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This, too, is a tale of long ago. In China there lived a man named Liu Xiahui, renowned for his wisdom and held in great esteem. He had a younger brother called Robber Zhi, who dwelt deep in the shelter of a mountain, gathering all manner of wicked men about him as companions and taking other people’s possessions for his own. Whenever he went abroad, he brought two or three thousand of these villains with him. He spent his days killing and humiliating those he met upon the road, delighting in every kind of evil. One day, as Liu Xiahui was traveling, he encountered Confucius. “Where are you going?” Confucius asked. “There is something I have wished to discuss with you in person. How fortunate that we should meet!” “What is it?” asked Liu Xiahui. “What I wish to urge upon you is this: your younger brother delights in every kind of wickedness and brings misery to a great many people. Why do you not restrain him?” Liu Xiahui replied, “He would never heed anything I might say. And so the months and years pass while I can do nothing but grieve.” Confucius said, “If you will not admonish him, I shall go and do so myself. What do you think of that?” “You must not go,” Liu Xiahui replied. “Even if you exhaust every word at your command in admonishing him, he is not a man who will yield. On the contrary, something dreadful may come of it. It is quite out of the question.” Confucius said, “However wicked a creature may be, if he has been born a human being, there are times when he will naturally respond to good counsel. To say that it will end badly and that he will surely refuse to listen is mistaken. Very well, you shall see. I shall show you that I can instruct him.” With this declaration, he went to Robber Zhi’s dwelling. Dismounting and standing at the gate, he looked within and saw that every sort of beast and bird was being slaughtered, and every kind of wickedness was gathered there. He beckoned to a man and sent word inside: “A man named Confucius of Lu has come to call.” The messenger returned at once with this reply: “You are a man I have heard spoken of. What brings you here? I hear that you instruct others. Have you come to instruct me? If what you say pleases me, I shall heed it. If it does not, I shall have your liver sliced and served raw.” Confucius then stepped forward into the courtyard, bowed first to Robber Zhi, and went up to take his seat. When he looked at Robber Zhi, he saw that the hair upon his head stood upright, tangled like mugwort. His great eyes rolled, his nostrils flared as he snorted, and he sat grinding his teeth, his whiskers bristling. “Why have you come?” Robber Zhi demanded in a loud and terrifying voice, full of anger. “State your business plainly!” Confucius thought, “I had heard of him before, but never imagined he could be so fearsome. Neither his appearance nor his bearing, nor even his voice, seems human.” His heart failed him and he trembled, but he gathered his resolve and said, “The proper way for a man to live in this world is to make righteousness the adornment of his person and the guiding rule of his heart. Beneath heaven and upon the earth, he should stand firm in all directions, honor his sovereign, show compassion to those below him, and devote himself to kindness toward others. Yet I hear that you give yourself over to every evil, following only the desires of your heart. Though this may please you for the present, in the end it will bring you harm. It is best, therefore, for a man to follow what is good. You should heed my words and live accordingly. It was to tell you this that I came.” At this, Robber Zhi burst into laughter, his voice like thunder, and said, “Not one thing you say is true. Here is why. Long ago there were two sovereigns, Yao and Shun, whom the whole world revered. Yet their descendants possess not so much land as would hold the point of a needle. Then there were those wise men, Boyi and Shuqi. They lay upon Mount Shouyang and starved to death. Among your own disciples there was one named Yan Hui. You trained him to great wisdom, yet he was unfortunate and died young. And another disciple of yours, Shimi, was killed at the gate of Rei. Thus, in the end, the wise gain nothing from their wisdom. As for me, though I delight in evil, no calamity befalls me. A man is praised for no more than four or five days; another is reviled for no more than four or five days. Neither good deeds nor evil deeds win lasting praise or lasting blame. Therefore I shall act as I please. As for you, you break wood to make a cap and dress yourself in skins, living in fear of the world and trembling before the authorities. Yet twice you have been driven from Lu, and in Wei your very footprints were scraped away. Why has your wisdom not served you better? What you say is folly indeed. Be off with you at once! I shall heed not a single word.” Confucius could think of nothing more to say. He rose from his seat, hurried out, and mounted his horse. Perhaps he was badly frightened, for twice his hand missed the bridle, and again and again his foot slipped from the stirrup. Thus people say that Confucius was defeated.