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INDIVIDUAL VIRTUE
rule of conduct,[1] and will thus avoid overstepping the limit.
That virtue is perfect which adheres to a constant mean. It has long been rare amongst men.
Tzǔ Kung asked: What would you say of the man who conferred benefits far and wide on the people and was able to be the salvation of all? Would you pronounce him a man of moral virtue?—Of moral virtue? said the Master. Nay, rather, of divine virtue.[2] Even Yao and Shun were still striving to attain this height.
The man of moral virtue, wishing to stand firm himself, will lend firmness unto others; wishing
- ↑ As may be inferred from its composition, the character li originally had sole reference to religious rites, whence however it came to be applied to every sort of ceremonial, including the ordinary rules of politeness, the etiquette of society, the conduct befitting all stations of life, and moreover to the state of mind of which such conduct is the outcome. This state of mind is one of equably adjusted harmony and self-restraint, and it is in this sense of an inward principle of proportion and self-control that the word is frequently used in the Analects. Why such a vile phrase as "the rules of propriety" was ever coined to express this subtle conception, and retained in every context, however inappropriate, must remain an insoluble mystery. Is it surprising that one of the greatest of world-teachers should still be waiting to come into his full heritage, when his sayings are made to suggest nothing so much as the headmistress of a young ladies' seminary?
- ↑ It is interesting to observe that Confucius allows a grade of heroic and almost divine virtue even above that which constitutes complete goodness for all practical purposes, just as Aristotle places his θεῖός τις ἀνήρ above the σώφρων.
