Once he made the remark, “The governments of Lu and of Wei are in brotherhood.”

Of King, a son of the Duke of Wei, he observed that “he managed his household matters well.  On his coming into possession, he thought, ’What a strange conglomeration!’—­Coming to possess a little more, it was, ‘Strange, such a result!’ And when he became wealthy, ’Strange, such elegance!’”

The Master was 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;”

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 far will follow.”

When Tsz-hia became governor of Kue-fu, and consulted him about government, he answered, “Do not wish for speedy results.  Do not look at trivial advantages.  If you wish for speedy results, they will not be far-reaching; and if you regard trivial advantages you will not successfully deal with important affairs.”