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Adventures in Philosophy |
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by Tzu Ssu
Chung-ni [Confucius] said, "The man of true breeding is the mean in action. The man of no breeding is the reverse. The relation of the man of true breeding to the mean in action is that, being a man of true breeding, he consistently holds to the Mean. The reverse relationship of the man of no breeding is that, being what he is, he has no sense of moral caution." The Master said, "Perfect is the mean in action, and for along time now very few people have had the capacity for it." The Master said, "I know why the Way is not pursued. (It is because) the learned run to excess and the ignorant fall short. I know why the Way is not understood. The good run to excess and the bad fall short...." The Master said, "Alas, this failure to pursue the Way!" The Master said, "Consider Shun, the man of great wisdom. He loved to ask advice and to examine plain speech. He never referred to what was evil, and publicly praised what was good. By grasping these two extremes he put into effect the Mean among his people. In this way he was Shun [i.e. a sage-emperor], was he not?" The Master said, "All men say 'I know,' but they are driven into nets, caught in traps, fall into pitfalls, and not one knows how to avoid this. All men say 'I know,' but, should they choose the mean in action, they could not persist in it for a round month." The Master said, "Hui, a real man! He chose the mean in action, and , if he succeeded in one element of good, he grasped it firmly cherished it in his bosom, and never let it go." The Master said, "The states and families of the Great Society might have equal divisions of land: men might refuse noble station and the wealth that goes with it: they might trample the naked sword under foot; but the mean in action, it is impossible for them to achieve that." Tzu Lu inquired about strong men, and the Master said, "It is strong men of the southern kind, or strong men of the northern kind, or, maybe, making yourself strong (that you have in mind)? The (typical) strong man of the south is magnanimous and gentle in instructing people, and he takes no revenge for being treated vilely: it is the habit of a man of true breeding to be like this. The (typical) strong man of the north lives under arms and dies without a murmur: it is the habit of a man of true force to be like this. Hence the man of true breeding, how steadfast he is in his strength, having a spirit of concord and not giving way to pressure. He takes up a central position, and does not waver one way or another. How steadfast his strength, for, when there is good government, he does not change his original principles, and, when there is vile government, he does not change, even though his life be at stake." The Way of the enlightened man is widely apparent and yet hidden. Thus the ordinary man and woman, ignorant though they are, can yet have some knowledge of it; and yet in its perfection even a sage finds that there is something there which he doles not know. Take the vast size of heaven and earth; men can still find room for criticism of it. Hence, when the enlightened man speaks of supreme bigness, it cannot be contained within the world of our experience; not, when he speaks of supreme smallness, can it be split up in the world of our experience into nothing. As is said in the Odes: "The hawk beats its way up to the height of heaven, the fish dives down into the abyss." That refers to things being examined from above and from below. Thus the Way of the enlightened man, its early shoots coming into existence in the ordinary man and woman, but in its ultimate extent to be examined in the light of heaven and earth. The master said, "The Way is not far removed from men. If a man pursues a way which removes him from men, he cannot be in the Way. In the Odes there is a word, 'When hewing an axe handle, hew an axe handle. The pattern of it is close at hand.' You grasp an axe handle to hew an axe handle, although, when you look from the one to the other [i.e. from the axe in your hand to the block of wood], they are very different." Therefore the right kind of ruler uses men to control men and attempts nothing beyond their correction; and fidelity and mutual service (these two human qualities) cannot be outside the scope of the Way. The treatment which you do not life for yourself you must not hand out to others.... The acts of the enlightened man agree with the station in life in which he finds himself, and he is not concerned with matters outside that station. If he is a man of wealth and high position, he acts as such. If he is a poor man and low in the social scale, he acts accordingly. So also if he is among barbarians, or if he meets trouble. In fact, there is no situation into which he comes in which he is not himself. In a high station he does not disdain those beneath him. In a low station he does not cling round those above him. He puts himself in the right and seeks no favors. Thus he is free from ill will, having no resentment against either Heaven or men. He preserves an easy mind, as he awaits the will of Heaven: (in contrast to) the man who is not true, who walks in perilous paths and hopes for good luck. The Way of the enlightened man is like a long journey, since it must begin with the near at hand. It is like the ascent of a high mountain, since it must begin with the low ground. As is said in the Odes:
The Master said, "How greatly parents are served in this!" He also said, "How irrepressible is the spiritual power in the spirits of the great dead! Look for them, and they are not to be seen. Listen for them, and they are not to be heard. They are in things, and there is nothing without them. They stir all the people in the Great Society to fast and purify themselves and wear their ritual robes, in order that they may sacrifice to them. They fill the air, as if above, as if on the left, as if on the right. The Odes has it, "The coming of the Spirits! Incalculable! And yet they cannot be disregarded'" Even so is the manifestation of the imperceptible and the impossibility of hiding the real.
Excerpted from Chinese Philosophy in Classical Times. |
A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy
Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy
The Great Thoughts of China: 3,000 Years of Wisdom That Shaped a Civilization
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