Hearing of the arrival of the Sage, the duke of T’se—­King, by name—­sent for him, and after some conversation, being minded to act the part of a patron to so distinguished a visitor, offered to make him a present of the city of Lin-k’ew with its revenues.  But this Confucius declined, remarking to his disciples, “A superior man will not receive rewards except for services done.  I have given advice to the duke King, but he has not followed it as yet, and now he would endow me with this place.  Very far is he from understanding me.”  He still, however, discussed politics with the duke, and taught him that “There is good government when the prince is prince, and the minister is minister; when the father is father, and the son is son.”  “Good,” said the duke; “if, indeed, the prince be not prince, the minister not minister, and the son not son, although I have my revenue, can I enjoy it?”

Though Duke King was by no means a satisfactory pupil, many of his instincts were good, and he once again expressed a desire to pension Confucius, that he might keep him at hand; but Gan Ying, the Prime Minister, dissuaded him from his purpose.  “These scholars,” said the minister, “are impracticable, and cannot be imitated.  They are haughty and conceited of their own views, so that they will not rest satisfied in inferior positions.  They set a high value on all funeral ceremonies, give way to their grief, and will waste their property on great funerals, so that they would only be injurious to the common manners.  This Kung Footsze has a thousand peculiarities.  It would take ages to exhaust all he knows about the ceremonies of going up and going down.  This is not the time to examine into his rules of propriety.  If you wish to employ him to change the customs of T’se, you will not be making the people your primary consideration.”  This reasoning had full weight with the duke, who the next time he was urged to follow the advice of Confucius, cut short the discussion by the remark, “I am too old to adopt his doctrines.”

Under these circumstances Confucius once more returned to Loo, only however to find that the condition of the state was still unchanged; disorder was rife; and the reins of government were in the hands of the head of the strongest party for the time being.  This was no time for Confucius to take office, and he devoted the leisure thus forced upon him to the compilation of the “Book of Odes” and the “Book of History.”

But in process of time order was once more restored, and he then felt himself free to accept the post of magistrate of the town of Chung-too, which was offered him by the duke King.