Page:Brinkley - China - Volume 3.djvu/91
PROPAGANDA AND RELIGIONS
tain the sayings and discourses of Confucius and his disciples, set down without any attempt to arrange or collate. Piecing together some of the principal among these fragmentary utterances, the following results are obtained:—
GENERAL PRINCIPLES
It is indeed a pleasure to acquire knowledge, and, as you go on acquiring, to put into practice what you have acquired. A greater pleasure still is when friends of congenial mind come from afar to seek you because of your attainments. But he is truly a wise and good man who feels no discomposure even when he is not noticed of men.
A man who is a good son and a good citizen will seldom be found disposed to quarrel with those in authority over him; and men who are not disposed to quarrel with those in authority will never be found to disturb the peace and order of the State.
When you have bad habits do not hesitate to change them.
A wise and good man should never seek to indulge his appetite in matters of food; should not be too solicitous of comfort in lodging; should be diligent in business and careful in speech; should seek the company of men of virtue and learning in order to profit by their lessons and example.
It is good to be poor and yet not servile, to be rich and yet not proud; but better still is it to be poor yet contented, to be rich and yet know how to be courteous.
It is the moral life of a neighbourhood that constitutes its excellence. He is not an intelligent man who, in choosing his residence, does not select a place with a moral surrounding.
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