"It may be possible to seize and carry off the chief commander of a
large army, but not possible so to rob one poor fellow of his will.
"One who stands--clad in hempen robe, the worse for wear--among others
clad in furs of fox and badger, and yet unabashed--'tis Tsz-lu, that, is
it not?"
Tsz-lu used always to be humming over the lines--
"From envy and enmity free,
What deed doth he other than good?"
"How should such a rule of life," asked the Master, "be sufficient to
make any one good?"
"When the year grows chilly, we know the pine and cypress are the last
to fade.
"The wise escape doubt; the good-hearted, trouble; the bold,
apprehension.
"Some may study side by side, and yet be asunder when they
come to the logic of things. Some may go on together in this
latter course, but be wide apart in the standards they reach in
it. Some, again, may together reach the same standard, and
yet be diverse in weight of character."
"The blossom is out on the cherry tree,
With a flutter on every spray.
Dost think that my thoughts go not out to thee?
Ah, why art thou far away!"
Commenting on these lines the Master said, "There can hardly have been
much 'thought going out,' What does distance signify?"
[Footnote 21: "Wan" was the honorary appellation of the great sage and
ruler, whose praise is in the "Shi-King" as one of the founders of the
Chow dynasty, and the term represented civic talent and virtues, as
distinct from Wu, the martial talent--the latter being the honorary
title of his son and successor.
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