Chapter XXII.
IMPEACHING THE WORTHY.
(a) The Lord Grand Secretary: Broken will be
the inflexible, and bent, the flexible[26]
: thus Chi Yü died
because of his stiff-neckedness, and Tsai Wo was
murdered being yielding and weak. But if thes two
men had not acquired learning, they probably would not
have died their death. How so? Learning made them
proud of themselves and boastful of their abilities;
knowing little, grabbing much; wishing that men follow
them and unable to follow others; self-admiring, when
no one even glanced at them; self-appraising when no
one even bargained for them. This is how they ended
their lives by being murdered and finished by being
embrined and enmarinaded.[27]
We have not yet seen them
made into "temple vessels," but we saw them utterly
disgraced before the world. At that time would you
also send them flitting eastward to find rest?[28]
(b) The Literati: When the noble steed hitched to
a salt wain struggled up the slopes of T'ai Hang with bent
head[29]
the butcher cast glances at it, clutching his cleaver.
When in dire poverty T'ai Kung was carrying his
peddler's wares at Ch'ao Ko, the tousle-heads gathered in
crowds to mock him. It was not that at that time they
did not possess far-carrying sinews and the speed of
fleeting coursers, but there were no Wên Wang or Po Lo
who would recognize their worth. Tzŭ Lu and Tsai Wo
during their lives did not happen to receive promotion at
the hands of a Po Lo, but ran into a mad butcher. Hence
the Superior Man sorrowed for them: A man like Yu
will not come to a natural death. Is heaven thus
afflicting me?[30]
K'ung Fu was involved in the troubles of
Hua Tu, but he could not be said to be unloyal; Ch'iu Mu
passed through the disaster of Sung Wan, but he cannot
be said not to be worthy.
(c) The Lord Grand Secretary: Among the
scholars of to-day there are none with the ability of T'ai
Kung or the innate capacity of a noble steed, but there
are indeed wasps and scorpions that swollen with poison
only harm themselves. Such were Ch'êng Hsiung of
Tung Hai and Hu Chien of Ho Tung. From the ranks of
common soldiers these two men were promoted for their
learning to post of magistrates. Yet not only did they
prove to be conceited and unwilling to cooperate with
anyone, but called in, they would not come; pushed out,
they would not go. Capering and flippant, stubborn and
impolite, insolent lackeys to the princesses, and trespassers
towards the high ministers, they tried forcibly
to do what they knew was impossible. Their eagerness
to make a name for themselves, led them into unlawful
ways and sure enough they lost their lives. We cannot
perceive their achievement to any extent, but we have
witnessed their execution between the two pylons.
Suffering the extreme penalty they could not finish their
days in peaceful old age. Effrontery they took for
wisdom, blazoning others' faults for straightforwardness,
impudence for bravery.[31]
It is indeed proper that they
should meet with calamity.
(d) The Literati: These two honorable gentlemen
had in their bosoms hearts of the purest whiteness and
walked in the path of loyalty and uprightness; they
cultivated straightforwardness in serving their superiors
and strained their forces in making manifest the public
good. Upholding law and promoting order, they did not
favor relatives, nor put great emphasis upon safeguarding
their wives and children, nor pay attention to the
promotion of their private fortunes. Yet in the end they
did not succeed in escaping from jealous and slanderous
persons and succumbed to the pushing of the all too
numerous `crooks.'[32]
This is the explanation for
unexpected penalties being heaped upon them and their
achievements left incomplete. For when members of the
reigning clan are not upright, then laws and regulations
are not enforced; when the ruler's right hand men are
not upright, then treachery and evil flourish. When
Chao Shê executed the law upon the lord of P'ing Yüan,
and Fan Chü upon Marquis Jang, good government was
preserved in the two states and at the same time both
houses were kept intact. Thus, when the ruler commits
a mistake, the minister should rectify it; when superiors
err, inferiors should criticize them. When high ministers
are upright, can magistrates be anything else? It is
indeed highly remiss of you who are in actual control of
administration to find fault with others instead of turning
to examine your own persons. For Ch'ü Yüan's drowning
in the deep can be traced to the slander of Tzŭ-shu, but
that Kuan Tzŭ was able to put into effect his principles
was due to the efforts of Pao-shu. At the present
moment we cannot detect any efforts on the part of
Pao-shu, but we envisage only the tragedy of the Mi Lo.
Even though we would entertain the "finishing our days
in peaceful old age," could we hope to realize it?
