Page:Zhuang Zi - translation Giles 1889.djvu/247

CAP. XVII.] And to excel in great things is given only to the Sages."


 * Everything has its own natural qualifications. What is difficult to one is easy to another.


 * No illustration is given of the "eye" and "mind." "'Tis the half-length portrait," says Lin Hsi Chung, "of a beautiful girl;"—which is ingenious if not sound.

When Confucius visited K'uang, the men of Sung surrounded him closely.


 * This is a mistake. "K'uang" was in the Wei State, and it was by the men of Wei that Confucius was surrounded.

Yet he went on playing and singing to his guitar without ceasing.

"How is it, Sir," enquired Tzŭ Lu, "that you are so cheerful?"


 * See p. 165. Tzŭ Lu would have been the first to be cheerful himself.

"Come here," replied Confucius, "and I will tell you. For a long time I have been struggling against failure, but in vain. Fate is against me. For a long time I have been seeking success, but in vain. The hour has not come.

"In the days of Yao and Shun, no man throughout the empire was a failure, though no one was conscious of the gain. In the days of Chieh and Chou, no man throughout the empire was a success, though no one was conscious of the loss. The times and circumstances were adapted accordingly.