THERE THE FOUR CHIMERAS HERE are four things which do not allow people to rest: Long Life; Reputation; Rank; Riches. Those who have them, fear ghosts, fear men, power, and punishment. They are always fugitives. Whether they are killed or live, they regulate their lives by externals. Those who do not set their destiny at defiance, do not desire a long life; and those who are not too fond of honor, do not desire reputation. Those who do not want power, desire no rank. Those who are not avaricious, have no desire for riches. KANG-HSI'S SACRED EDICT IN every affair retire a step, and you have an advantage. Seeing men in haste, do not seek to overtake them. Each grass blade has its drop of dew. The wild birds lay up no stores; but Heaven and Earth are wide. Strange, indeed, if you cannot rest in the duties of your sphere. If you reject the iron, you will never make the steel. To starve is a small matter, to lose one's virtue is a great one. Covet not an empty name. |