GREEK AND CHINESE THOUGHT, 193 



a step towards the destruction of self. And " He 

 who is unconscious " of his own personality, com- 

 bines in himself the human and the divine (p. 145). 

 "The man of perfect virtue," unlike the perfect 

 man of Confucian morals, " recognizes no right nor 

 wrong, nor good, nor bad," but the divine man 

 rides upon the glory of the sky where his form can 

 no longer be discerned. This is called absorption 

 into light. He fulfils his destiny. He acts in 

 accordance with his nature. He is at one with 

 God and man" (p. 151). His rest is like the rest 

 of God, an tvipytta actvrjcrmc : " semper agens, 

 semper quietus," as St. Augustine has it. "The 

 TAO of God operates ceaselessly." So does the 

 Tao of the sage. He acts, but acts instinctively, 

 with no sense of effort and no consciousness of 

 self. He is in accord with man, and this is human 

 happiness ; he is in accord with God, and this is 

 the happiness of God (p. 159). Finally the contrast 

 between the human and the divine life is brought 

 out in a conversation between the sage and the 

 Emperor Yao, who boasts of his goodness and 

 corporal works of mercy (p. 165). All that, the 

 philosopher says, is well, but there is something 

 higher. " Be passive like the virtue of God. The 

 sun and the moon shines ; the four seasons revolve ; 

 day and night alternate ; clouds come and rain 

 falls. Alas ! " cried Yao, " what a mistake have I 

 been making. You are in accord with God ; I am 



O 



