The philosopher Tsǎng being ill, Mǎng Chǎng went to ask how he was.
Tsǎng said to him, “When a bird is about to die, its notes are mournful; when a man is about to die, his words are good.
“There are three principles of conduct which the man of high rank should consider specially important:—that in his deportment and manner he keep from violence and heedlessness; that in regulating his countenance he keep near to sincerity; and that in his words and tones he keep far from lowness and impropriety. As to such matters as attending to the sacrificial vessels, there are the proper officers for them.”