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The Master said, “The noble person (Confucian gentleman) is easy to work with but hard to please. If you try to please him in ways that violate the Way (Dao), he will not be pleased; yet when he employs others, he uses them according to their abilities. The petty person is hard to work…
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Zi Gong asked, “What must one be like to be called a ‘shi’ (a morally responsible scholar-official)?”The Master said, “One who acts with a sense of shame and, when sent on missions abroad, fulfills his ruler’s charge without disgracing it—such a person may be called a shi.”Zi Gong asked, “May I ask about the…
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Confucius said:“The gentleman practices the Mean (zhong yong); the petty person opposes the Mean.The gentleman’s practice of the Mean means always maintains moderate –acting with appropriateness according to circumstances.The petty person’s so-called ‘Mean’ is merely recklessness and fearlessness –having no moral restraint or reverence.”
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What is meant by “making one’s intentions sincere” is not deceiving oneself. It is like hating a foul odor or loving a beautiful color – this is what is called self-satisfaction (or inner authenticity). Therefore, the gentleman must be especially vigilant when alone.
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Mencius said: “The influence of a noble person lasts for five generations and then ends; the legacy of a petty person also ends after five generations. I never had the chance to be Confucius’s direct disciple, but I learned his Dao by privately admiring and studying through his later followers.”