Page:Gems of Chinese literature (1922).djvu/28

 The Master replied, What then will you return for good? No: A disciple having asked for a rule of life in a word, the Master said, Is not Reciprocity that word? When his stable was burnt down, Confucius left the Court and said, “Has any man been hurt?” He did not ask about the horses. A feudal noble said to Confucius, “The villagers of my State are upright men. If a father steals a sheep, his son will give evidence against him.” Confucius replied, “The uprightness of the villagers in my State is different from that. A father will shield his son, and a son will shield his father. This is what I call uprightness.”