Weizi微子第十八

Weizi left, Jizi became a slave, and Bi Gan remonstrated and died. Confucius said, "Yin had three humane men."

Liuxia Hui became chief judge (士師) and was dismissed three times. People said, "Is it not time for you to leave?" He said, "If a man keeps the Way straight in serving others, where can he go and not be dismissed three times? If he is willing to bend the Way in serving others, why need he leave the land of his father and mother?"

Duke Jing of Qi spoke about how he would treat Confucius. He said, "I cannot treat him as the Ji family is treated. I will treat him somewhere between the Ji and the Meng." Then he said, "I am old, and I cannot use him." So Confucius left.

The people of Qi sent women musicians (女樂). Ji Huanzi accepted them and held no court for three days. So Confucius left.

Jieyu, the madman of Chu, passed by Confucius singing. "Phoenix, phoenix! How your virtue has declined. What is gone cannot be set right, but what is coming can still be caught. Give it up, give it up! Those who serve in government today are in danger." Confucius got down and wished to speak with him, but the man hurried away and avoided him, and he could not speak with him.

Changju and Jieni were plowing side by side. Confucius was passing and sent Zilu to ask where the ford was. Changju said, "Who is that man holding the reins?" Zilu said, "He is Kong Qiu." "Kong Qiu of Lu?" "Yes." "Then he knows where the ford is." Zilu asked Jieni, and Jieni said, "Who are you?" "I am Zhong You." "Are you a follower of Kong Qiu of Lu?" He answered, "I am." Jieni said, "The whole world is flooding on like this. Who is there to change it with you? And rather than follow a man who flees from certain men, would it not be better to follow men who flee from the age itself?" And he went on covering the seed without stopping. Zilu went and reported this. The Master said sadly, "A man cannot flock together with birds and beasts. If I do not keep company with these people, with whom shall I keep company? If the world had the Way, I would not be trying to change it."

Zilu was following the Master and had fallen behind when he met an old man carrying a bamboo basket on his staff. Zilu asked, "Sir, have you seen my teacher?" The old man said, "You do not work your four limbs, and you cannot tell the five grains apart. Who is your teacher?" Then he planted his staff in the ground and went on weeding. Zilu stood with his hands folded. The old man kept Zilu for the night, killed a chicken and cooked millet to feed him, and presented his two sons to him. The next day Zilu went and reported this. The Master said, "He is a man in hiding," and sent Zilu back to see him, but when Zilu arrived the man had already gone. Zilu said, "Not to serve in office is to be without right conduct. The proper order between old and young cannot be thrown away, so how can the right order between ruler and subject be thrown away? To keep oneself pure and throw the great bonds of men into disorder — that is what it comes to. When the noble man serves in office, he is practicing what is right. He already knows that the Way is not being practiced."

The men who withdrew (逸民) were Bo Yi, Shu Qi, Yu Zhong, Yi Yi, Zhu Zhang, Liuxia Hui, and Shao Lian. The Master said, "Those who did not bend their purpose and did not disgrace their persons were Bo Yi and Shu Qi." Of Liuxia Hui and Shao Lian he said, "They bent their purpose and disgraced their persons, but their words were right in principle and their conduct was right in judgment. That is all." Of Yu Zhong and Yi Yi he said, "They lived hidden and spoke without restraint, yet their persons were right in purity and their withdrawal from office was right in the weighing of things." "For me it is different. There is nothing I must do and nothing I must not do."

Zhi, the grand music master, went to Qi. Gan, musician of the second meal, went to Chu. Liao, musician of the third meal, went to Cai. Que, musician of the fourth meal, went to Qin. Fangshu the drummer went into Henei. Wu, who shook the hand drum, went into Hanzhong. Yang the assistant master and Xiang who struck the chime stone went out to the islands of the sea.

The Duke of Zhou said to the Duke of Lu, "The noble man does not cast off his own kin. He does not let his high ministers resent being passed over. He does not dismiss old servants unless they have committed some great fault. He does not demand everything from one man."

Zhou had eight officers: Bo Da, Bo Kuo, Zhong Tu, Zhong Hu, Shu Ye, Shu Xia, Ji Sui, and Ji Gua.