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The types of jên are four, the least of which is that of scrupulousness.
There is the jên of the saint, of the wise man, of the
virtuous man, and of the scrupulous man. Above, he knows
Heaven and is able to use its proper seasons;[1]
below, he knows
Earth and is able to use its produce; in the middle he knows man,
and is able to make him happy and at his ease: this is the jên
of the saint. Above, he likewise knows Heaven and is able to use
its seasons; below, he knows Earth and is able to use its produce;
in the middle he knows man, and is able to cause others to let him
do as he likes: this is the jên[2]
of the wise man. Being broad-minded,
he is tolerant of the masses
[3]
and [so inspires] the trust of
the people; the way he achieves this end is not to hamper them
in their seasons: this is the
jên of the virtuous man. He is scrupulous,
clean, upright, and correct. He hates disorder, but will
not put it to rights; he loathes depravity, but he does not rectify
it. Though he may live in a village, [for him] it is like sitting in
dirt and ashes.
[4]
He may be ordered to enter the court, but to him
it is like going through hot water and fire. He will not command
a people whom he does not esteem
[5]
or taste food of which he does
not approve. Although he hates a time of disorder he thinks
nothing of dying. Paying no attention to family ties, he reduces
things to rule to an inauspicious degree. Such is the
jên of the
scrupulous man.
There is a traditional saying:[6]
"If the mountain is [merely] a
pinnacle, it cannot be high, and if the water flows straight, then
it cannot be deep." [In the same way,] if jên is scrupulous, then
its efficacy is not great.
One who aspires to rank with Heaven and Earth—that person's
case is not auspicious. Such was the conduct of Po-i, Shu-ch`i,
Pien-sui, Chieh Tzŭ-t`ui, Yüan Hsien, Pao Chiao, Yüan Ching-mu,[7]
and Shên-t`u Ti. The measure of Heavenly Mandate which
they received brought them only so far.[8]
They were unable to
change it.[9]
Even though they should wither away, they did not
rid themselves of it. The Ode says:[10]
So it is![11]
Heaven has done it;—
What then shall I say?
Although the
jên of the scrupulous man is inferior, still the Saint
does not despise it, because the means of rectifying the people
lies therein.
