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    <h1>The Wisdom of the Ancients</h1>
   <div class="contents">
<dl>
<dt>
<a href="#sec1">Mencius</a>
</dt>
<dd>
<dl>
<dt>
<a href="#sec2">III.B.1</a>
</dt>
<dt>
<a href="#sec3">VI.A.10</a>
</dt>
</dl>
</dd>
<dt>
<a href="#sec4">Qohelet</a>
</dt>
<dt>
<a href="#sec5">One</a>
</dt>
<dt>
<a href="#sec6">Søren Kierkegaard</a>
</dt>
<dd>
<dl>
<dt>
<a href="#sec7">Either/Or I</a>
</dt>
</dl>
</dd>
<dt>
<a href="#sec8">Nietzsche</a>
</dt>
<dd>
<dl>
<dt>
<a href="#sec9">Beyond Good and Evil</a>
</dt>
</dl>
</dd>
</dl>
</div>


<!-- Page published by Emacs Muse begins here --><h2><a name="sec1" id="sec1"></a>
Mencius</h2>

<h3><a name="sec2" id="sec2"></a>
III.B.1</h3>

<blockquote>
<p class="quoted">
Ch'en Tai said, &quot;When you refused even to see them, the feudal lords
appeared insignificant to you. Now that you have seen them, they are
either kings, or, at least, leaders of the feudal lords. Moreover,
it is said in the <em>Records</em>, 'Bend the foot in order to straighten
the yard.' That seems worth doing.&quot;</p>
<p class="quoted">&quot;Once,&quot; said Mencius, &quot;Duke Ching of Ch'i went hunting and summoned
his gamekeeper with a pennon. The gamekeeper did not come, and the
Duke was going to have him put to death. 'A man whose mind is set on
high ideals never forgets that he may end in a ditch; a man of valor
never forgets that he may forfeit his head.' What did Conficius find
praiseworthy in the gamekeeper? His refusal to answer to a form of
summons to which he was not entitled. What can one do about those
who go without even being summoned? Moreover, the saying, 'Bend the
foot in order to straighten the yard' refers to profit. If it is for
profit, I suppose one might just as well bend the yard to straighten
the foot.</p>
<p class="quoted">&quot;Once, Viscount Chien of Chao sent Wang Liang to drive the chariot
for his favorite, Hsi. In the whole day they failed to catch one
single bird. Hsi reported to his master, 'He is the worst charioteer
in the world.' Someone told Wang Liang of this. Liang asked, 'May I
have another chance?' It was with difficulty that Hsi was persuaded,
but in one morning they caught ten birds. Hsi reported to his
master, 'He is the best charioteer in the world.' 'I shall make him
drive for you,' said Viscount Chien. He asked Wang Liang, but
Wang Liang refused. 'I drove for him according to the proper rules,'
said he, 'and we did not catch a single bird all day. Then I used
underhand methods, and we caught ten birds in one morning. The <em>Book
of Odes</em> says,</p>
<p class="quoted"></p>

<p class="verse">
He never failed to drive correctly,<br />
And his arrows went straight for the target<br />
</p><br />
</p>
<p class="quoted">I am not used to driving for small men. May I be excused?'</p>
<p class="quoted">&quot;Even a charioteer is ashamed to be in league with an archer. When
doing so means catching enough birds to pile up like a mountain, he
would still rather not do it. What can one do about those who bend
the Way in order to please others? You are futher mistaken. There
has never been a man who could straighten others by bending
himself.&quot;</p>

</blockquote>


<h3><a name="sec3" id="sec3"></a>
VI.A.10</h3>

<blockquote>
<p class="quoted">
Mencius said, &quot;Fish is what I want; bear's palm is also what I
want. If I cannot have both, I would rather take bear's palm than
fish. Life is what I want; dutifulness is also what I want. If I
cannot have both, I would rather take dutifulness than life. On the
one hand, though life is what I want, there is something I want more
than life. That is why I do not cling to life at all costs. On the
other hand, though death is what I loathe, there is something I
loathe more than death. That is why there are troubles I do not
avoid. If there is nothing a man wants more than life, then why
should he have scruples about any means, so long as it will serve to
keep him alive? if there is nothing a man loathes more than death,
then why should have have scruples about any means, so long as it
helps him to avoid trouble? Yet there are ways of remaining alive
and ways of avoiding death to which a man will not resort. In other
words, there are things a man wants more than life and there are
also things he loathes more than death. This is an attitude not
confined to the moral man but common to all men. The moral man simply
never loses it.</p>
<p class="quoted">&quot;Here is a basketful of rice and a bowful of soup. Getting them will
mean life; not getting them will mean death. When these are given
with abuse, even a wayfarer would not accept them; when these are
given after being trampled upon, even a beggar would not accept
them. Yet when it comes to ten thousand bushels of grain one is
supposed to accept without asking if it is in accordance with the
rites or if it is right to do so. What benefit are then thousand
bushels of grain to me? [Do I accept them] for the sake of beautiful
houses, the enjoyment of wives and concubines, or for the sake of
the gratitude my needy acquaintances will show? What I would not
accept in the first instance when it was a matter of life and death
I now accept for the sake of beautiful houses; what I would not
accept when it was a matter of life and death I now accept for the
enjoyment of wives and concubines; what I would not accept when it
was a matter of life and death I now accept for the sake of the
gratitude my needy acquaintances will show me. Is there no way of
putting a stop to this? This way of thinking is known as losing
one's original heart.&quot;</p>

</blockquote>


<h2><a name="sec4" id="sec4"></a>
Qohelet</h2>


<h2><a name="sec5" id="sec5"></a>
One</h2>

<p class="verse">
&nbsp;&nbsp;1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.<br />
&nbsp;&nbsp;2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.<br />
&nbsp;&nbsp;3 What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?<br />
&nbsp;&nbsp;4 One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth<br />
abideth for ever.<br />
&nbsp;&nbsp;5 The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place<br />
where he arose.<br />
&nbsp;&nbsp;6 The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it<br />
whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his<br />
circuits.<br />
&nbsp;&nbsp;7 All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place<br />
from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.<br />
&nbsp;&nbsp;8 All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not<br />
satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.<br />
&nbsp;&nbsp;9 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done<br />
is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.<br />
&nbsp;&nbsp;10 Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been<br />
already of old time, which was before us.<br />
&nbsp;&nbsp;11 There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any<br />
remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.<br />
&nbsp;&nbsp;12 I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.<br />
&nbsp;&nbsp;13 And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things<br />
that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man<br />
to be exercised therewith.<br />
&nbsp;&nbsp;14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is<br />
vanity and vexation of spirit.<br />
&nbsp;&nbsp;15 That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting<br />
cannot be numbered.<br />
&nbsp;&nbsp;16 I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to great estate, and<br />
have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem:<br />
yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.<br />
&nbsp;&nbsp;17 And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I<br />
perceived that this also is vexation of spirit.<br />
&nbsp;&nbsp;18 For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge<br />
increaseth sorrow.<br />
</p>


<h2><a name="sec6" id="sec6"></a>
Søren Kierkegaard</h2>

<h3><a name="sec7" id="sec7"></a>
Either/Or I</h3>

<blockquote>
<p class="quoted">
A feature in which our age certainly excels that age in Greece is that
our age is more depressed and therefore deeper in despair. Thus, our
age is sufficiently depressed to know that there is something called
responsibility and that this means something. Therefore, although
everyone wants to rule, no one wants to have responsibility. It is
still fresh in our memory that a French statesman, when offered a
portfolio the second time, declared that he would accept it but on the
condition that the secretary of state be made responsible. It is well
known that the king in France is not responsible, but the prime
minister is; the prime minister does not wish to be responsible but
wants to be prime minister provided that the secretary of state will
be responsible; ultimately it ends, of course, with the watchmen or
street commissioners becoming responsible. Would not this inverted
story of responsibility be an appropriate subject for Aristophanes! On
the other hand, why are the government and the governors so afraid of
assuming responsibility, unless it is because they fear an opposition
party that in turn continually pushes away responsibility on a similar
scale. When one imagines these two powers face to face with each other
but unable to catch hold of each other because the one is always
disappearing and is replaced by the other&mdash;such a situation would
certainly not be without comic power.</p>

</blockquote>


<h2><a name="sec8" id="sec8"></a>
Nietzsche</h2>

<h3><a name="sec9" id="sec9"></a>
Beyond Good and Evil</h3>

<blockquote>
<p class="quoted">
<strong>30.</strong> Our highest insights must&mdash;and should&mdash;sound
like follies and sometimes like crimes when they are heard without
permission by those who are not predisposed and predestined for
them. The difference between the exoteric and the esoteric, formerly
known to philosophers&mdash;among the Indians as among the Greek,
Persians, and Muslims, in short, wherever one believed in an order of
rank and <em>not</em> in equality and equal rights&mdash;does not so much
consists in this, that the exoteric approach comes from the outside
and sees, estimates, measures, and judges from the outside, not the
inside; what is much more essential is that the exoteric approach sees
things from below, the esoteric looks <em>down from above</em>. There
are heights of the soul from which even tragedy ceases to look tragic;
and rolling together all the woe of the world&mdash;who could dare to
decide whether its sight would <em>necessarily</em> seduce us and
compel us to feel pity and thus double this woe?</p>
<p class="quoted">What serves the higher type of men as nourishment or delectation must
almost be poison for a very different and inferior type. The virtues
of the common man might perhaps signify vices and weaknesses in a
philosopher. It could be possible that a man of a high type, when
degenerating and perishing, might only at that point acquire qualities
that would require those in the lower sphere into which he had sunk to
begin to venerate him like a saint. There are books that have opposite
values for soul and health, depending on whether the lower soul, the
lower vitality, or the higher and more vigorous ones turn to them: in
the former case, these books are dangerous and lead to crumbling and
disintegration; in the latter, heralds' cries that call the bravest to
<em>their</em> courage. Books for all the world are always
foul-smelling books: the smell of small people clings to them. Where
the people eat and drink, even where they venerate, it usually
stinks. One should not go to church if one wants to breathe
<em>pure</em> air.</p>

</blockquote>


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<p class="cke-footer">          Who will tend the garden when the snake swallows the light?          
         Who will eat the decay when the worms have lost their sight?          
           Who will rape the weak when there's nothing left to gain?           
             Who will till the soil of these barren black remains?             
</p>
<p class="cke-timestamp">Last Modified:
    December 14, 2008</p>
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	6	<title>The Wisdom of the Ancients</title>
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2aff8b5c	14	</head>
	15	<body>
	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>
aa72714c	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>
2aff8b5c	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, "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."</p>
	75	<p class="quoted">"Once," said Mencius, "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">"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>
c2a3216c	98	<p class="quoted"></p>
2aff8b5c	99
	100	<p class="verse">
	101	He never failed to drive correctly,<br />
	102	And his arrows went straight for the target<br />
54a817d4	103	</p><br />
2aff8b5c	104	</p>
54a817d4	105	<p class="quoted">I am not used to driving for small men. May I be excused?'</p>
2aff8b5c	106	<p class="quoted">"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."</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, "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">"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."</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	1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.<br />
171	2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.<br />
172	3 What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?<br />
173	4 One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth<br />
174	abideth for ever.<br />
175	5 The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place<br />
176	where he arose.<br />
177	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	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	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	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	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	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	12 I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.<br />
191	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	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	15 That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting<br />
197	cannot be numbered.<br />
198	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	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	18 For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge<br />
204	increaseth sorrow.<br />
205	</p>
206
207
aa72714c	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—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
5d446cbd	248	<blockquote>
	249	<p class="quoted">
	250	<strong>30.</strong> Our highest insights must—and should—sound
aa72714c	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—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—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—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>
5d446cbd	265	<p class="quoted">What serves the higher type of men as nourishment or delectation must
aa72714c	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
5d446cbd	282	</blockquote>
5d446cbd	283
aa72714c	284
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7404d4e1	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?
2aff8b5c	316	</p>
2aff8b5c	317	<p class="cke-timestamp">Last Modified:
aa72714c	318	December 14, 2008</p>
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