It is the nature of a cocoon to make silk thread, but if it is not
first heated in boiling water by the woman whose job it is, and
then unraveled and put into order,[2]
it will not become silk thread.
It is the nature of an egg to make a chick; but without a good hen
to cover it and protect it for days on end, it will not become a
chick. Now the nature of man is good, but without the support of
an enlightened king or saintly ruler who will make him intimate
with the True Way, he will not become a superior man. The
Ode says,[3]
Heaven gave birth to the multitudes[4]
of the people,
But the nature it confers is not to be depended on.[5]
All are [good] at first,
But few prove themselves to be so at the last.
It says that it may be brought about only with an enlightened
king or saintly ruler.
