they find pleasure, he secured the success of the government of the people.
14. Heaven produces the seasons. Earth produces all the sources of wealth. Man is begotten by his father, and instructed by his teacher. The ruler correctly uses these four agencies, and therefore he stands in the place where there is no errors[1].
15. Hence the ruler is he to whose brightness men look; he does not seek to brighten men. It is he whom men support; he does not seek to support men. It is he whom men serve; he does not seek to serve men. If the ruler were to seek to brighten men, he would fall into errors. If he were to seek to nourish men, he would be unequal to the task. If he were to seek to serve men, he would be giving up his position. Therefore the people imitate the ruler, and we have their self-government; they nourish their ruler, and they find their security in doing so; they serve the ruler, and find their distinction in doing so. Thus it is by the universal application of the rules of propriety, that the lot and duty (of different classes) are fixed; thus it is that men, (acting contrary to those rules,) would all have to account death a boon, and life an evil.
16. Therefore (the ruler), making use of the wisdom of others, will put away the cunning to which that wisdom might lead him; using their
courage, he will (in the same way) put away
- ↑ "If the ruler," says Khung Ying-tâ, "were to undertake to do all the work of these agencies himself, he would commit many errors. Employing them according to the natural operation of each, the work is easily performed, and without error."
