ON ITEMS OF CHINESE ETHICS AND PHILOSOPHY. 59 



" Doubt and distraction on earth ; the brightness of truth 

 in heaven." 



" Better the upright with poverty, than debased with 

 abundance." 



" Better not be than be nothing." 



" The Hfe of the aged is Hke a candle between two doors, 

 easily blown out." 



"The blind liave the best ears, the deaf the best eyes." 



"He who is willing to inquire will excel, but the self- 

 confident will fail," 



"Anger, like a little fire, if not quickly checked may burn 

 down a lofty pile." 



" Too much lenity leads to crime." 



" If you love your son give him the rod ; if you hate him 

 pamper him with dainties." 



" The higher the rat creeps up the cow's horn the 

 narrower he finds it." 



The following has reference to a very numerous and some- 

 what ostentatious class of persons — let us say for the sake of 

 euphony — in China, namely i — " He who bestows his benefits 

 upon those at a distance to the neglect of those immediately 

 near him is like a man who raises hip lamp on a high pole ; 

 it is seen from a distance, but underneatli is dark" ; of which 

 a Spanish counterpart is that " Darkness is densest under the 

 lamp." 



The author of the following betrays therein the result of 

 his association with " the world." He who withdraws to 

 the side of the waterfall and of the purling stream among 

 the mountains, returns to the original goodness of his nature. 

 (According to the doctrin^ of Confucius man was born good; 

 it was by association with his fellows that he fell away from 

 his high estate.) 



Lastly, as I began this short series of " wise saws " with 

 an allusion to wine, isso also I conclude, namely: — "A 

 thousand friends will drink your wine when fortune's sun 

 shines bright ; none remains to sympathise when falls 

 disaster's night." Regai'ding which 1 refrain from comment. 



Ri^sppcT FOR Labour. 



Respect for labour is a cardinal principle in Chinese ethics. 

 With that people labour is held to be the natural inheritance 

 of man, as it is of all created beings. It is a condition 

 of nature, and the essence of man. "It is a necessity; but 



