"
"In the 'Book of the Odes,'" Tsz-kung went on to say, "we read of one
Polished, as by the knife and file,
The graving-tool, the smoothing-stone.
Does that coincide with your remark?"
"Ah! such as you," replied the Master, "may well commence a discussion
on the Odes. If one tell you how a thing goes, you know what ought to
come."
"It does not greatly concern me," said the Master, "that men do not know
me; my great concern is, my not knowing them."
[Footnote 1: An important part of a Chinaman's education still. The
text-book, "The Li Ki," contains rules for behavior and propriety for
the whole life, from the cradle to the grave.]
BOOK II
Good Government--Filial Piety--The Superior Man
Sayings of the Master:--
"Let a ruler base his government upon virtuous principles, and he will
be like the pole-star, which remains steadfast in its place, while all
the host of stars turn towards it.
"The 'Book of Odes' contains three hundred pieces, but one expression in
it may be taken as covering the purport of all, viz., Unswerving
mindfulness.
"To govern simply by statute, and to reduce all to order by means of
pains and penalties, is to render the people evasive, and devoid of any
sense of shame.
"To govern upon principles of virtue, and to reduce them to order by the
Rules of Propriety, would not only create in them the sense of shame,
but would moreover reach them in all their errors.
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