The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1886-08-19
Something or COnfucins.

His discrimination of character is
amply illustrated in the many wise and
witty sayings which lie has bequeathed
to us on the subject, few of which we
have grouped together, as combining
his ideal of how man should behave III
different positions of life. Thus he tells
us how "a poor man who does not fiat
ter, and u rich man who is not proud,
are passable characters; but they are
not equal to the poor who vet are
cheerful. and the rich who yet love the
rules of propriety." "A good man in
his conduct of himself is humble, in
serving his superiors he is respectful,
in nourishing the people he is kind, in
ordering the people he is just" Again,
a man SIS to think of virtue, not COM
fort; of the sanctions of law, not of
qualification. And what the superior
man seeks is in himself; what the small
man thinks is in others" He was
firmly convinced of it's being more or
less in the power of every man TO ac
quire knowledge and thereby wisdom.
Hence, as DIR. Legge tells us in his
Life of Confucius" 1S67, p. 60), "his
house became resort for young and
inquiring spirits who wished to learn the
doctrines of antiquity. However small
the fee his pupils were able to afford,
he never refused his instructions. All
that he required was an ardent desire
for improvement and some degree of
capacity" Thus, to quote his own
words, Il do not open up truths to one
who Is not eager to get knowledge, nor
keep out one who is anxious to ex-
plain himself" BY stimulating youth
to study, he endeavored TO create an
instructed public opinion which should
display an admiration for truth and
goodness. That the same love of truth
pervaded all his sentiments is exempli-
fed by a remark he one day made:
"Shall I teach you what knowledge
is ?" said he. when you know thing,
to hold that you know it, and when you
do not know thing, to allow that YOU
do not know it; this is knowledge"
His definition of hypocrites reminds US
of their comparison to whited sepul
cheers in the New Testament namely
There may be fair words and hum
BILE countenance when there is little
virtue" But lastly, it has often been
urged that Confucius, in spite of his
NlSuOlu ana LuO lOIIlueSS VI ILLS IedCu-
ing, had nothing to say about sod or a
future life. He preferred, however to
speak of heaven as In the following in
stance: "He who offends against heaven
has none to whom he can pray" and
Alas" said he, there is no one that
knows me-" But his friend replied,
What do you mean by thus saying
that no oae knows you?" He an
swered, Il do not murmur against heav-
en-. l do not grumble against men.
But there is heaven that knows me-"
Indeed it has been truly said that he
was unreligious rather than irreligious.
And if he mad not a knowledge of
divine ruler it was his misfortune, and
arose from no desire to disparage re-
ligious belief of any kind. In short,
as Mr.. Clodd remarks, his emitting TO
speak about God was not because he
was an unbeliever-for he, of all men,
had reverence for the sacred, unknown
power that underlies all things-but
because his nature was so beautifully
simple and sincere that he would not
pretend to knowledge of that which he
felt was beyond human reach and
thought" But nevertheless, one can
not but regret that his teaching was
not more distinctive in this respect,
especially as it was destined to be such
mighty power in molding the Chinese
character for untold generations.
/i1jIo1.