laid the instrument aside, and rose. “My wishes,” he said, “are different from the cherished purposes of these three gentlemen.” “What harm is there in that?” said the Master; “do you also, as well as they, speak out your wishes.” Tien then said, “In this, the last month of spring, with the dress of the season all complete, along with five or six young men who have assumed the cap, and six or seven boys, I would wash in the Î, enjoy the breeze among the rain altars, and return home singing.” The Master heaved a sigh and said, “I give my approval to Tien.”
The three others having gone out, Tsǎng Hsî remained behind, and said, “What do you think of the words of these three friends?” The Master replied, “They simply told each one his wishes.”
Hsî pursued, “Master, why did you smile at Yû?”
He was answered, “The management of a State demands the rules of propriety. His words were not humble; therefore I smiled at him.”
Hsî again said, “But was it not a State which Ch’iû proposed for himself?” The reply was, “Yes; did you ever see a territory of sixty or seventy li or one of fifty or sixty, which was not a State?”
Once more, Hsî inquired, “And was it not a State which Ch’ih proposed for himself?” The Master again replied, “Yes; who but princes have to do with ancestral temples, and with audiences but the sovereign? If Ch’ih were to be a small assistant in these services, who could be a great one?”