The Master addressing Tzǔ Kung said: Which of the two is the better man, you or Hui?—Tzǔ Kung replied: How can I venture to compare myself with Hui? Hui hears one point and promptly masters the whole. I hear one point and am only able to feel my way to a second.—The Master agreed: No, you are not equal to Hui; neither of us two[1] is equal to Hui.
Tsai Yü used to sleep during the day. The Master said: Rotten wood cannot be carved, walls made of dirt and mud cannot be plastered:—what is the good of reprimanding Yü? At first, he continued, my way of dealing with others was to listen to their words and to take their actions upon trust. Now, my way is to listen to what they say and then to watch what they do. This change in me is owing to Yü.
The Master said: I have never yet met a really strong character.—Some one suggested Shên Ch'êng.—The Master said: Ch'êng is a slave to his passions. How can he possess strength of character?
Tzǔ Kung said: I am anxious to avoid doing
- ↑ It is passing strange that the clumsy "I grant you" for wu yü ju (I and you) should have found favour with translators. Wade even goes one better, by translating: "I award you this praise, Hui does not equal you"!
and not to be gauged offhand from the presence or absence of certain superficial signs.
