The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1896-02-01
Coufucian Philosophy.


0rd6; she Ming, or, BOOK OF fOetryi IL |
King, or, Book of Changes; Hsiao King.
or Classic of Filial Piety; Lun Yu, ,uh Yu;
or Confucian Analeets; Tia Hioh, or, Great
Learning, &c.
(The present-day favor of these ethical
effusions of Confucius, his disciple, Mencius
and Others, is not the least portion of their
interest. In view of their great antiquity,
Confucius having died 478 B. c., and
Mencius 297 B. c., their fitness to our
own moral conditions and agreement with
our own moral deductions, become very
remarkable. Ed.
Seek not every quality in one individual.
Alas Four horses cannot Overtake the
tongue.
Seeing an opportunity to make money,
one should think Of righteousness.
You will tread the path of satisfaction
only by being daily diligent.
A gem is not polished without rubbing,
nor man perfected without trials.
If what we see is doubtful, how can we
believe what is spoken behind the back ?
Be tremblingly fearful, be careful night
duO udJ hOu u AP hoe oh AnOheo9J
they trip on ant hills
If Prince acknowledge and follow your
counsels, be perfectly satisfied. If no one
do so, be the same.
Beneyolence is the distinguishing char
acteristic of man. As embodied in mans
conduct it is called the path of duty.
The mind of the superior man is con-
versant with righteousness; the mind of
the mean man is conversant with gain.
If one has mind to beat stone, the
stone will have hole in it; peIsevering
industry overcomes obstacles.
Men who are possessed of intelligent
virtue and prudence in affairs will gener
ally be found to have been in sickness and
trouble
That whereby man differs from the
lower animals is but small The mass Of
people cast it away, while superior men
preserve it.
The superior man speaks, having thought
whether his words should be spoken; he
acts, having thought whether his actions
are sure to give pleasure.
The indulged consciousness of goodness
is the way to lose that goodness. Boast
ing of ability is the way to lose the merit
it might produce.
Early and late never be but earnest. If
you do not attend zealously to your small
actions, the result will be to effect your
virtue in great matters.
In all things be mild and correct; flaw
in mace of white jade may be ground
away, but for flaw in speech nothing can
be DONE
A bad year cannot prove the cause of
death to him whose stores of grain are
large. An age of corruption cannot con-
found him whose equipment of virtue is
complete.
Words which are simple, while their
meaning is far-reaching, are good words.
The words of the superior man are not
necessarily high sounding, but great prin-
ciples are contained in them.
For one word man is often deemed to
be wise, and for one word he is often
deemed to be foolish. We ought to be
careful indeed in what we say
The superior man does not even for the
space of single meal act contrary to vir-
tue. In moments of haste he cleaves to
it. In seasons Of danger he cleaves to it.
In archery we have something like the
way of the superior man. When the
archer misses the centre of the target he
tmns round and seeks for the cause of his
failure in himself.
Virtue is more to man than either fire
or water. Ihave seen men die from tread
ing on water OF fire, but have never seen
man die from treading the course of
virtue.
The path of duty lies in what is near,
and men seek for it in what is remote
The work of duty lies in what is easy,
and men seek for it in what is difficult.
The disease of men is this-that they
neglect their own fields and go to weed the
fields of others, and what they require
from others is great, while what they lay
upon themselves is light.
He who finds instructors for himself
comes to the supreme dominion; he who
says that others are not equal to himself
comes to ruin. He who likes to ask be-
comes enlarged; he who uses only himself
becomes small
The virtuous will be sure to speak cor
rectly but those whose speech is good may
not always be virtuous Men of principle
are sure to be bold, but those who are
bold may not always be men of principle.
The mind of man is restless-prone to
err; its affinity for the right way is small.
Be discriminating, be undivided, that you
may sincerely hold fast to righteousness.
Do not listen to unsubstantiated words; do
not follow undeliberated plans.
A man should say Il am not con-
cerned that | have no place; | am con-
cerned how | may ft myself for one |
am not concerned that am not known; |
seek to be worthy to be known. :"
IF man is trying to rule Others, and
his government is unsuccessful, let him
turn inward and examine his wisdom. If
he treats Others politely and they do not re-
turn his politeness, let him turn inward
and examine his own feeling of respect.
If on self-examination I find that l am
not upright, shall not be in fear even of
poor man in his loose garments of hair
cloth? IF on self-examination find that
am upright, l will go forward against
thousands and tens of thousands.
When a scholar speaks what he ought
not to speak, by guile of speech seeking to
gain some end, and when he does not
speak what he ought to speak, by guile Of
silence seeking to gain some end, both
these cases are of a piece with breaking
through neighbor' wall.
The superior man has two things in
which he delights, and to be ruler over the
empire is not one of them That his father
and mother are both alive and that the
! condition of his brothers affords no cause
for anxiety, this is one delight; that when
looking up he has no occasion for shame
before heaven, and below he has no occa-
sion to blush before men, this is a second