Yüan Hsien dwelt in Lu in a house only one tu on a side;[2]
it
was thatched with grasses; the door was a mat, and the window
the mouth of a broken pot;[3]
a bent mulberry tree served as door
support;
[4]
above, [the roof] leaked, and below [the floor] was wet.
After seating himself correctly, he would play the lute and sing.
Tzŭ-kung came to see him, with fat horses to his carriage and
wearing light furs,
[5]
deep purple inside
[6]
and undyed outside. Since
his high chariot could not get into the lane, he walked up to call
upon him. Yüan Hsien answered the door, [wearing] a cap of
ch`u[7]
bark and carrying a wooden staff. He straightened his cap
and the string broke; he adjusted the lapel of his gown and his
elbows came out; he put on his shoes and the heels burst.
Tzŭ-kung said, "Eh, sir, what ails you?"
Yüan Hsien looking up answered, "I have heard that to be
without property is termed poverty, and that to be unable to put
into practice what one has studied is termed ailing. I am poor;
I am not ailing. Now acting with an eye to public opinion, making
friends on a partisan basis, studying for the sake of others[8]
and
teaching for one's own sake,[9]
so that jên and i are concealed, so
that horse and carriage are ostentatious, so that clothes and furs
are elegant—I cannot bear to practice the like."
Tzŭ-kung drew back, his face colored with shame, and he left
without saying farewell. Whereupon Yüan Hsien returned with
slow steps, trailing his stick and singing the Sacrificial Odes of
Shang.[10]
The sound merged with Heaven and Earth, as though it
issued from metal and stone [musical instruments]. The emperor
had no way of getting him as minister and the feudal lords had
no way of getting him for a friend. Truly he who is cultivating
his person forgets his family, and he who cultivates his will forgets
his person. Since he does not love even his person, who can dishonor
him? The Ode says,
[11]
My mind is not a stone;—
It cannot be rolled about.
My mind is not a mat;—
It cannot be rolled up.
