| Zi Yi: |
The Master said, 'Words should be capable of proof by instances, and conduct should be conformed to rule; when the case is so, a man's aim cannot be taken from him while he is alive, nor can his good name be taken away when he is dead. Therefore the superior man, having heard much, verifies it by inquiry, and firmly holds fast (what is proved); he remembers much, verifies it by inquiry, and makes it his own; when he knows it exactly, he carries the substance of it into practice. It is said in the Jun-chen (Shu, V, xxi, 5), "Going out and coming in, seek the judgment of the people about things, till you find a general agreement upon them." It is said in the Book of Poetry (I, xiv, ode 3, i), "The virtuous man, the princely one, Is uniformly correct in his deportment."' |
