The Master said, 'Great indeed was Yao as a
sovereign!
How majestic was he! It is only Heaven that is grand,
and only Yao corresponded to it. How vast was his virtue! The
people could find no name for it.
2. 'How majestic was he in the works which he accomplished!
How glorious in the elegant regulations which he instituted!'
CHAP. XX. 1. Shun had five ministers, and the empire was
well-governed.
2. King Wu said, 'I have ten able ministers.'
3. Confucius said, 'Is not the saying that talents are difficult to
find, true? Only when the dynasties of T'ang and Yu met, were they
more abundant than in this of Chau, yet there was a woman among
them. The able ministers were no more than nine men.
4. 'King Wan possessed two of the three parts of the empire,
and with those he served the dynasty of Yin. The virtue of the
house of Chau may be said to have reached the highest point
indeed.'
CHAP. XXI. The Master said, 'I can find no flaw in the
character of Yu. He used himself coarse food and drink, but
displayed the utmost filial piety towards the spirits. His ordinary
garments were poor, but he displayed the utmost elegance in his
sacrificial cap and apron. He lived in a low mean house, but
expended all his strength on the ditches and water-channels. I can
find nothing like a flaw in Yu.'
BOOK IX.
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