- If I Were
Intrusted With The Government Of It, In Three Years' Time I Could
Make The People To Be Bold, And To Recognise The Rules Of Righteous
Conduct.' The Master Smiled At Him.
5.
Turning to Yen Yu, he said, 'Ch'iu, what are your wishes?'
Ch'iu replied, 'Suppose a state of sixty or seventy li square, or one
of fifty or sixty, and let me have the government of it; - in three
years' time, I could make plenty to abound among the people.
As to
teaching them the principles of propriety, and music, I must wait
for the rise of a superior man to do that.'
6. 'What are your wishes, Ch'ih,' said the Master next to Kung-
hsi Hwa. Ch'ih replied, 'I do not say that my ability extends to these
things, but I should wish to learn them. At the services of the
ancestral temple, and at the audiences of the princes with the
sovereign, I should like, dressed in the dark square-made robe and
the black linen cap, to act as a small assistant.'
7. Last of all, the Master asked Tsang Hsi, 'Tien, what are your
wishes?' Tien, pausing as he was playing on his lute, while it was
yet twanging, laid the instrument aside, and rose. 'My wishes,' he
said, 'are different from the cherished purposes of these three
gentlemen.' 'What harm is there in that?' said the Master; 'do you
also, as well as they, speak out your wishes.' Tien then said, 'In this,
the last month of spring, with the dress of the season all complete,
along with five or six young men who have assumed the cap, and
six or seven boys, I would wash in the I, enjoy the breeze among
the rain altars, and return home singing.' The Master heaved a sigh
and said, 'I give my approval to Tien.'
8. The three others having gone out, Tsang Hsi remained
behind, and said, 'What do you think of the words of these three
friends?' The Master replied, 'They simply told each one his wishes.'
9. Hsi pursued, 'Master, why did you smile at Yu?'
10. He was answered, 'The management of a State demands
the rules of propriety. His words were not humble; therefore I
smiled at him.'
11. Hsi again said, 'But was it not a State which Ch'iu proposed
for himself?' The reply was, 'Yes; did you ever see a territory of
sixty or seventy li or one of fifty or sixty, which was not a State?'
12. Once more, Hsi inquired, 'And was it not a State which
Ch'ih proposed for himself?' The Master again replied, 'Yes; who but
princes have to do with ancestral temples, and with audiences but
the sovereign? If Ch'ih were to be a small assistant in these
services, who could be a great one?
BOOK XII. YEN YUAN.
CHAP. I. 1.
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