Mencius dismisses slander that Confucius lodged with influential eunuchs for office. He argues Confucius followed rites to serve and upheld righteousness to resign, choosing virtuous hosts even in peril to preserve uncompromised moral integrity.
2.24 Confucius said, “Just as to sacrifice to ancestors other than one’s own is presumption, so to see what is right and not do it is cowardice.”