Wisdom.html

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  16     <h1>The Wisdom of the Ancients</h1>
  17    <div class="contents">
  18 <dl>
  19 <dt>
  20 <a href="#sec1">Mencius</a>
  21 </dt>
  22 <dd>
  23 <dl>
  24 <dt>
  25 <a href="#sec2">III.B.1</a>
  26 </dt>
  27 <dt>
  28 <a href="#sec3">VI.A.10</a>
  29 </dt>
  30 </dl>
  31 </dd>
  32 <dt>
  33 <a href="#sec4">Qohelet</a>
  34 </dt>
  35 <dt>
  36 <a href="#sec5">One</a>
  37 </dt>
  38 <dt>
  39 <a href="#sec6">Søren Kierkegaard</a>
  40 </dt>
  41 <dd>
  42 <dl>
  43 <dt>
  44 <a href="#sec7">Either/Or I</a>
  45 </dt>
  46 </dl>
  47 </dd>
  48 <dt>
  49 <a href="#sec8">Nietzsche</a>
  50 </dt>
  51 <dd>
  52 <dl>
  53 <dt>
  54 <a href="#sec9">Beyond Good and Evil</a>
  55 </dt>
  56 </dl>
  57 </dd>
  58 </dl>
  59 </div>
  60
  61
  62 <!-- Page published by Emacs Muse begins here --><h2><a name="sec1" id="sec1"></a>
  63 Mencius</h2>
  64
  65 <h3><a name="sec2" id="sec2"></a>
  66 III.B.1</h3>
  67
  68 <blockquote>
  69 <p class="quoted">
  70 Ch'en Tai said, &quot;When you refused even to see them, the feudal lords
  71 appeared insignificant to you. Now that you have seen them, they are
  72 either kings, or, at least, leaders of the feudal lords. Moreover,
  73 it is said in the <em>Records</em>, 'Bend the foot in order to straighten
  74 the yard.' That seems worth doing.&quot;</p>
  75 <p class="quoted">&quot;Once,&quot; said Mencius, &quot;Duke Ching of Ch'i went hunting and summoned
  76 his gamekeeper with a pennon. The gamekeeper did not come, and the
  77 Duke was going to have him put to death. 'A man whose mind is set on
  78 high ideals never forgets that he may end in a ditch; a man of valor
  79 never forgets that he may forfeit his head.' What did Conficius find
  80 praiseworthy in the gamekeeper? His refusal to answer to a form of
  81 summons to which he was not entitled. What can one do about those
  82 who go without even being summoned? Moreover, the saying, 'Bend the
  83 foot in order to straighten the yard' refers to profit. If it is for
  84 profit, I suppose one might just as well bend the yard to straighten
  85 the foot.</p>
  86 <p class="quoted">&quot;Once, Viscount Chien of Chao sent Wang Liang to drive the chariot
  87 for his favorite, Hsi. In the whole day they failed to catch one
  88 single bird. Hsi reported to his master, 'He is the worst charioteer
  89 in the world.' Someone told Wang Liang of this. Liang asked, 'May I
  90 have another chance?' It was with difficulty that Hsi was persuaded,
  91 but in one morning they caught ten birds. Hsi reported to his
  92 master, 'He is the best charioteer in the world.' 'I shall make him
  93 drive for you,' said Viscount Chien. He asked Wang Liang, but
  94 Wang Liang refused. 'I drove for him according to the proper rules,'
  95 said he, 'and we did not catch a single bird all day. Then I used
  96 underhand methods, and we caught ten birds in one morning. The <em>Book
  97 of Odes</em> says,</p>
  98 <p class="quoted"></p>
  99
 100 <p class="verse">
 101 He never failed to drive correctly,<br />
 102 And his arrows went straight for the target<br />
 103 </p><br />
 104 </p>
 105 <p class="quoted">I am not used to driving for small men. May I be excused?'</p>
 106 <p class="quoted">&quot;Even a charioteer is ashamed to be in league with an archer. When
 107 doing so means catching enough birds to pile up like a mountain, he
 108 would still rather not do it. What can one do about those who bend
 109 the Way in order to please others? You are futher mistaken. There
 110 has never been a man who could straighten others by bending
 111 himself.&quot;</p>
 112
 113 </blockquote>
 114
 115
 116 <h3><a name="sec3" id="sec3"></a>
 117 VI.A.10</h3>
 118
 119 <blockquote>
 120 <p class="quoted">
 121 Mencius said, &quot;Fish is what I want; bear's palm is also what I
 122 want. If I cannot have both, I would rather take bear's palm than
 123 fish. Life is what I want; dutifulness is also what I want. If I
 124 cannot have both, I would rather take dutifulness than life. On the
 125 one hand, though life is what I want, there is something I want more
 126 than life. That is why I do not cling to life at all costs. On the
 127 other hand, though death is what I loathe, there is something I
 128 loathe more than death. That is why there are troubles I do not
 129 avoid. If there is nothing a man wants more than life, then why
 130 should he have scruples about any means, so long as it will serve to
 131 keep him alive? if there is nothing a man loathes more than death,
 132 then why should have have scruples about any means, so long as it
 133 helps him to avoid trouble? Yet there are ways of remaining alive
 134 and ways of avoiding death to which a man will not resort. In other
 135 words, there are things a man wants more than life and there are
 136 also things he loathes more than death. This is an attitude not
 137 confined to the moral man but common to all men. The moral man simply
 138 never loses it.</p>
 139 <p class="quoted">&quot;Here is a basketful of rice and a bowful of soup. Getting them will
 140 mean life; not getting them will mean death. When these are given
 141 with abuse, even a wayfarer would not accept them; when these are
 142 given after being trampled upon, even a beggar would not accept
 143 them. Yet when it comes to ten thousand bushels of grain one is
 144 supposed to accept without asking if it is in accordance with the
 145 rites or if it is right to do so. What benefit are then thousand
 146 bushels of grain to me? [Do I accept them] for the sake of beautiful
 147 houses, the enjoyment of wives and concubines, or for the sake of
 148 the gratitude my needy acquaintances will show? What I would not
 149 accept in the first instance when it was a matter of life and death
 150 I now accept for the sake of beautiful houses; what I would not
 151 accept when it was a matter of life and death I now accept for the
 152 enjoyment of wives and concubines; what I would not accept when it
 153 was a matter of life and death I now accept for the sake of the
 154 gratitude my needy acquaintances will show me. Is there no way of
 155 putting a stop to this? This way of thinking is known as losing
 156 one's original heart.&quot;</p>
 157
 158 </blockquote>
 159
 160
 161
 162 <h2><a name="sec4" id="sec4"></a>
 163 Qohelet</h2>
 164
 165
 166 <h2><a name="sec5" id="sec5"></a>
 167 One</h2>
 168
 169 <p class="verse">
 170 &nbsp;&nbsp;1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.<br />
 171 &nbsp;&nbsp;2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.<br />
 172 &nbsp;&nbsp;3 What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?<br />
 173 &nbsp;&nbsp;4 One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth<br />
 174 abideth for ever.<br />
 175 &nbsp;&nbsp;5 The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place<br />
 176 where he arose.<br />
 177 &nbsp;&nbsp;6 The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it<br />
 178 whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his<br />
 179 circuits.<br />
 180 &nbsp;&nbsp;7 All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place<br />
 181 from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.<br />
 182 &nbsp;&nbsp;8 All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not<br />
 183 satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.<br />
 184 &nbsp;&nbsp;9 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done<br />
 185 is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.<br />
 186 &nbsp;&nbsp;10 Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been<br />
 187 already of old time, which was before us.<br />
 188 &nbsp;&nbsp;11 There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any<br />
 189 remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.<br />
 190 &nbsp;&nbsp;12 I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.<br />
 191 &nbsp;&nbsp;13 And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things<br />
 192 that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man<br />
 193 to be exercised therewith.<br />
 194 &nbsp;&nbsp;14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is<br />
 195 vanity and vexation of spirit.<br />
 196 &nbsp;&nbsp;15 That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting<br />
 197 cannot be numbered.<br />
 198 &nbsp;&nbsp;16 I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to great estate, and<br />
 199 have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem:<br />
 200 yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.<br />
 201 &nbsp;&nbsp;17 And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I<br />
 202 perceived that this also is vexation of spirit.<br />
 203 &nbsp;&nbsp;18 For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge<br />
 204 increaseth sorrow.<br />
 205 </p>
 206
 207
 208 <h2><a name="sec6" id="sec6"></a>
 209 Søren Kierkegaard</h2>
 210
 211 <h3><a name="sec7" id="sec7"></a>
 212 Either/Or I</h3>
 213
 214 <blockquote>
 215 <p class="quoted">
 216 A feature in which our age certainly excels that age in Greece is that
 217 our age is more depressed and therefore deeper in despair. Thus, our
 218 age is sufficiently depressed to know that there is something called
 219 responsibility and that this means something. Therefore, although
 220 everyone wants to rule, no one wants to have responsibility. It is
 221 still fresh in our memory that a French statesman, when offered a
 222 portfolio the second time, declared that he would accept it but on the
 223 condition that the secretary of state be made responsible. It is well
 224 known that the king in France is not responsible, but the prime
 225 minister is; the prime minister does not wish to be responsible but
 226 wants to be prime minister provided that the secretary of state will
 227 be responsible; ultimately it ends, of course, with the watchmen or
 228 street commissioners becoming responsible. Would not this inverted
 229 story of responsibility be an appropriate subject for Aristophanes! On
 230 the other hand, why are the government and the governors so afraid of
 231 assuming responsibility, unless it is because they fear an opposition
 232 party that in turn continually pushes away responsibility on a similar
 233 scale. When one imagines these two powers face to face with each other
 234 but unable to catch hold of each other because the one is always
 235 disappearing and is replaced by the other&mdash;such a situation would
 236 certainly not be without comic power.</p>
 237
 238 </blockquote>
 239
 240
 241
 242 <h2><a name="sec8" id="sec8"></a>
 243 Nietzsche</h2>
 244
 245 <h3><a name="sec9" id="sec9"></a>
 246 Beyond Good and Evil</h3>
 247
 248 <blockquote>
 249 <p class="quoted">
 250 <strong>30.</strong> Our highest insights must&mdash;and should&mdash;sound
 251 like follies and sometimes like crimes when they are heard without
 252 permission by those who are not predisposed and predestined for
 253 them. The difference between the exoteric and the esoteric, formerly
 254 known to philosophers&mdash;among the Indians as among the Greek,
 255 Persians, and Muslims, in short, wherever one believed in an order of
 256 rank and <em>not</em> in equality and equal rights&mdash;does not so much
 257 consists in this, that the exoteric approach comes from the outside
 258 and sees, estimates, measures, and judges from the outside, not the
 259 inside; what is much more essential is that the exoteric approach sees
 260 things from below, the esoteric looks <em>down from above</em>. There
 261 are heights of the soul from which even tragedy ceases to look tragic;
 262 and rolling together all the woe of the world&mdash;who could dare to
 263 decide whether its sight would <em>necessarily</em> seduce us and
 264 compel us to feel pity and thus double this woe?</p>
 265 <p class="quoted">What serves the higher type of men as nourishment or delectation must
 266 almost be poison for a very different and inferior type. The virtues
 267 of the common man might perhaps signify vices and weaknesses in a
 268 philosopher. It could be possible that a man of a high type, when
 269 degenerating and perishing, might only at that point acquire qualities
 270 that would require those in the lower sphere into which he had sunk to
 271 begin to venerate him like a saint. There are books that have opposite
 272 values for soul and health, depending on whether the lower soul, the
 273 lower vitality, or the higher and more vigorous ones turn to them: in
 274 the former case, these books are dangerous and lead to crumbling and
 275 disintegration; in the latter, heralds' cries that call the bravest to
 276 <em>their</em> courage. Books for all the world are always
 277 foul-smelling books: the smell of small people clings to them. Where
 278 the people eat and drink, even where they venerate, it usually
 279 stinks. One should not go to church if one wants to breathe
 280 <em>pure</em> air.</p>
 281
 282 </blockquote>
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 311
 312 <p class="cke-footer">          Who will tend the garden when the snake swallows the light?
 313          Who will eat the decay when the worms have lost their sight?
 314            Who will rape the weak when there's nothing left to gain?
 315              Who will till the soil of these barren black remains?
 316 </p>
 317 <p class="cke-timestamp">Last Modified:
 318     December 14, 2008</p>
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