. The awakening of China . dge and select; at sixtyI never relapsed into a known fault; at seventy I couldfollow my inclinations without going wrong. Notehow each stage marks an advance towards moralexcellence. Mark also that this passage gives an out-line of self-discipline. It says nothing of his books orof his work as a statesman and a reformer. He is said to have had, first and last, three thousanddisciples. Those longest under instruction ntimberedtwelve. They studied, not with lectures and text-books, as in modem schools, but by following his foot-steps and taking the impress of his char
. The awakening of China . dge and select; at sixtyI never relapsed into a known fault; at seventy I couldfollow my inclinations without going wrong. Notehow each stage marks an advance towards moralexcellence. Mark also that this passage gives an out-line of self-discipline. It says nothing of his books orof his work as a statesman and a reformer. He is said to have had, first and last, three thousanddisciples. Those longest under instruction ntimberedtwelve. They studied, not with lectures and text-books, as in modem schools, but by following his foot-steps and taking the impress of his character, muchas Peter and John followed the steps and studied thelife of Christ. Some of them followed Confucius when,bent on effecting a political as well as an ethical re-form, he travelled from court to court among the pettyprincipalities. They have placed it on record thatonce, when exposed to great peril, he comforted themby saying, If Heaven has made me the depositaryof these teachings, what can my enemies do against k. THE SAGES OP CHINA 91 me ? Nobly conscious of a more than human mission,so ptire were his teat;hings that, though he taughtmorals, not religion, he might fairly, with Socrates,be allowed to claim a sort of inspiration. The one God, of whom he knew little, he calledHeaven, and he always spoke of Heaven with the pro-f oundest reverence. When neglected or misunderstoodhe consoled himself by saying, Heaven knows a serious illness a disciple inquired if heshould pray for him, meaning the making of offer-ings temple. Confucius answered, I havelong prayed, or I have long been in the habitof praying. In letters he described himself as an editor, notan author, meaning that he had revised the worksof the ancients, but had published nothing of his of their poetry he culled three htmdred odes anddeclared that purity of thought might be stampedon the whole collection. Into a confused mass oftraditional ceremonies be brought something likeorder,
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