The Master said, “How upright was Shi Yu! When the state was well governed, he was as straight as an arrow; when the state was poorly governed, he was still as straight as an arrow.What a noble person was Qu Boyu! When the state was well governed, he served in office; when the state…
Someone asked, “What about repaying resentment with virtue?”The Master replied, “Then what would you use to repay virtue? Repay resentment with uprightness, and repay virtue with virtue.”
The Master said, “Duke Wen of Jin was crafty but not upright; Duke Huan of Qi was upright but not crafty.”
Duke Ye said to Confucius, “In my region, there is a man known for his uprightness: when his father stole a sheep, the son testified against him.”Confucius replied, “The kind of uprightness we value is different. A father conceals for his son, and a son conceals for his father—uprightness lies precisely within this mutual…
The Master said, “If one can first rectify his own conduct, what difficulty could there be in governing? If he cannot rectify himself, how can he rectify others?”
It is better to preserve the innate simplicity of one’s nature and eschew sophistication, thereby leave a spirit of uprightness in the world.