ver and the gain thereof than fine gold.

[Footnote 93: Dr. Legge has since published: vol. ii. containing the
works of Mencius; vol. iii. part 1. containing the first part of the
Shoo King; vol. iii. part 2. containing the fifth part of the Shoo
King.]

Confucius shows his tolerant spirit when he says, 'The superior man is
catholic, and no partisan. The mean man is a partisan, and not
catholic' (p. 14).

There is honest manliness in his saying, 'To see what is right, and
not to do it, is want of courage' (p. 18).

His definition of knowledge, though less profound than that of
Socrates, is nevertheless full of good sense:

'The Master said, "Shall I teach you what knowledge is? When
you know a thing, to hold that you know it; and when you do
not know a thing, to allow that you do not know it--this is
knowledge"' (p. 15).

Nor was Confucius unacquainted with the secrets of the heart: 'It is
only the truly virtuous man,' he says in one place, 'who can love or
who can hate others' (p. 30). In another place he expresses his belief
in the irresistible charm of virtue: 'Virtue is not left to stand
alone,' he says; 'he who practises it will have neighbours.' He bears
witness to the hidden connection between intellectual and moral
excellence: 'It is not easy,' he remarks, 'to find a man who has
learned for three years without coming to be good' (p. 76). In his
ethics, the golden rule of the Gospel, 'Do ye unto others as ye would
that others should do to you,' is represented as almost unattainable.
Thus we read, 'Tsze-Kung said, "What I do not wish men to do to me, I
also wish not to do to men." The Master said, "Tsze, you have not
attained to that,"' The Brahmans, too, had a distant perception of the
same truth, which is expressed, for instance, in the Hitopadesa in the
following words: 'Good people show mercy unto all beings, considering
how like they are to themselves.' On subjects which transcend the
limits of human understanding, Confucius is less explicit; but his
very reticence is remarkable, when we consider the recklessness with
which Oriental philosophers launch into the depths of religious
metaphysics. Thus we read (p. 107):

'Ke Loo asked about serving the spirits of the dead. The
Master said, "While you are not able to serve men, how can
you serve their spirits?"

Ke Loo added, "I venture to ask about death." He was
answered, "While you do not know life, how ca