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“Quis puer ocius Restinguet ardentis Falerni Pocula praetereunte lympha?”

The Master said, 'Fine words, an insinuating appearance, and excessive respect;-- Tso Ch'iu-ming was ashamed of them. I also am ashamed of them. To conceal resentment against a person, and appear friendly with him;-- Tso Ch'iu-ming was ashamed of such conduct. I also am ashamed of it.'

The people readily assent; all their fears are for him—they have none for themselves.

They took breath in their drinking, and watered their wine

Then comes the famous request for a body-guard, which is the device of all those who have got thus far in their tyrannical career—‘Let not the people’s friend,’ as they say, ‘be lost to them.’

The Master said, 'When good order prevailed in his country, Ning Wu acted the part of a wise man. When his country was in disorder, he acted the part of a stupid man. Others may equal his wisdom, but they cannot equal his stupidity.'

Then faint not in pursuing the speculation, he said.

The Master said, 'Tsang Wan kept a large tortoise in a house, on the capitals of the pillars of which he had hills made, and with representations of duckweed on the small pillars above the beams supporting the rafters.-- Of what sort was his wisdom?'

And if they are unable to expel him, or to get him condemned to death by a public accusation, they conspire to assassinate him.

When Tsze-lu heard anything, if he had not yet succeeded in carrying it into practice, he was only afraid lest he should hear something else.

Tsze-kung said, 'The Master's personal displays of his principles and ordinary descriptions of them may be heard. His discourses about man's nature, and the way of Heaven, cannot be heard.'

I too, I replied, shall be extremely well satisfied.

Tsai Yu being asleep during the daytime, the Master said, 'Rotten wood cannot be carved; a wall of dirty earth will not receive the trowel. This Yu!-- what is the use of my reproving him?' 2. The Master said, 'At first, my way with men was to hear their words, and give them credit for their conduct. Now my way is to hear their words, and look at their conduct. It is from Yu that I have learned to make this change.'

The Republic — Chapter 14: Book IV (part 3/4)

The Master was wishing Ch'i-tiao K'ai to enter on official employment. He replied, 'I am not yet able to rest in the assurance of THIS.' The Master was pleased.

[“The bed of King Nicomedes.”--Suetonius, Life of Caesar, 49.]

May we not be satisfied with that? he said;—under the circumstances, I am quite content.

Some one said, 'Yung is truly virtuous, but he is not ready with his tongue.' 2. The Master said, 'What is the good of being ready with the tongue? They who encounter men with smartnesses of speech for the most part procure themselves hatred. I know not whether he be truly virtuous, but why should he show readiness of the tongue?'

The women used to lie on the side of the bed next the wall: and for that reason they called Caesar,

Very true, I said; and I do not think that the method which we are employing is at all adequate to the accurate solution of this question; the true method is another and a longer one. Still we may arrive at a solution not below the level of the previous enquiry.