Zeng Zhitong
The Master said: “What the gentleman calls righteousness is that both the noble and the humble have to serve the world; the emperor personally ploughs the fields and offers rice and wine to serve the God, so the princes diligently assist the emperor in serving the emperor. ”The Master said: “The lower serves the higher. Although they have the great virtue of protecting the people, they dare not have the heart of the ruler and the people, which is the depth of benevolence. Therefore, the gentleman is respectful and frugal in order to serve benevolence, trustworthy and yielding in order to serve propriety, does not value his own work, does not respect himself, is frugal in his position and has few desires, yields to the virtuous, humbles himself and respects others, is cautious and fears righteousness, seeks to serve the ruler, is self-righteous when he gets it, and self-righteous when he does not, so as to listen to the will of heaven. The Book of Songs says: ‘The kudzu vines are spread on the branches; the noble gentleman seeks blessings and does not turn back. ’ This is what Shun, Yu, King Wen, and Duke Zhou said! They have the great virtue of the ruler and the people, and are cautious in serving the ruler. The Book of Songs says: "Only this King Wen, who was careful and cautious, served the God with sincerity, and had many blessings in his heart. His virtue did not turn back, and he was accepted by the states. '" Confucius said: "The former kings gave him a posthumous title with a noble name, and were frugal with a single benevolence, because they were ashamed of their reputation floating above their actions. Therefore, a gentleman does not boast of his deeds, does not exaggerate his achievements, so as to seek to be treated with kindness; he does not go beyond his actions, so as to seek to be treated with kindness; he praises the goodness of others and praises their achievements, so as to seek to be virtuous. Therefore, although a gentleman humbles himself, the people respect and respect him. "The Master said: "Hou Ji, the most powerful person in the world, is not just one hand and one foot! He only wants to float above his name, so he thinks he is convenient for people. "
