File:Beacon lights of history. (The world's heroes and master minds) (1888) (14576698540).jpg

Identifier: beaconlightsofh01lord (find matches)
Title: Beacon lights of history. (The world's heroes and master minds)
Year: 1888 (1880s)
Authors: Lord, John, 1810-1894
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Publisher: New York, J. Clarke
Contributing Library: Robarts - University of Toronto
Digitizing Sponsor: University of Toronto

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ith costly presents invited Confucius toreturn to his native State. The philosopher was nowsixty-nine years of age, and notwithstanding the re-spect in which he was held, the world cannot be saidto have dealt kindly with him. It is the fate ofprophets and sages to be rejected. The world will notbear rebukes. Even a friend, if discreet, will rarelyventure to tell another friend his faults. Confuciustold the truth when pressed, but he does not seem tohave courted martyrdom; and his manners and speechwere too bland, too proper, too unobtrusive to givemuch offence. Luther was aided in his reforms byhis very roughness and boldness, but he was sur-rounded by a different class of people from thosewhom Confucius sought to influence. Conventional,polite, considerate, and a great respecter of persons inauthority was the Chinese sage. A rude, abrupt, andfierce reformer would have had no weight with themost courteous and polite people of whom historyspeaks; whose manners twenty-five hundred years
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SAGE AND MORALIST. 153 ago were substantially the same as they are at thepresent day, — a people governed by the laws ofpropriety alone. The few remaining years of Confucius life werespent in revising his writings; but his latter dayswere made melancholy by dwelling on the evils ofthe world that he could not remove. Disappoint-ment also had made him cynical and bitter, likeSolomon of old, although from different causes. Hesurvived his son and his most beloved disciples.As he approached the dark valley he uttered noprayer, and betrayed no apprehension. Death tohim was a rest. He died at the age of seventy-three. In the tenth book of his Analects we get a glimpseof the habits of the philosopher. He was a man ofrule and ceremony. He was particular about hisdress and appearance. He was no ascetic, but mod-erate and temperate. He lived chiefly on rice, likethe rest of his countrymen, but required to have hisrice cooked nicely, and his meat cut properly. Hedrank wine freely, but was never

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