as on a journey to Wei, and Yen Yu was driving him. "What
multitudes of people!" he exclaimed. Yen Yu asked him, "Seeing they
are so numerous, what more would you do for them?"

"Enrich them," replied the Master.

"And after enriching them, what more would you do for them?"

"Instruct them."

"Were any one of our princes to employ me," he said, "after a
twelvemonth I might have made some tolerable progress; but give me
three years, and my work should be done."

Again, "How true is that saying, 'Let good men have the management of
a country for a century, and they would be adequate to cope with
evil-doers, and thus do away with capital punishments.'"

Again, "Suppose the ruler to possess true kingly qualities, then
surely after one generation there would be good-will among men."

Again, "Let a ruler but see to his own rectitude, and what trouble
will he then have in the work before him? If he be unable to rectify
himself, how is he to rectify others?"

Once when Yen Yu was leaving the Court, the Master accosted him. "Why
so late?" he asked. "Busy with legislation," Yen replied. "The details
of it," suggested the Master; "had it been legislation, I should have
been there to hear it, even though I am not in office."

Duke Ting asked if there were one sentence which, if acted upon, might
have the effect of making a country prosperous.

Confucius answered, "A sentence could hardly be supposed to do so much
as that. But there is a proverb people use which says, 'To play the
prince is hard, to play the minister not easy.' Assuming that it is
understood that 'to play the prince is hard,' would it not be probable
that with that one sentence the country should be made to prosper?"

"Is there, then," he asked, "one sentence which, if acted upon, would
have the effect of ruining a country?"

Confucius again replied, "A sentence could hardly be supposed to do so
much as that. But there is a proverb men have which says, 'Not gladly
would I play the prince, unless my words were ne'er withstood.'
Assuming that the words were good, and that none withstood them, would
not that also be good? But assuming that they were not good, and yet
none withstood them, would it not be probable that with that one
saying he would work his country's ruin?"

When the Duke of Sheh consulted him about government, he replied,
"Where the near are gratified, the war will follow."

When Tsz-hia became governor of Kue-fu, and consulted him about