Tsze-loo asked whether he should immediately carry into practice what he heard. The Master said, "There are your father and elder brothers to be consulted;—why should you act on that principle of immediately carrying into practice what you hear?" Yen Yew asked the same, whether he should immediately carry into practice what he heard, and the Master answered, "Immediately carry into practice what you hear." Kung-se Hwa said, "Yew asked whether he should carry immediately into practice what he heard, and you said, 'There are your father and elder brothers to be consulted.' K'ew asked whether he should immediately carry into practice what he heard, and you said, 'Carry it immediately into practice.' I, Ch'ih, am perplexed, and venture to ask you for an explanation." The Master said, "K'ew is retiring and slow; therefore I urged him forward. Yew has more than his own share of energy; therefore I kept him back."

20. WE MAY NOT HASTILY JUDGE A MAN TO BE GOOD FROM HIS DISCOURSE. 论 is here 'speech', 'conversation'. In Ho An, this ch. is joined to the preceding one, and is said to give, additional characteristics of 'the good man', mentioned on a diff. occasion.—The construction, however, on that view is all but inextricable.

21. AN INSTANCE IN TSZE-LOO AND YEN YEW OF HOW CONFUCIUS DEALT WITH HIS DISCIPLES ACCORDING TO THEIR CHARACTERS. On Tszeloo's question, comp. V. 18. 闻斯行诸, 'Hearing this (=anything), should I do it at once or not?' 行诸=行之乎, like 舍诸, in VI 4. 兼人,—兼 is explained by Choo He with 胜, 'to overcome', 'to be superior to'. But we can well take it in its radical signification of 'to unite', as a hand grasps two sheaves of corn. The phrase is equivalent to our English one in the transl. Similarly, the best pure gold is called 兼金.