| 1 | <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?> |
| 2 | <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" |
| 3 | "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> |
| 4 | <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> |
| 5 | <head> |
| 6 | <title>The Wisdom of the Ancients</title> |
| 7 | <meta name="generator" content="muse.el" /> |
| 8 | <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" |
| 9 | content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /> |
| 10 | <link rel="stylesheet" href="default.css" media="screen" /> |
| 11 | </head> |
| 12 | <body> |
| 13 | <h1>The Wisdom of the Ancients</h1> |
| 14 | <div class="contents"> |
| 15 | <dl> |
| 16 | <dt> |
| 17 | <a href="#sec1">Mencius</a> |
| 18 | </dt> |
| 19 | <dd> |
| 20 | <dl> |
| 21 | <dt> |
| 22 | <a href="#sec2">III.B.1</a> |
| 23 | </dt> |
| 24 | <dt> |
| 25 | <a href="#sec3">VI.A.10</a> |
| 26 | </dt> |
| 27 | </dl> |
| 28 | </dd> |
| 29 | <dt> |
| 30 | <a href="#sec4">Qohelet</a> |
| 31 | </dt> |
| 32 | <dt> |
| 33 | <a href="#sec5">One</a> |
| 34 | </dt> |
| 35 | </dl> |
| 36 | </div> |
| 37 | |
| 38 | |
| 39 | <!-- Page published by Emacs Muse begins here --><h2><a name="sec1" id="sec1"></a> |
| 40 | Mencius</h2> |
| 41 | |
| 42 | <h3><a name="sec2" id="sec2"></a> |
| 43 | III.B.1</h3> |
| 44 | |
| 45 | <blockquote> |
| 46 | <p class="quoted"> |
| 47 | Ch'en Tai said, "When you refused even to see them, the feudal lords |
| 48 | appeared insignificant to you. Now that you have seen them, they are |
| 49 | either kings, or, at least, leaders of the feudal lords. Moreover, |
| 50 | it is said in the <em>Records</em>, 'Bend the foot in order to straighten |
| 51 | the yard.' That seems worth doing."</p> |
| 52 | <p class="quoted">"Once," said Mencius, "Duke Ching of Ch'i went hunting and summoned |
| 53 | his gamekeeper with a pennon. The gamekeeper did not come, and the |
| 54 | Duke was going to have him put to death. 'A man whose mind is set on |
| 55 | high ideals never forgets that he may end in a ditch; a man of valor |
| 56 | never forgets that he may forfeit his head.' What did Conficius find |
| 57 | praiseworthy in the gamekeeper? His refusal to answer to a form of |
| 58 | summons to which he was not entitled. What can one do about those |
| 59 | who go without even being summoned? Moreover, the saying, 'Bend the |
| 60 | foot in order to straighten the yard' refers to profit. If it is for |
| 61 | profit, I suppose one might just as well bend the yard to straighten |
| 62 | the foot.</p> |
| 63 | <p class="quoted">"Once, Viscount Chien of Chao sent Wang Liang to drive the chariot |
| 64 | for his favorite, Hsi. In the whole day they failed to catch one |
| 65 | single bird. Hsi reported to his master, 'He is the worst charioteer |
| 66 | in the world.' Someone told Wang Liang of this. Liang asked, 'May I |
| 67 | have another chance?' It was with difficulty that Hsi was persuaded, |
| 68 | but in one morning they caught ten birds. Hsi reported to his |
| 69 | master, 'He is the best charioteer in the world.' 'I shall make him |
| 70 | drive for you,' said Viscount Chien. He asked Wang Liang, but |
| 71 | Wang Liang refused. 'I drove for him according to the proper rules,' |
| 72 | said he, 'and we did not catch a single bird all day. Then I used |
| 73 | underhand methods, and we caught ten birds in one morning. The <em>Book |
| 74 | of Odes</em> says,</p> |
| 75 | |
| 76 | <p class="verse"> |
| 77 | He never failed to drive correctly,<br /> |
| 78 | And his arrows went straight for the target<br /> |
| 79 | </p> |
| 80 | I am not used to driving for small men. May I be excused?'</p> |
| 81 | <p class="quoted">"Even a charioteer is ashamed to be in league with an archer. When |
| 82 | doing so means catching enough birds to pile up like a mountain, he |
| 83 | would still rather not do it. What can one do about those who bend |
| 84 | the Way in order to please others? You are futher mistaken. There |
| 85 | has never been a man who could straighten others by bending |
| 86 | himself."</p> |
| 87 | |
| 88 | </blockquote> |
| 89 | |
| 90 | |
| 91 | <h3><a name="sec3" id="sec3"></a> |
| 92 | VI.A.10</h3> |
| 93 | |
| 94 | <blockquote> |
| 95 | <p class="quoted"> |
| 96 | Mencius said, "Fish is what I want; bear's palm is also what I |
| 97 | want. If I cannot have both, I would rather take bear's palm than |
| 98 | fish. Life is what I want; dutifulness is also what I want. If I |
| 99 | cannot have both, I would rather take dutifulness than life. On the |
| 100 | one hand, though life is what I want, there is something I want more |
| 101 | than life. That is why I do not cling to life at all costs. On the |
| 102 | other hand, though death is what I loathe, there is something I |
| 103 | loathe more than death. That is why there are troubles I do not |
| 104 | avoid. If there is nothing a man wants more than life, then why |
| 105 | should he have scruples about any means, so long as it will serve to |
| 106 | keep him alive? if there is nothing a man loathes more than death, |
| 107 | then why should have have scruples about any means, so long as it |
| 108 | helps him to avoid trouble? Yet there are ways of remaining alive |
| 109 | and ways of avoiding death to which a man will not resort. In other |
| 110 | words, there are things a man wants more than life and there are |
| 111 | also things he loathes more than death. This is an attitude not |
| 112 | confined to the moral man but common to all men. The moral man simply |
| 113 | never loses it.</p> |
| 114 | <p class="quoted">"Here is a basketful of rice and a bowful of soup. Getting them will |
| 115 | mean life; not getting them will mean death. When these are given |
| 116 | with abuse, even a wayfarer would not accept them; when these are |
| 117 | given after being trampled upon, even a beggar would not accept |
| 118 | them. Yet when it comes to ten thousand bushels of grain one is |
| 119 | supposed to accept without asking if it is in accordance with the |
| 120 | rites or if it is right to do so. What benefit are then thousand |
| 121 | bushels of grain to me? [Do I accept them] for the sake of beautiful |
| 122 | houses, the enjoyment of wives and concubines, or for the sake of |
| 123 | the gratitude my needy acquaintances will show? What I would not |
| 124 | accept in the first instance when it was a matter of life and death |
| 125 | I now accept for the sake of beautiful houses; what I would not |
| 126 | accept when it was a matter of life and death I now accept for the |
| 127 | enjoyment of wives and concubines; what I would not accept when it |
| 128 | was a matter of life and death I now accept for the sake of the |
| 129 | gratitude my needy acquaintances will show me. Is there no way of |
| 130 | putting a stop to this? This way of thinking is known as losing |
| 131 | one's original heart."</p> |
| 132 | |
| 133 | </blockquote> |
| 134 | |
| 135 | |
| 136 | |
| 137 | <h2><a name="sec4" id="sec4"></a> |
| 138 | Qohelet</h2> |
| 139 | |
| 140 | |
| 141 | <h2><a name="sec5" id="sec5"></a> |
| 142 | One</h2> |
| 143 | |
| 144 | <p class="verse"> |
| 145 | 1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.<br /> |
| 146 | 2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.<br /> |
| 147 | 3 What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?<br /> |
| 148 | 4 One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth<br /> |
| 149 | abideth for ever.<br /> |
| 150 | 5 The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place<br /> |
| 151 | where he arose.<br /> |
| 152 | 6 The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it<br /> |
| 153 | whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his<br /> |
| 154 | circuits.<br /> |
| 155 | 7 All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place<br /> |
| 156 | from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.<br /> |
| 157 | 8 All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not<br /> |
| 158 | satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.<br /> |
| 159 | 9 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done<br /> |
| 160 | is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.<br /> |
| 161 | 10 Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been<br /> |
| 162 | already of old time, which was before us.<br /> |
| 163 | 11 There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any<br /> |
| 164 | remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.<br /> |
| 165 | 12 I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.<br /> |
| 166 | 13 And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things<br /> |
| 167 | that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man<br /> |
| 168 | to be exercised therewith.<br /> |
| 169 | 14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is<br /> |
| 170 | vanity and vexation of spirit.<br /> |
| 171 | 15 That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting<br /> |
| 172 | cannot be numbered.<br /> |
| 173 | 16 I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to great estate, and<br /> |
| 174 | have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem:<br /> |
| 175 | yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.<br /> |
| 176 | 17 And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I<br /> |
| 177 | perceived that this also is vexation of spirit.<br /> |
| 178 | 18 For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge<br /> |
| 179 | increaseth sorrow.<br /> |
| 180 | </p> |
| 181 | |
| 182 | |
| 183 | <!-- Page published by Emacs Muse ends here --> |
| 184 | |
| 185 | <p class="cke-buttons"> |
| 186 | <!-- validating badges, any browser, etc --> |
| 187 | <a href="http://validator.w3.org/check/referer"><img |
| 188 | src="http://www.w3.org/Icons/valid-xhtml10" |
| 189 | alt="Valid XHTML 1.0!" /></a> |
| 190 | |
| 191 | <a href="http://www.anybrowser.org/campaign/"><img |
| 192 | src="img/buttons/w3c_ab.png" alt="[ Viewable With Any Browser |
| 193 | ]" /></a> |
| 194 | |
| 195 | <a href="http://www.debian.org/"><img |
| 196 | src="img/buttons/debian.png" alt="[ Powered by Debian ]" /></a> |
| 197 | |
| 198 | <a href="http://hcoop.net/"> |
| 199 | <img src="img/buttons/hcoop.png" |
| 200 | alt="[ Hosted by HCoop]" /> |
| 201 | </a> |
| 202 | |
| 203 | <a href="http://www.fsf.org/register_form?referrer=114"> |
| 204 | <img src="img/buttons/fsf_member.png" |
| 205 | alt="[ FSF Associate Member ]" /> |
| 206 | </a> |
| 207 | </p> |
| 208 | |
| 209 | <p class="cke-footer"><captain_krunk> ntk is currently using "telnet fyodor 25" to send email |
| 210 | </p> |
| 211 | <p class="cke-timestamp">Last Modified: |
| 212 | March 13, 2008</p> |
| 213 | </body> |
| 214 | </html> |