9. Tsai Yü[44] slept in the daytime.
The Master said, Rotten wood cannot be carved, nor are dung walls plastered. Why chide with Yü?
The Master said, When I first met men I listened to their words and took their deeds on trust. When I meet them now, I listen to their words and watch their deeds. I righted this on Yü.
10. The Master said, I have met no firm man.
One answered, Shen Ch'ang.
The Master said, Ch'ang is passionate; how can he be firm?
11. Tzu-kung said, What I do not wish done to me, I likewise wish not to do to others.
The Master said, That is still beyond thee, Tz'u.
12. Tzu-kung said, To hear the Master on his art and precepts is granted us; but to hear him on man's nature and the Way of Heaven is not.
13. Until Tzu-lu could do what he had heard, his only fear was to hear more.