BOOK IX

His Favorite Disciple's Opinion of Him


Topics on which the Master rarely spoke were--Advantage, and Destiny,
and Duty of man to man.

A man of the village of Tah-hiang exclaimed of him, "A great man is
Confucius!--a man of extensive learning, and yet in nothing has he quite
made himself a name!"

The Master heard of this, and mentioning it to his disciples he said,
"What then shall I take in hand? Shall I become a carriage driver, or an
archer? Let me be a driver!"

"The sacrificial cap," he once said, "should, according to the Rules, be
of linen; but in these days it is of pure silk. However, as it is
economical, I do as all do.

"The Rule says, 'Make your bow when at the lower end of the hall'; but
nowadays the bowing is done at the upper part. This is great freedom;
and I, though I go in opposition to the crowd, bow when at the lower
end."

The Master barred four words:--he would have no "shall's," no "must's,"
no "certainty's," no "I's."