Page:The sayings of Confucius; a new translation of the greater part of the Confucian analects (IA sayingsofconfuci00confiala).pdf/110

 the prime of life, when the physical frame is vigorous and strong, he guards against pugnacity; in old age, when the vital forces are in their decline, he guards against the greed of gain.

The highest class of men are they whose knowledge is innate; next to these are they whose knowledge is acquired by study ; after them come those who are dull-witted, yet strive to learn; while those who are dull-witted and will make no effort to learn are the lowest of the people.

"When you see the good, act as though you could never quite come up with it; when you are brought face to face with evil, act as though you were trying the heat of boiling water":—I have heard some such saying as this, and I have seen men live up to it. "Dwell in retirement, in order to work out your aims; practise righteousness, in order to apprehend the Truth":—such a saying I have heard, but I have never seen a man live up to it.