THIEVES
OF VIRTUE.
Confucius said,
"`When someone passes by my
gate and does not enter, 
the only time I don't regret
it is when it is a 'conventional townsman.'
These conventional townsmen
are thieves of virtue.'
What sort of people were these,
that he called 'conventional townsmen'?"
Mencius said, "They criticize
the ardent,
saying 'How can they be so
grandiose such that their words do not reflect their actions
and actions do not reflect
their words,
and how can they justify themselves
with 'the ancients did this, and the ancients did that.'"
"And they criticize the prudent,
saying, 'How can they be so
aloof and cold?
We are all born in this
world, so we should be part of it.
Being good here and now is
sufficient.'
They obsequiously flatter their
contemporaries.
These are the so-called 'conventional
townsmen.'" Wan Chang said,
"The whole town calls them
'acceptable men'--
there is no place where they
can go where they will not be regarded as 'acceptable men.'
Why did Confucius call them
'thieves of virtue?'"
Mencius answered: "If you want
to blame them for something,
there is nothing in particular
that you can blame them for.
If you want to correct
them,
there is nothing in particular
that you can correct them for.
They follow the current
customs and consent to the vices of the age.
They seem to abide in loyalty
and honesty, and their actions seem pure.
Everyone follows them and because
people follow them,
people become incapable of
entering the Tao of Yao and Shun.
Thus, they are called 'thieves
of virtue.'"
"Confucius said, 'I don't like
simulacra.[9]
I don't like tares (grain weeds)
because they can be confused with real grain.
I don't like eloquence, because
it can be confused with Justice.
I don't like sharpness of tongue,
because it might be confused with honesty.
I don't like the music
of Chang, because it might be confused with good music.
I don't like purple, because
it might be confused with vermillion
and I don't like conventional
townsmen,
because they might be confused
with the virtuous."
The Impact of Chinese Values on the World.
Friends.
