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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.”
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Yu the Great and Hou Ji lived in times of peace. Yu passed by his own home three times while controlling floods but never entered; Hou Ji tirelessly taught farming to feed the people. Confucius praised them.
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When the crown prince of Teng (later Duke Wen of Teng) was traveling to Chu, he passed through Song and went to see Mencius.
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8.5 Master Zeng said, “Clever, yet not ashamed to consult those less clever than himself; widely gifted, yet not ashamed to consult those with few gifts; having, yet seeming not to have; full, yet seeming empty; offended against, yet never contesting – long ago I had a friend whose ways were such as this.”
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7.11 The Master said to Yan Hui, “When employed, we act; when set aside, we withdraw. Only you and I can do this!”
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6.11 The Master said, “Incomparable indeed was Hui! A handful of rice to eat, a gourdful of water to drink, living in a mean street – others would have found it unendurably depressing, but to Hui’s cheerfulness it made no difference at all. Incomparable indeed was Hui!”
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6.7 The Master said, “Hui is capable of occupying his whole mind for three months on end with no thought but that of benevolence. The others can do so, some for a day, some even for a month; but that is all.”
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6.3 Duke Ai asked which of the disciples had a love of learning.
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5.9 The Master in discussing Zigong said to him, “Which do you yourself think is the better, you or Hui?”