7.23
The Master said,”Heaven begat the power (virtue) that is in me. What have I to fear from such a one as Huan Tui?”
子曰：「天生德於予，桓魋其如予何？」
Notes
Huan Tui was the Minister of War of the state of Song during the Spring and Autumn period. Due to political conflicts with Confucius, he sought to harm him. When disciples urged Confucius to flee quickly, Confucius uttered this statement, demonstrating his unshakable faith in moral principle and defiant composure in the face of power.
“The benevolent person is free from anxiety; the wise person is free from perplexity; the courageous person is free from fear.”(Analects 9.29)
What Confucius demonstrated during the peril posed by Huan Tui was precisely the combination of “the benevolent being free from anxiety” and “the courageous being free from fear” – he was fearless because of his benevolence, and free from anxiety because he understood his Mandate of Heaven.
“Aspiring scholars and men of benevolence will not preserve their lives at the expense of benevolence; instead, they will sacrifice their lives to uphold benevolence.”(Analects 15.9)
This is a declaration of Confucianism that places moral principles above all else – aspiring scholars and men of benevolence will never compromise benevolence to save their own lives; on the contrary, they are ready to sacrifice themselves to uphold benevolence.
It was with this conviction that Confucius faced the threat from Huan Tui: the safety of his physical body mattered less than the mission of propagating the way of benevolence, which is highly consistent with the sense of duty embodied in his assertion “Heaven has bestowed moral virtue upon me”.
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