the man who is not virtuous, when you carry your dislike of him to an extreme." The Master said, "Though a man have abilities as admirable as those of the Duke of Chau, yet if he be proud and niggardly, those other things are really not worth being looked at." The Master said, "It is not easy to find a man who has learned for three years without coming to be good." The Master said, "With sincere faith he unites the love of learning; holding firm to death, he is perfecting the excellence of his course. "Such an one will not enter a tottering state, nor dwell in a disorganized one. When right principles of government prevail in the kingdom, he will show himself; when they are prostrated, he will keep concealed. "When a country is well governed, poverty and a mean condition are things to be ashamed of. When a country is ill governed, riches and honor are things to be ashamed of." The Master said, "He who is not in any particular office has nothing to do with plans for the administration of its duties." The Master said, "When the music master Chih first entered on his office, the finish of the Kwan Tsu was magnificent;-how it filled the ears!" The Master said, "Ardent and yet not upright, stupid and yet not attentive; simple and yet not sincere:-such persons I do not understand." The Master said, "Learn as if you could not reach your object, and were always fearing also lest you should lose it."
Source: Internet Sacred Text Archive, file cfu/conf1.htm.
← Previous passage · Next passage →
Ask a question