The head of the Chi clan was already richer than Chou Kung, yet Ch'iu kept levying taxes for him and adding to his wealth.—He is no disciple of mine, said the Master. My children, you may beat the drum and attack him.[1]
The Master said: Hui reaches the verge of perfection, yet he is often in great want. Tz'ǔ does not resign himself to the will of Heaven, yet his worldly goods continue to increase. His judgments, however, frequently hit the mark.
Tzǔ Lu asked if he should at once put the precepts which he heard into practice.—The Master said: There are your father and elder brothers to consult first; why should you be so impatient to act on what you hear?—Jan Yu asked the same question, and the Master said: Yes, act at once according to the instruction that is given to you.—Kung-hsi Hua then said: When Yu asked if he should put the precepts which he heard into practice, you replied, Sir, that he had his father and elder brothers to consult first. When Ch'iu asked the same question, you said:
- ↑ This was the disciple by whose agency Confucius was finally restored to Lu. But Confucius was the last man to let private considerations stand in the way when public interests were involved and a crying evil had to be redressed. "Beating the drum" has no reference, as Legge thinks, to "the practice of executing criminals in the market-place." It was simply the recognised signal in warfare for advancing to the attack, gongs being used to sound the retreat.
