Book 20
20.1
Yao said, "Oh, Shun! The numbers of Tian's calendar now fall to your person hold well to their center. If the lands within the four seas are pressed to exhaustion, the emolument from Tian will be forever ended."
With these same words, Shun charged Yu.
[Tang the Successful] said, "I, Lü, who am but a youth, dare to sacrifice this dark coated bull in clear declaration before the august Lord above. I dare not pardon those who have committed crimes, and thus I cannot make concealment for the Lord's minister, for he has already been observed in the Lord's heart. If I myself have committed a crime, do not hold the myriad regions of the land responsible, but if the myriad regions have committed a crime, let it fall on my person alone."
The House of Zhou possessed a great treasure; good men were its riches. "Though I have my closest kin, it is better to have men of ren. If the people err, let it fall on my person alone."
The Zhou standardized weights and measures, aligned laws and ordinances, restored offices that had been allowed to lapse, and governance proceeded in all the four quarters. They restored states that had been extinguished, extended their broken lineages, raised up to office those worthies who had fled to reclusion, and the people of the world responded to them in their hearts.
They gave priority to the people: their sustenance, funerals, and sacrifices.
Being tolerant, they gained the multitudes; being trustworthy, the people entrusted them with responsibility; being quick, they had accomplishments; being impartial, the people were pleased.
20.2
Zizhang asked Confucius, "What must a man be like before he may participate in governance?"
Confucius said, "If he honors the five beautiful things and casts out the four evils, then he may participate in governance."
Zizhang said, "What are the five beautiful things?"
The Master said, "The junzi is generous but not wasteful, a taskmaster of whom none complain, desirous but not greedy, dignified but not arrogant, awe-inspiring but not fearsome."
Zizhang said, "What do you mean by generous but not wasteful?"
The Master said, "To reward people with that which benefits them, is that not to be generous but not wasteful? To pick a task that people can fulfill and set them to it, is that not to be a taskmaster of whom none complain? If one desires ren and obtains it, wherein is he greedy? If he never dares to be unmannerly, regardless of whether with many or a few, with the great or the small, is that not to be dignified but not arrogant? When the junzi sets his cap and robes right, and makes his gaze reverent, such that people stare up at him in awe, is this not, indeed, to be awe-inspiring and not fearsome?"
Zizhang said, "What are the four evils?"
The Master said, "To execute people without having given them instruction is called cruelty; to inspect their work without warning is called oppressiveness; to demand timely completion while having been slow in giving orders is called thievery; to dole out stingily what must be given is called clerkishness."
20.3
The Master said, If you do not know your destiny, you cannot be a junzi. If you don't know li, you cannot take your stand. If you don't interpret people's words, you cannot interpret people.