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Wu Mazi criticized Mozi, saying. "To leave contemporaries alone and to praise the early kings is to praise rotten bones. It is like the carpenter who knows only the decaying lumber but not the living tree." Mozi: Now the world lives because of the instructions of the early kings. And to praise the early kings is to praise the source of life to the world. Not to praise what should be praised is not magnanimous. Mozi said: The jade of He, the pearl of Duke Sui, and the nine dings - these are what the feudal lords value as excellent treasures. Can they enrich the country, multiply the people, put the government in order, and place the state in safety? Of course they cannot. Excellent treasures are to be valued for their efficacy. Now since the jade of He, the pearl of Duke Sui, and the nine dings cannot benefit men, then they are not the excellent treasures in the world. On the other hand, if righteousness is employed in the government of the state the population will be increased, the government will be in order, and the state will be secure. The excellent treasures are to be valued for their efficacy. Now righteousness can benefit men. So then righteousness is the excellent treasure of the world. 1. 非 : Inserted. 孫詒讓《墨子閒詁》
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