" said he, "I have heard you say that when a man
is guilty of personal wrong-doing, a superior man will not associate
with him. If you accept the invitation of this Pih Hih, who is in open
rebellion against his chief, what will people say?" But Confucius, with
a dexterity which had now become common with him, replied: "It is true I
have said so. But is it not also true that if a thing be really hard, it
may be ground without being made thin; and if it be really white, it may
be steeped in a black fluid without becoming black? Am I a bitter gourd?
Am I to be hung up out of the way of being eaten?" But nevertheless
Tsze-loo's remonstrances prevailed, and he did not go.

His relations with the duke did not improve, and so dissatisfied was he
with his patron that he retired from the court. As at this time
Confucius was not in the receipt of any official income, it is probable
that he again provided for his wants by imparting to his disciples some
of the treasures out of the rich stores of learning which he had
collected by means of diligent study and of a wide experience. Every
word and action of Confucius were full of such meaning to his admiring
followers that they have enabled us to trace him into the retirement of
private life. In his dress, we are told, he was careful to wear only the
"correct" colors, viz., azure, yellow, carnation, white and black, and
he scrupulously avoided red as being the color usually affected by women
and girls. At the table he was moderate in his appetite but particular
as to the nature of his food and the manner in which it was set before
him. Nothing would induce him to touch any meat that was "high" or rice
that was musty, nor would he eat anything that was not properly cut up
or accompanied with the proper sauce. He allowed himself only a certain
quantity of meat and rice, and though no such limit was fixed to the
amount of wine with which he accompanied his frugal fare, we are assured
that he never allowed himself to be confused by it. When out driving, he
never turned his head quite round, and in his actions as well as in his
words he avoided all appearance of haste.

Such details are interesting in the case of a man like Confucius, who
has exercised so powerful an influence over so large a proportion of the
world's inhabitants, and whose instructions, far from being confined to
the courts of kings, found their loudest utterances in intimate
communings with his disciples, and in the exam