A modern English adaption of the Analects of Confucius.
Zai Wo asked, “If you lie and tell a humane person that someone is stuck at the bottom of a well, would they jump into the well?”
Confucius replied, “Why would they? The noble person can be tricked into taking a look, but not into jumping in. They can be deceived, but not trapped.”
Zilu asked Confucius how to serve a ruler.
Confucius said, “Don’t be deceptive, but be ready to admonish him by taking a stand directly.”
Confucius said, “If you don’t expect to be duped or not believed, but you’re the first to recognize these things—isn’t that the sign of a worthy?”
Confucius said, “There are three kinds of friends who can help you and three kinds of friends who can harm you. Friends who are upright, trustworthy, and learned—these will help you. Friends who are devious, brown nosers, and smooth-talkers—these will harm you.”
Confucius said, “A fierce exterior, but cowardice within. To borrow an analogy from the world of riff-raff, that’s like a thief who burrows into the walls.”
Confucius said, “Slick words and a plastic smile are rarely signs of humaneness.”
Confucius said, “I hate that purple has replaced vermillion, that the tunes of Zheng bring disorder to classical music, and that slick people overturn states and families.”