Sacred Books of the East Vol. 40 - Taoism Vol. 2

{fn. 1. A clause of uncertain meaning.} {p. 34} Confucius said, 'Excellent;' and thereupon he took leave of his associates, forsook his disciples, retired to the neighbourhood of a great marsh, wore skins and hair cloth, and ate acorns and chestnuts. He went among animals without causing any confusion among their herds, and among birds without troubling their movements. Birds and beasts did not dislike him; how much less would men do so! 5. Confucius asked Dze-sang Hû{fr. 1}, saying, 'I was twice driven from Lû; the tree was felled over me in Sung; I was obliged to disappear from Wei; I was reduced to extreme distress in Shang and Kâu{fr. 2}; and I was kept in a state of siege between Khän and Zhâi. I have encountered these various calamities; my intimate associates are removed from me more and more; my followers and friends are more and more dispersed;--why have all these things befallen me?' Dze-sang Hû replied, 'Have you not heard of the flight of Lin Hui of Kiâ{fr. 3};--how he abandoned his round jade symbol of rank, worth a thousand pieces of silver, and hurried away with his infant son on his back? If it be asked, "Was it because of the market value of the child?" But that value was small (compared with the value of the jade token). If it be asked again, "Was it because of the troubles {fn. 1. Supposed to have been a recluse.} {fn. 2. I do not know the particulars of this distress in Shang and Kâu, or have forgotten them. A still more full recital of the sage's misfortunes occurs in Lieh-dze, VII, 8a.}