Page:Gems of Chinese literature (1922).djvu/300

 The men of old see not the moon of to-day; yet the moon of to-day is the moon that shone on them. He who rides a tiger, cannot dismount. A stupid son is better than a clever daughter Politeness before force. Life feeds upon adversity and sorrow. Death comes amid pleasure and repose [Mencius]. If you can’t draw a tiger, draw a dog. One dog barks at something, and the rest bark at him. You can’t clap hands with one palm. Cleanse your heart as you would cleanse a dish. All that a man needs in this transitory life is a splint hat and a rice-bowl. A pretty woman entering a family has the ugly ones for her foes. He who has seen little is astonished at much. Shoes for the same foot must be worn by different people. Draw your bow, but don’t shoot. One more good man on earth is better than an extra angel in heaven. Don’t take a pole-axe to kill a fowl [Confucius]. Don’t make dumplings in a teapot. Good or bad, ’tis the wine of my country.

In the market-place, money; in solitude, peace. One man spreads a false report and a hundred report it as truth. Gold is tested by fire; man, by gold. The influence of good is all too little. The influence of bad is all too much. Man dies and leaves a name. The tiger dies and leaves a skin.