| Tan Gong I: |
When Zi-xia was mourning for his son, he lost his eyesight. Zeng-zi went to condole with him, and said, 'I have heard that when a friend loses his eyesight, we should wail for him.' Thereupon he wailed, and Zi-xia also wailed, and said, 'O Heaven, and I have no guilt!' Zeng-zi was angry, and said, 'Shang, how can you say that you have no guilt? I and you served the Master between the Zhu and the Si'; and (after his death) you retired, and grew old in the neighbourhood of the Western He, where you made the people compare you with the Master. This was one offence. When you mourned for your parents, you did so in such a way that the people heard nothing of it. This was a second offence. When you mourned for your son, you did it in such a way that you have lost your eyesight. This is a third offence. And how do you say that you have no guilt?' Zi-xia threw down his staff, and bowed, saying, 'I was wrong, I was wrong. It is a long time since I left the herd, and lived apart here.' |
