o one tires of his laughter; he only
takes when it is right to take, so no one tires of his taking.

It may be so, said the Master; but is it?

15. The Master said, When he held Fang and asked Lu to appoint an
heir, though Tsang Wu-chung said he was not forcing his lord, I do not
believe it.

16. The Master said, Duke Wen of Chin was deep, but dishonest; Duke
Huan of Ch'i was honest, but shallow.

17. Tzu-lu said, When Duke Huan slew the young duke Chiu, and Shao Hu
died with him, but Kuan Chung did not, was not this want of love?[131]

[Footnote 131: Chiu and Huan were brothers, sons of the Duke of Ch'i.
When their father died, their uncle seized the throne. To preserve the
rightful heir, Shao Hu and Kuan Chung fled with Chiu to Lu, whilst
Huan escaped to another state. Later on the usurper was murdered, and
Huan returned to Ch'i and secured the throne. He then required the
Duke of Lu to kill his brother and deliver up to him Shao Hu and Kuan
Chung. This was done. But on the way to Ch'i Shao Hu killed himself.
Kuan Chung, on the other hand, took service under Duke Huan, became
his chief minister, and raised the state to greatness. (See note to
Book III, Sec. 22.)]

The Master said, Duke Huan gathered the great vassals round him, not
by chariots of war, but through the might of Kuan Chung. What can love
do more? What can love do more?

18. Tzu-kung said, When Duke Huan slew the young duke Chiu, and Kuan
Chung could not face death and even became his minister, surely he
showed want of love?

The Master said, By Kuan Chung helping Duke Huan to put down the great
vassals and make all below heaven one, men have fared the better from
that day to this. But for Kuan Chung our hair would hang down our
backs and our coats would button to the left; or should he, like the
bumpkin and his lass, their troth to keep, have drowned in a ditch,
unknown to anyone?

19. The minister Hsien, who had been steward to Kung-shu Wen, went to
audience of the Duke together with Wen.

When the Master heard of it, he said, He is rightly called Wen
(well-bred).

20. The Master spake of Ling Duke of Wei's contempt for the Way.

K'ang[132] said, If this be so, how does he escape ruin?

Confucius answered, With Chung-shu Yue in charge of the guests, the
reader T'o in charge of the Ancestral Temple, and Wang-sun Chia in
charge of the troops, how should he come to ruin?

21. The Master said, When words are unblushing, they are hard to ma