 78]). Confucius is said to have selected these three hundred odd pieces from a much larger pre-existing mass of material, but his language here hardly strikes us as that likely to be used by a man speaking of his own compilation.
[2] That is to say, he is not limited in his functions like a vessel or implement, not "borné" or a man of one idea. Cf. note on p. 71.