"Why so
late?" he asked. "Busy with legislation," Yen replied. "The details of
it," suggested the Master; "had it been legislation, I should have been
there to hear it, even though I am not in office."
Duke Ting asked if there were one sentence which, if acted upon, might
have the effect of making a country prosperous.
Confucius answered, "A sentence could hardly be supposed to do so much
as that. But there is a proverb people use which says, 'To play the
prince is hard, to play the minister not easy.' Assuming that it is
understood that 'to play the prince is hard,' would it not be probable
that with that one sentence the country should be made to prosper?"
"Is there, then," he asked, "one sentence which, if acted upon, would
have the effect of ruining a country?"
Confucius again replied, "A sentence could hardly be supposed to do so
much as that. But there is a proverb men have which says, 'Not gladly
would I play the prince, unless my words were ne'er withstood.' Assuming
that the words were good, and that none withstood them, would not that
also be good? But assuming that they were not good, and yet none
withstood them, would it not be probable that with that one saying he
would work his country's ruin?"
When the Duke of Sheh consulted him about government, he replied, "Where
the near are gratified, the far will follow.
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