Page:Leaves from my Chinese Scrapbook - Balfour, 1887.djvu/122



help? " So the father set out for the State of Lu; but on his way he had to pass through the State of Ch'en, and there he fell in with Lao-tzŭ, to whom he told his story. Lao-tzŭ replied, "How is it that you only know your son to be crazy, and appear quite unconscious that everybody else in the world, by confusing right and wrong, injury and advantage, is suffering from precisely the same disease? I assure you that there is not a single sane man among them. Now, the craziness of one person is not sufficient to impoverish a whole family; that of a single family is not sufficient to impoverish a whole village; nor that of a village to impoverish a state, nor that of a state to impoverish the whole empire. And if the whole world went completely crazy, who would there be left to suffer by it?—while, supposing the whole world to be in the same mental condition as your son, it follows that it is you who are crazy, and not he."

Confucius on Sageship.

The Premier Shang, during an interview with Confucius, asked him whether he was a sage.

"A sage!" replied Confucius; "how could I dare claim to be a sage? And yet my learning is wide, and my knowledge considerable."

"Well, were the Three Princes sages?" asked the Premier. "The Three Princes," said Confucius, "were virtuous, tolerant, wise, and brave; but whether they were sages I don't know."

"How about the Five Rulers?" inquired the Premier. "The Five Rulers," replied Confucius, "were virtuous, tolerant, benevolent, and just; but whether they were sages I don't know."

"The Three Emperors, then?" pursued the Premier.

"The Three Emperors," said Confucius, "were virtuous and tolerant, and always acted in accordance with the times; but whether they were sages I don't know."

Then the Premier, greatly astonished, exclaimed, "If so, then, where is a sage to be found?"