Only in the sovereign's household should
there have been eight lines of them; a ducal family like the Ki should
have had but six lines; a great official had four, and one of lower
grade two. These were the gradations marking the status of families, and
Confucius's sense of propriety was offended at the Ki's usurping in this
way the appearance of royalty.]
[Footnote 6: Three great families related to each other, in whose hands
the government of the State of Lu then was, and of which the Ki was the
chief.]
[Footnote 7: One of the five sacred mountains, worshipped upon only by
the sovereign.]
[Footnote 8: Tsou was Confucius's birthplace; his father was governor of
the town.]
[Footnote 9: A renowned statesman who flourished about two hundred years
before Confucius's time. A philosophical work on law and government,
said to have been written by him, is still extant. He was regarded as a
sage by the people, but he lacked, in Confucius's eyes, the one thing
needful--propriety.]
BOOK IV
Social Virtue--Superior and Inferior Man
Sayings of the Master:--
"It is social good feeling that gives charm to a neighborhood. And where
is the wisdom of those who choose an abode where it does not abide?
"Those who are without it cannot abide long, either in straitened or in
happy circumstances. Those who possess it find contentment in it.
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