"
Speaking of the disorder of the times he remarked that while the
barbarians on the North and East had their Chieftains, we here in this
great country had nothing to compare with them in that respect:--we had
lost these distinctions!
Alluding to the matter of the Chief of the Ki family worshipping on
Tai-shan, [7] the Master said to Yen Yu, "Cannot you save him from this?"
He replied, "It is beyond my power." "Alas, alas!" exclaimed the Master,
"are we to say that the spirits of T'ai-shan have not as much
discernment as Lin Fang?"
Of "the superior man," the Master observed, "In him there is no
contentiousness. Say even that he does certainly contend with others, as
in archery competitions; yet mark, in that case, how courteously he will
bow and go up for the forfeit-cup, and come down again and give it to
his competitor. In his very contest he is still the superior man."
Tsz-hia once inquired what inference might be drawn from the lines--
"Dimples playing in witching smile,
Beautiful eyes, so dark, so bright!
Oh, and her face may be thought the while
Colored by art, red rose on white!"
"Coloring," replied the Master, "requires a pure and clear background."
"Then," said the other, "rules of ceremony require to have a
background!" "Ah!" exclaimed the Master, "you are the man to catch the
drift of my thought.
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