Was he a good man? Not truly good; for he did not love God; neither did
he act right: for he was very unkind to his wife, and quite cast her off.
Yet he used to talk of going to other countries to teach the people. It
would have been a happy thing for him, if he had gone as far as Babylon;
for a truly wise man lived there, even Daniel the prophet. From him he
might have learned about the promised Saviour, and life everlasting. But
Confucius never left China.

He was ill-treated by many of the rich and great, and he was so poor that
rice was generally his only food. When he was dying he felt very unhappy,
as well he might, when he knew not where he was going. He said to his
followers just before his death, "The kings refuse to follow my advice;
and since I am of no use on earth, it is best that I should leave it." As
soon as he was dead, people began to respect him highly, and even to
worship him. At this day, though Confucius died more than two thousand
years ago, there is a temple to his honor in every large city, and
numbers of beasts are offered up to him in sacrifice. There are thousands
of people descended from him, and they are treated with great honor as
the children of Confucius, and one of them is called kong or duke.

There is another religion in China besides the religion of Confucius, and
a much worse religion. About the same time that Confucius lived, there
was a man called La-on-tzee. He was a great deceiver, as you will see. He
pretended that he could make people completely happy. There were three
things he said he would do for them: first, he would make them rich by
turning stone into gold; next, he would prevent their being hurt by
swords or by fire through charms he could give them; and, last of all,
he could save them from death by a drink he knew how to prepare.