THE LIFE AND TIMES OF LAO TAN

From these words we see that Lao Tzû assigned the anarchy of a country to the teaching of the sages. Further, that the sages were illogical in their method of advancing the art of wisdom and cleverness. That is to say, this method was not radical in reforming and guiding society. The true method of reform is to take the fuel from under the pot—the boiling hell. To explain the foregoing. The first two sentences mean that the sage, in his use of jen and i, was not consistent with the Great Way. His use of wisdom and cleverness made it easy for counterfeits to appear. The last two sentences show that the stress on filial piety, by the sage, led to the loss of other human relations: and the high value placed on loyalty of minister, sacrificed the interests of the country leading to anarchy and confusion. Lao Tzû, in the passages quoted, wholly opposed the doctrines of the Confucian sage, and said they should be abolished. Then Society would benefit. For, as long as they existed, progress was impossible. The contrast in the result of the one and the other is marked and great. The p. xvi artificial creation of moralities invariably leads to the desire to possess: the possessive element appears strongly. But the natural morality has a creative impulse. It enriches the nature, and therefore there is a constant advance in life and freedom. The artificial morality tends to enslave men and bind them down in the bonds of traditionalism. Work depends on the spiritual and not on the material. In the spiritual sphere, there is always the giving and the receiving. One does not exist without the other. "He that hath shall have more: he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath.'