"
"Not to speak to a man." said he, "to whom you ought to speak, is to
lose your man; to speak to one to whom you ought not to speak is to lose
your words. Those who are wise will not lose their man nor yet their
words."
Again, "The scholar whose heart is in his work, and who is
philanthropic, seeks not to gain a livelihood by any means that will do
harm to his philanthropy. There have been men who have destroyed their
own lives in the endeavor to bring that virtue in them to perfection."
Tsz-kung asked how to become philanthropic. The Master answered him
thus: "A workman who wants to do his work well must first sharpen his
tools. In whatever land you live, serve under some wise and good man
among those in high office, and make friends with the more humane of its
men of education."
Yen Yuen consulted him on the management of a country. He answered:--
"Go by the Hia Calendar. Have the State carriages like those of the Yin
princes. Wear the Chow cap. For your music let that of Shun be used for
the posturers. Put away the songs of Ch'ing, and remove far from you men
of artful speech: the Ch'ing songs are immodest, and artful talkers are
dangerous."
Other sayings of the Master:--
"They who care not for the morrow will the sooner have their sorrow.
"Ah, 'tis hopeless! I have not yet met with the man who loves Virtue as
he loves Beauty.
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