Yen-tzŭ's wife sent on an errand a man dressed in cotton cloth
with hempen border. T`ien Wu-yü criticised him saying, "Who
is that fellow who [just] came out of the house?"
Yen-tzŭ said, "He is a household servant."
T`ien Wu-yü said, "With the position of chung-ch`ing and
sustenance fields [to the number of] seven hundred thousand, why
do you keep such a person in your employ?"
Yen-tzŭ said, "To discharge the old and choose the young is
termed blindness. When rich to forget the poor is termed disorder.
To be carried away by the sight of physical beauty is termed
perversity. How should I take the way of perversity, disorder,
and blindness?"
