The Master said:“The Way is not distant from people.If one pursues the Way in a way that estranges it from human life, it cannot be called the true Way.”
Zilu asked about strength.The Master said:“Do you mean the strength of the South? The strength of the North? Or the strength that is truly yours to cultivate?
The Master said:“The world and the state may be governed with fairness;titles and emoluments may be renounced;even bare blades may be trodden upon –yet the Doctrine of the Mean is what cannot be practiced!”
The Master said:“Yan Hui was such a person –he chose the Doctrine of the Mean.Whenever he grasped even a single point of goodness,he held it close to his heart with unwavering devotion and never let it go.”
The Master said:“Everyone says, ‘I am wise!’Yet when driven into nets, snares, and traps,none of them knows how to avoid them.Everyone says, ‘I am wise!’Yet even if they choose the Doctrine of the Mean,they cannot hold to it for even a month.”