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6 | <title>The Wisdom of the Ancients</title> | |
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17 | <body> | |
18 | <h1>The Wisdom of the Ancients</h1> | |
19 | <div class="contents"> | |
20 | <dl> | |
21 | <dt> | |
22 | <a href="#sec1">Mencius</a> | |
23 | </dt> | |
24 | <dd> | |
25 | <dl> | |
26 | <dt> | |
27 | <a href="#sec2">III.B.1</a> | |
28 | </dt> | |
29 | <dt> | |
30 | <a href="#sec3">VI.A.10</a> | |
31 | </dt> | |
32 | </dl> | |
33 | </dd> | |
34 | <dt> | |
35 | <a href="#sec4">Qohelet</a> | |
36 | </dt> | |
4615542e | 37 | <dd> |
38 | <dl> | |
2aff8b5c | 39 | <dt> |
40 | <a href="#sec5">One</a> | |
41 | </dt> | |
4615542e | 42 | </dl> |
43 | </dd> | |
aa72714c | 44 | <dt> |
45 | <a href="#sec6">Søren Kierkegaard</a> | |
46 | </dt> | |
47 | <dd> | |
48 | <dl> | |
49 | <dt> | |
50 | <a href="#sec7">Either/Or I</a> | |
51 | </dt> | |
52 | </dl> | |
53 | </dd> | |
54 | <dt> | |
55 | <a href="#sec8">Nietzsche</a> | |
56 | </dt> | |
57 | <dd> | |
58 | <dl> | |
59 | <dt> | |
60 | <a href="#sec9">Beyond Good and Evil</a> | |
61 | </dt> | |
62 | </dl> | |
63 | </dd> | |
2aff8b5c | 64 | </dl> |
65 | </div> | |
66 | ||
67 | ||
11f9bd69 CE |
68 | <!-- Page published by Emacs Muse begins here --> |
69 | <h2><a name="sec1" id="sec1"></a> | |
2aff8b5c | 70 | Mencius</h2> |
71 | ||
72 | <h3><a name="sec2" id="sec2"></a> | |
73 | III.B.1</h3> | |
74 | ||
75 | <blockquote> | |
76 | <p class="quoted"> | |
77 | Ch'en Tai said, "When you refused even to see them, the feudal lords | |
78 | appeared insignificant to you. Now that you have seen them, they are | |
79 | either kings, or, at least, leaders of the feudal lords. Moreover, | |
80 | it is said in the <em>Records</em>, 'Bend the foot in order to straighten | |
81 | the yard.' That seems worth doing."</p> | |
82 | <p class="quoted">"Once," said Mencius, "Duke Ching of Ch'i went hunting and summoned | |
83 | his gamekeeper with a pennon. The gamekeeper did not come, and the | |
84 | Duke was going to have him put to death. 'A man whose mind is set on | |
85 | high ideals never forgets that he may end in a ditch; a man of valor | |
86 | never forgets that he may forfeit his head.' What did Conficius find | |
87 | praiseworthy in the gamekeeper? His refusal to answer to a form of | |
88 | summons to which he was not entitled. What can one do about those | |
89 | who go without even being summoned? Moreover, the saying, 'Bend the | |
90 | foot in order to straighten the yard' refers to profit. If it is for | |
91 | profit, I suppose one might just as well bend the yard to straighten | |
92 | the foot.</p> | |
93 | <p class="quoted">"Once, Viscount Chien of Chao sent Wang Liang to drive the chariot | |
94 | for his favorite, Hsi. In the whole day they failed to catch one | |
95 | single bird. Hsi reported to his master, 'He is the worst charioteer | |
96 | in the world.' Someone told Wang Liang of this. Liang asked, 'May I | |
97 | have another chance?' It was with difficulty that Hsi was persuaded, | |
98 | but in one morning they caught ten birds. Hsi reported to his | |
99 | master, 'He is the best charioteer in the world.' 'I shall make him | |
100 | drive for you,' said Viscount Chien. He asked Wang Liang, but | |
101 | Wang Liang refused. 'I drove for him according to the proper rules,' | |
102 | said he, 'and we did not catch a single bird all day. Then I used | |
103 | underhand methods, and we caught ten birds in one morning. The <em>Book | |
104 | of Odes</em> says,</p> | |
c2a3216c | 105 | <p class="quoted"></p> |
2aff8b5c | 106 | |
107 | <p class="verse"> | |
108 | He never failed to drive correctly,<br /> | |
109 | And his arrows went straight for the target<br /> | |
54a817d4 | 110 | </p><br /> |
2aff8b5c | 111 | </p> |
54a817d4 | 112 | <p class="quoted">I am not used to driving for small men. May I be excused?'</p> |
2aff8b5c | 113 | <p class="quoted">"Even a charioteer is ashamed to be in league with an archer. When |
114 | doing so means catching enough birds to pile up like a mountain, he | |
115 | would still rather not do it. What can one do about those who bend | |
116 | the Way in order to please others? You are futher mistaken. There | |
117 | has never been a man who could straighten others by bending | |
118 | himself."</p> | |
119 | ||
120 | </blockquote> | |
121 | ||
122 | ||
123 | <h3><a name="sec3" id="sec3"></a> | |
124 | VI.A.10</h3> | |
125 | ||
126 | <blockquote> | |
127 | <p class="quoted"> | |
128 | Mencius said, "Fish is what I want; bear's palm is also what I | |
129 | want. If I cannot have both, I would rather take bear's palm than | |
130 | fish. Life is what I want; dutifulness is also what I want. If I | |
131 | cannot have both, I would rather take dutifulness than life. On the | |
132 | one hand, though life is what I want, there is something I want more | |
133 | than life. That is why I do not cling to life at all costs. On the | |
134 | other hand, though death is what I loathe, there is something I | |
135 | loathe more than death. That is why there are troubles I do not | |
136 | avoid. If there is nothing a man wants more than life, then why | |
137 | should he have scruples about any means, so long as it will serve to | |
138 | keep him alive? if there is nothing a man loathes more than death, | |
139 | then why should have have scruples about any means, so long as it | |
140 | helps him to avoid trouble? Yet there are ways of remaining alive | |
141 | and ways of avoiding death to which a man will not resort. In other | |
142 | words, there are things a man wants more than life and there are | |
143 | also things he loathes more than death. This is an attitude not | |
144 | confined to the moral man but common to all men. The moral man simply | |
145 | never loses it.</p> | |
146 | <p class="quoted">"Here is a basketful of rice and a bowful of soup. Getting them will | |
147 | mean life; not getting them will mean death. When these are given | |
148 | with abuse, even a wayfarer would not accept them; when these are | |
149 | given after being trampled upon, even a beggar would not accept | |
150 | them. Yet when it comes to ten thousand bushels of grain one is | |
151 | supposed to accept without asking if it is in accordance with the | |
152 | rites or if it is right to do so. What benefit are then thousand | |
153 | bushels of grain to me? [Do I accept them] for the sake of beautiful | |
154 | houses, the enjoyment of wives and concubines, or for the sake of | |
155 | the gratitude my needy acquaintances will show? What I would not | |
156 | accept in the first instance when it was a matter of life and death | |
157 | I now accept for the sake of beautiful houses; what I would not | |
158 | accept when it was a matter of life and death I now accept for the | |
159 | enjoyment of wives and concubines; what I would not accept when it | |
160 | was a matter of life and death I now accept for the sake of the | |
161 | gratitude my needy acquaintances will show me. Is there no way of | |
162 | putting a stop to this? This way of thinking is known as losing | |
163 | one's original heart."</p> | |
164 | ||
165 | </blockquote> | |
166 | ||
167 | ||
168 | ||
169 | <h2><a name="sec4" id="sec4"></a> | |
170 | Qohelet</h2> | |
171 | ||
4615542e | 172 | <h3><a name="sec5" id="sec5"></a> |
173 | One</h3> | |
2aff8b5c | 174 | |
175 | <p class="verse"> | |
176 | 1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.<br /> | |
177 | 2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.<br /> | |
178 | 3 What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?<br /> | |
179 | 4 One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth<br /> | |
180 | abideth for ever.<br /> | |
181 | 5 The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place<br /> | |
182 | where he arose.<br /> | |
183 | 6 The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it<br /> | |
184 | whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his<br /> | |
185 | circuits.<br /> | |
186 | 7 All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place<br /> | |
187 | from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.<br /> | |
188 | 8 All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not<br /> | |
189 | satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.<br /> | |
190 | 9 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done<br /> | |
191 | is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.<br /> | |
192 | 10 Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been<br /> | |
193 | already of old time, which was before us.<br /> | |
194 | 11 There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any<br /> | |
195 | remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.<br /> | |
196 | 12 I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.<br /> | |
197 | 13 And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things<br /> | |
198 | that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man<br /> | |
199 | to be exercised therewith.<br /> | |
200 | 14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is<br /> | |
201 | vanity and vexation of spirit.<br /> | |
202 | 15 That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting<br /> | |
203 | cannot be numbered.<br /> | |
204 | 16 I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to great estate, and<br /> | |
205 | have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem:<br /> | |
206 | yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.<br /> | |
207 | 17 And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I<br /> | |
208 | perceived that this also is vexation of spirit.<br /> | |
209 | 18 For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge<br /> | |
210 | increaseth sorrow.<br /> | |
211 | </p> | |
212 | ||
213 | ||
4615542e | 214 | |
aa72714c | 215 | <h2><a name="sec6" id="sec6"></a> |
216 | Søren Kierkegaard</h2> | |
217 | ||
218 | <h3><a name="sec7" id="sec7"></a> | |
219 | Either/Or I</h3> | |
220 | ||
221 | <blockquote> | |
222 | <p class="quoted"> | |
223 | A feature in which our age certainly excels that age in Greece is that | |
224 | our age is more depressed and therefore deeper in despair. Thus, our | |
225 | age is sufficiently depressed to know that there is something called | |
226 | responsibility and that this means something. Therefore, although | |
227 | everyone wants to rule, no one wants to have responsibility. It is | |
228 | still fresh in our memory that a French statesman, when offered a | |
229 | portfolio the second time, declared that he would accept it but on the | |
230 | condition that the secretary of state be made responsible. It is well | |
231 | known that the king in France is not responsible, but the prime | |
232 | minister is; the prime minister does not wish to be responsible but | |
233 | wants to be prime minister provided that the secretary of state will | |
234 | be responsible; ultimately it ends, of course, with the watchmen or | |
235 | street commissioners becoming responsible. Would not this inverted | |
236 | story of responsibility be an appropriate subject for Aristophanes! On | |
237 | the other hand, why are the government and the governors so afraid of | |
238 | assuming responsibility, unless it is because they fear an opposition | |
239 | party that in turn continually pushes away responsibility on a similar | |
240 | scale. When one imagines these two powers face to face with each other | |
241 | but unable to catch hold of each other because the one is always | |
242 | disappearing and is replaced by the other—such a situation would | |
243 | certainly not be without comic power.</p> | |
244 | ||
245 | </blockquote> | |
246 | ||
247 | ||
248 | ||
249 | <h2><a name="sec8" id="sec8"></a> | |
250 | Nietzsche</h2> | |
251 | ||
252 | <h3><a name="sec9" id="sec9"></a> | |
253 | Beyond Good and Evil</h3> | |
254 | ||
5d446cbd | 255 | <blockquote> |
256 | <p class="quoted"> | |
257 | <strong>30.</strong> Our highest insights must—and should—sound | |
aa72714c | 258 | like follies and sometimes like crimes when they are heard without |
259 | permission by those who are not predisposed and predestined for | |
260 | them. The difference between the exoteric and the esoteric, formerly | |
261 | known to philosophers—among the Indians as among the Greek, | |
262 | Persians, and Muslims, in short, wherever one believed in an order of | |
263 | rank and <em>not</em> in equality and equal rights—does not so much | |
264 | consists in this, that the exoteric approach comes from the outside | |
265 | and sees, estimates, measures, and judges from the outside, not the | |
266 | inside; what is much more essential is that the exoteric approach sees | |
267 | things from below, the esoteric looks <em>down from above</em>. There | |
268 | are heights of the soul from which even tragedy ceases to look tragic; | |
269 | and rolling together all the woe of the world—who could dare to | |
270 | decide whether its sight would <em>necessarily</em> seduce us and | |
271 | compel us to feel pity and thus double this woe?</p> | |
5d446cbd | 272 | <p class="quoted">What serves the higher type of men as nourishment or delectation must |
aa72714c | 273 | almost be poison for a very different and inferior type. The virtues |
274 | of the common man might perhaps signify vices and weaknesses in a | |
275 | philosopher. It could be possible that a man of a high type, when | |
276 | degenerating and perishing, might only at that point acquire qualities | |
277 | that would require those in the lower sphere into which he had sunk to | |
278 | begin to venerate him like a saint. There are books that have opposite | |
279 | values for soul and health, depending on whether the lower soul, the | |
280 | lower vitality, or the higher and more vigorous ones turn to them: in | |
281 | the former case, these books are dangerous and lead to crumbling and | |
282 | disintegration; in the latter, heralds' cries that call the bravest to | |
283 | <em>their</em> courage. Books for all the world are always | |
284 | foul-smelling books: the smell of small people clings to them. Where | |
285 | the people eat and drink, even where they venerate, it usually | |
286 | stinks. One should not go to church if one wants to breathe | |
287 | <em>pure</em> air.</p> | |
288 | ||
5d446cbd | 289 | </blockquote> |
290 | ||
aa72714c | 291 | |
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322 | <p class="cke-timestamp">Last Modified: | |
f6d19803 | 323 | January 21, 2013</p> |
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