Confucian Canon 241-270

241
There were four things which the Master taught,-letters, ethics, devotion of soul, and truthfulness.
242
The Master said, "A sage it is not mine to see; could I see a man of real talent and virtue, that would satisfy me."
243
The Master said, "A good man it is not mine to see; could I see a man possessed of constancy, that would satisfy me.
244
"Having not and yet affecting to have, empty and yet affecting to be full, straitened and yet affecting to be at ease:-it is
difficult with such characteristics to have constancy."
245
The Master angled,-but did not use a net. He shot,-but not at birds perching.
246
The Master said, "There may be those who act without knowing why. I do not do so. Hearing much and selecting
what is good and following it; seeing much and keeping it in memory: this is the second style of knowledge."
Confucian Analects : texts 206 - 246
Confucian Analects : texts 247 - 287
247
It was difficult to talk profitably and reputably with the people of Hu-hsiang, and a lad of that place having had an
interview with the Master, the disciples doubted.
248
The Master said, "I admit people's approach to me without committing myself as to what they may do when they have
retired. Why must one be so severe? If a man purify himself to wait upon me, I receive him so purified, without
guaranteeing his past conduct."
249
The Master said, "Is virtue a thing remote? I wish to be virtuous, and lo! virtue is at hand."
250
The minister of crime of Ch'an asked whether the duke Chao knew propriety, and Confucius said, "He knew
propriety."
251
Confucius having retired, the minister bowed to Wu-ma Ch'i to come forward, and said, "I have heard that the
superior man is not a partisan. May the superior man be a partisan also? The prince married a daughter of the house of
WU, of the same surname with himself, and called her,-'The elder Tsze of Wu.' If the prince knew propriety, who
does not know it?"
252
Wu-ma Ch'i reported these remarks, and the Master said, "I am fortunate! If I have any errors, people are sure to
know them."
253
When the Master was in company with a person who was singing, if he sang well, he would make him repeat the song,
while he accompanied it with his own voice.
254
The Master said, "In letters I am perhaps equal to other men, but the character of the superior man, carrying out in his
conduct what he professes, is what I have not yet attained to."
255
The Master said, "The sage and the man of perfect virtue;-how dare I rank myself with them? It may simply be said of
me, that I strive to become such without satiety, and teach others without weariness." Kung-hsi Hwa said, "This is just
what we, the disciples, cannot imitate you in."
256
The Master being very sick, Tsze-lu asked leave to pray for him. He said, "May such a thing be done?" Tsze-lu
replied, "It may. In the Eulogies it is said, 'Prayer has been made for thee to the spirits of the upper and lower worlds.'"
The Master said, "My praying has been for a long time."
257
The Master said, "Extravagance leads to insubordination, and parsimony to meanness. It is better to be mean than to
be insubordinate."
258
The Master said, "The superior man is satisfied and composed; the mean man is always full of distress."
259
The Master was mild, and yet dignified; majestic, and yet not fierce; respectful, and yet easy.
260
The Master said, "T'ai-po may be said to have reached the highest point of virtuous action. Thrice he declined the
kingdom, and the people in ignorance of his motives could not express their approbation of his conduct."
261
The Master said, "Respectfulness, without the rules of propriety, becomes laborious bustle; carefulness, without the
rules of propriety, becomes timidity; boldness, without the rules of propriety, becomes insubordination;
straightforwardness, without the rules of propriety, becomes rudeness.
262
"When those who are in high stations perform well all their duties to their relations, the people are aroused to virtue.
When old friends are not neglected by them, the people are preserved from meanness."
263
The philosopher Tsang being ill, he cared to him the disciples of his school, and said, "Uncover my feet, uncover my
hands. It is said in the Book of Poetry, 'We should be apprehensive and cautious, as if on the brink of a deep gulf, as if
treading on thin ice, I and so have I been. Now and hereafter, I know my escape from all injury to my person. O ye,
my little children."
264
The philosopher Tsang being ill, Meng Chang went to ask how he was.
265
Tsang said to him, "When a bird is about to die, its notes are mournful; when a man is about to die, his words are
good.
266
"There are three principles of conduct which the man of high rank should consider specially important:-that in his
deportment and manner he keep from violence and heedlessness; that in regulating his countenance he keep near to
sincerity; and that in his words and tones he keep far from lowness and impropriety. As to such matters as attending to
the sacrificial vessels, there are the proper officers for them."
267
The philosopher Tsang said, "Gifted with ability, and yet putting questions to those who were not so; possessed of
much, and yet putting questions to those possessed of little; having, as though he had not; full, and yet counting himself
as empty; offended against, and yet entering into no altercation; formerly I had a friend who pursued this style of
conduct."
268
The philosopher Tsang said, "Suppose that there is an individual who can be entrusted with the charge of a young
orphan prince, and can be commissioned with authority over a state of a hundred li, and whom no emergency however
great can drive from his principles:-is such a man a superior man? He is a superior man indeed."
269
The philosopher Tsang said, "The officer may not be without breadth of mind and vigorous endurance. His burden is
heavy and his course is long.
270
"Perfect virtue is the burden which he considers it is his to sustain;-is it not heavy? Only with death does his course
stop;-is it not long?