| Zi Yi: |
The Master said, 'To the people the ruler is as their heart; to the ruler the people are as his body. When the heart is composed, the body is at ease; when the heart is reverent, the body is respectful; when the heart loves anything, the body is sure to rest in it. (So), when the ruler loves anything, the people are sure to desire it. The body is the complement of the heart, and a wound in it makes the heart also suffer. So the ruler is preserved by the people, and perishes also through the people. It is said in an ode, "Once we had that former premier, His words were wise and pure; The states and clans by him were at rest, The chief cities and towns by him were well regulated, All the people by him enjoyed their life. Who (now) holds the ordering of the kingdom? Not himself attending to the government, The issue is toil and pain to the people." It is said in, the Jun-ya (Shu, V, xxv, 5), "In the heat and rain of summer days the inferior people may be described as murmuring and sighing. And so it may be said of them in the great cold of winter."' |
