7.26 The son said, "Holy man, I cannot see it; Those who can see a gentleman, Si Ke. ”
Zi said: "Good people, I can't see it; You can see the one who is constant, and you can see it. Death is for being, void is for profit, appointment is for Thailand, it is difficult to have permanence. ”
Confucius said, "Sage, I can't see it; If you can see the gentleman, it's fine. ”
Confucius also said, "Good man, I can't see it; If you can see someone who can persevere, it's fine. It is difficult to persist in pretending to be there without it, pretending to be sufficient with not being full, and pretending to be luxurious with simple and poor clothing. ”
Interpretation] void - not full.
Thai - extravagant, luxurious and not stingy.
This chapter can be understood as Confucius's talk about the requirements of self-conduct. He said that to be a gentleman is to "be as good as yourself without friends" ("Learning" 18) This chapter is his criterion for choosing friends: if there is no saint, choose a gentleman; If there are no good people, choose those who are constant. In essence, friends at least have to choose a person who is realistic about facts, and people who brag can't last long.
This chapter can be seen as Confucius's words to the rulers. As a ruler, if you can't be a saint, you must at least be a gentleman; If you can't be a good person, at least don't be a **.
Death is for being, virtual is for profit, and about for Thailand" is the existence expected by Confucius, if it is to talk about choosing friends, it is better to say, it is a big deal to stay away; If it is addressed to those in power, what should be done in the face of those in power who are "difficult to permanent"?
For Politics 219 and "Yan Yuan Chapter" 12There is an answer in 22, that is, "Straighten up the wrong, and all the wrong" Put the upright people above the ** people, choose the virtuous, and depose the bad people. It can be "people's service" and "vain".
What if the ruler is so high that it is difficult to "straighten out the wrong"? Unfortunately, Confucius did not have an answer. More than 100 years later, Mencius was quite happy to enmity and hatred, he said, "The king regards his ministers as siblings, and the ministers regard the king as his heart; The monarch regards the minister as a dog and a horse, and the minister regards the monarch as a countryman; The king regards his ministers as mustard, and the ministers regard him as an enemy. (Mencius, Lilouxia).