"Doctorine of the Mean" - читать интересную книгу автора (Confucius)

children is like the music of lutes and harps. When there is concord
among brethren, the harmony is delightful and enduring. Thus may you
regulate your family, and enjoy the pleasure of your wife and
children."
The Master said, "In such a state of things, parents have entire
complacence!"
The Master said, "How abundantly do spiritual beings display the
powers that belong to them!
"We look for them, but do not see them; we listen to, but do not
hear them; yet they enter into all things, and there is nothing
without them.
"They cause all the people in the kingdom to fast and purify
themselves, and array themselves in their richest dresses, in order to
attend at their sacrifices. Then, like overflowing water, they seem to
be over the heads, and on the right and left of their worshippers.
"It is said in the Book of Poetry, 'The approaches of the spirits,
you cannot sunrise; and can you treat them with indifference?'
"Such is the manifestness of what is minute! Such is the
impossibility of repressing the outgoings of sincerity!"
The Master said, "How greatly filial was Shun! His virtue was that
of a sage; his dignity was the throne; his riches were all within
the four seas. He offered his sacrifices in his ancestral temple,
and his descendants preserved the sacrifices to himself.
"Therefore having such great virtue, it could not but be that he
should obtain the throne, that he should obtain those riches, that
he should obtain his fame, that he should attain to his long life.
"Thus it is that Heaven, in the production of things, is sure to
be bountiful to them, according to their qualities. Hence the tree
that is flourishing, it nourishes, while that which is ready to
fall, it overthrows.
"In the Book of Poetry, it is said, 'The admirable amiable prince
displayed conspicuously his excelling virtue, adjusting his people,
and adjusting his officers. Therefore, he received from Heaven his
emoluments of dignity. It protected him, assisted him, decreed him the
throne; sending from Heaven these favors, as it were repeatedly.'
"We may say therefore that he who is greatly virtuous will be sure
to receive the appointment of Heaven."
The Master said, "It is only King Wan of whom it can be said that he
had no cause for grief! His father was King Chi, and his son was
King Wu. His father laid the foundations of his dignity, and his son
transmitted it.
"King Wu continued the enterprise of King T'ai, King Chi, and King
Wan. He once buckled on his armor, and got possession of the
kingdom. He did not lose the distinguished personal reputation which
he had throughout the kingdom. His dignity was the royal throne. His
riches were the possession of all within the four seas. He offered his
sacrifices in his ancestral temple, and his descendants maintained the
sacrifices to himself.
"It was in his old age that King Wu received the appointment to
the throne, and the duke of Chau completed the virtuous course of