“Tsze-lu never slept over a promise. The Master said, ‘In hearing litigations, I am like any other person. What is necessary, however, is to cause the people to have no litigations.’
Tsze-chang asked about government. The Master said, ‘The art of governing is to keep its affairs before the mind without weariness, and to practice them with undeviating consistency.’ The Master said, ‘By extensively studying all learning, and keeping himself under the restraint of the rules of propriety, one may thus likewise not err from what is right.’ The Master said, ‘The superior man seeks to perfect the admirable qualities of men and does not seek to perfect their bad qualities. The mean man does the opposite of this.’
Chi K’ang asked Confucius about government. Confucius replied, ‘To govern means to rectify. If you lead on the people with correctness, who will dare not to be correct?’
Chi K’ang, distressed about the number of thieves in the state, inquired of Confucius how to do away with them. Confucius said, ‘If you, sir, were not covetous, although you should reward them to do it, they would not steal.’
Chi K’ang asked Confucius about government, saying, ‘What do you say to killing the unprincipled for the good of the principled?’ Confucius replied, ‘Sir, in carrying on your government, why should you use killing at all? Let your evinced desires be for what is good, and the people will be good. The relation between superiors and inferiors is like that between the wind and the grass. The grass must bend, when the wind blows across it.’
Tsze-chang asked, ‘What must the officer be, who may be said to be distinguished?’ The Master said, ‘What is it you call being distinguished?’ Tsze-chang replied, ‘It is to be heard of through the state, to be heard of throughout his clan.’ The Master said, ‘That is notoriety, not distinction. Now, the man of distinction is solid and straightforward, and loves righteousness. He examines people’s words and looks at their countenances. He is anxious to humble himself to others. Such a man will be distinguished in the country; he will be distinguished in his clan. As to the man of notoriety, he assumes the appearance of virtue, but his actions are opposed to it, and he rests in this character without any doubts about himself. Such a man will be heard of in the country; he will be heard of in the clan.’ Fan Ch’ih conversed with the Master under the trees about the rain altars, said, ‘I venture to ask how to exalt virtue, to correct cherished evil, and to discover delusions.’ The Master said, ‘Truly a good question! If doing what is to be done be made the first business, and success a secondary consideration, is not this the way to exalt virtue? To assail one’s own wickedness and not assail that of others, is not this the way to correct cherished evil? For a morning’s anger to disregard one’s own life, and involve that of his parents, is not this a case of delusion?’
Fan Ch’ih asked about benevolence. The Master said, ‘It is to love all men.’
He asked about knowledge. The Master said, ‘It is to know all men.’ Fan Ch’ih did not immediately understand these answers. The Master said, ‘Employ the upright and put aside all the crooked. In this way the crooked can be made to be upright.’ Fan Ch’ih retired, and, seeing Tsze-hsia, he said to him, ‘A little while ago, I had an interview with our Master and asked Him about knowledge. He said, “Employ the upright, and put aside all the crooked. In this way, the crooked will be made to be upright.” What did He mean?’ Tsze-hsia said, ‘Truly rich is His saying! Shun, being in possession of the kingdom, selected from among all the people, and employed Kai-yao – on which all who were devoid of virtue disappeared. T’ang, being in possession of the kingdom, selected from among all the people, and employed I Yin and all who were devoid of virtue disappeared.’
Tsze-kung asked about friendship. The Master said, ‘Faithfully admonish your friend, and skillfully lead him on. If you find him impracticable, stop. Do not disgrace yourself.’ The philosopher Tsang said, ‘The superior man on grounds of culture meets with his friends, and by friendship helps his virtue.’”
