Motse said: The kings, dukes and great men of the world all desire that their states be rich, their people numerous, and their penal laws well ordered. And yet they do not understand that the exaltation of the virtuous is the very root of government, and so they have lost the root of government. If they have lost the root of government, can we do otherwise than bring forward an example to show it to them?

Suppose there were a feudal lord here, governing his state, who said: "Whoever in my state is a man skilled in archery and charioteering, I shall reward and honour; whoever is not skilled in archery and charioteering, I shall punish and despise." Ask the men of that state who will rejoice and who will fear. I hold that surely the men skilled in archery and charioteering will rejoice, and those not skilled will fear. Again he says: "Whoever in my state is a man loyal and faithful, I shall reward and honour; whoever is not loyal and faithful, I shall punish and despise." Ask the men of that state who will rejoice and who will fear. I hold that surely the loyal and faithful will rejoice, and the disloyal and unfaithful will fear. Now if one governs by the exaltation of the virtuous, then among the people of the state those who do good are encouraged and those who do violence are deterred. And if one governs the world in this way, then in the world those who do good are encouraged and those who do violence are deterred.

Why, then, did we of old honour the way of Yao, Shun, Yu, T'ang, Wen and Wu? Because, when they stood before the multitude, issued their government and ruled the people, they were able to make those in the world who did good be encouraged and those who did violence be deterred. This, then, is the exaltation of the virtuous, and it is the same as the way of Yao, Shun, Yu, T'ang, Wen and Wu.

Yet the gentlemen of the world today, in their dwelling and in their speech, all exalt the virtuous; but when it comes to their standing before the multitude, issuing government and ruling the people, none of them knows to exalt the virtuous and employ the able. From this I know that the gentlemen of the world are clear in small matters and not clear in great ones.

How do I know that it is so? Now if a king, duke or great man has wealth in a single ox or sheep and cannot slaughter it, he must seek a good butcher; if he has wealth in a single garment and cannot make it, he must seek a good tailor. In these matters, though he has a kinsman of his own flesh and blood, or one who without cause is rich and honoured and fair of face, if he truly knows that he is not able, he does not employ him. Why is this? He fears that he will spoil the goods. In these matters, then, he does not fail to exalt the virtuous and employ the able. If a king, duke or great man has a worn-out horse and cannot cure it, he must seek a good physician; if he has a faulty bow and cannot draw it, he must seek a good craftsman. In these matters, though he has a kinsman of his own flesh and blood, or one who without cause is rich and honoured and fair of face, if he truly knows that he is not able, he surely does not employ him. Why is this? He fears that he will spoil the goods. In these matters, then, he does not fail to exalt the virtuous and employ the able.

But when it comes to his state, it is not so. If he has a kinsman of his own flesh and blood, or one who without cause is rich and honoured and fair of face, he raises him up. Then the kings, dukes and great men are no more fond of their states than they are of the wealth of one faulty bow, one worn-out horse, a garment or an ox or a sheep. From this I know that the gentlemen of the world are all clear in small matters and not clear in great ones. This is like making a mute man an envoy, or a deaf man a master of music.

Therefore, when the sage kings of old ruled the world, those whom they enriched and those whom they honoured were not necessarily kinsmen of their own flesh and blood, or men who without cause were rich and honoured and fair of face. Thus of old Shun ploughed on Mount Li, made pottery on the bank of the Ho, fished in Lei Marsh, and burned lime at Ch'ang-yang; Yao found him on the sunny side of Fu Marsh, set him up as emperor, and made him take over the government of the world and rule the people of the world. Of old I Yin was a servant who accompanied the daughter of the Hsin clan, and was made a cook; T'ang found him and raised him, set him up as one of the Three Dukes, and made him take over the government of the world and rule the people of the world. Of old Fu Yueh dwelt on an island in the North Sea, on the ground of the round prison; he wore a coarse cloak, was girt with a rope, and was hired to ram earth for the wall at Fu Yen; Wu Ting found him and raised him, set him up as one of the Three Dukes, and made him take over the government of the world and rule the people of the world.

So when Yao raised Shun, when T'ang raised I Yin, and when Wu Ting raised Fu Yueh, was it because they held them to be kinsmen of their own flesh and blood, or men who without cause were rich and honoured and fair of face? No; they only took as their model the words of these men, used their counsels and walked in their way; so that above it could benefit Heaven [GOD], in the middle it could benefit the spirits [angels], and below it could benefit men.

Therefore, going further back, the sage kings of old, having examined the exaltation of the virtuous and desiring to make it their government, wrote it on bamboo and silk, carved it on plates and bowls, and handed it down to their descendants of later ages. In the book of the former kings, the Punishment of Lu, it is so said: The king said: "Ah! Come, you who have states and lands, I tell you of lawsuits and punishments. Now, in order to bring peace to the people, what words will you choose? Whom will you respect? What punishments will you not weigh? What measure will not be reached?" If one is able to choose men and respect them, and to make punishments, then the way of Yao, Shun, Yu, T'ang, Wen and Wu can be reached. Why is this? Because by exalting the virtuous it is reached.

In the book of the former kings, in the words of Shu Nien, it is so said: "Ah! The sage and martial one knows men, and takes them as his screens and helpers for his own person." This speaks of how the former kings, when they ruled the world, must have chosen worthy men to be their companions and helpers.

It is said: Now the gentlemen of the world all desire riches and honour and hate poverty and lowliness. It is said: Then by what means can you obtain riches and honour and avoid poverty and lowliness? There is nothing like being worthy. And what is the way of being worthy? It is said: Those who have strength should hasten to help others; those who have wealth should strive to share it with others; those who have the Way should exhort others and teach them. If it is so, then the hungry will obtain food, the cold will obtain clothing, and the disordered will obtain order. If the hungry obtain food, the cold obtain clothing, and the disordered obtain order, this gives peace and life.

Now those whom the kings, dukes and great men enrich and honour are all kinsmen of their own flesh and blood, or men who without cause are rich and honoured and fair of face. And are the kinsmen of the kings, dukes and great men, who without cause are rich and honoured and fair of face, therefore surely wise? If they are not wise, and are made to rule the state, then the disorder of that state may be known. Now the gentlemen of the world all desire riches and honour and hate poverty and lowliness. Then by what means can you obtain riches and honour and avoid poverty and lowliness? It is said: There is nothing like being a kinsman of a king, duke or great man, one who without cause is rich and honoured and fair of face. But this is not a thing that can be learned or attained. Suppose a man does not know how to discern the depth of virtue and conduct, like Yu, T'ang, Wen and Wu; he gains nothing more by it. And suppose a kinsman of a king, duke or great man is crippled, mute, deaf, or violent like Chieh and Chou; he loses nothing by it.

Therefore, when rewards do not fall on the worthy and punishments do not fall on the violent, those who are rewarded are rewarded without cause, and those who are punished are punished without guilt. Hence all the people lose heart and slacken in body, are deterred from doing good, let the strength of their arms and legs fall idle and do not labour for one another, let surplus goods rot and stink and do not share their means, and hide good ways and do not teach one another. If it is so, then the hungry are not helped upward.

Therefore of old Yao had Shun, Shun had Yu, Yu had Kao Yao, T'ang had Hsiao Ch'en, and King Wu had Hung Yao, T'ai Tien, Nan-kung K'uo and San I-sheng. Having obtained these men, they did not fail to encourage and praise them.

Moreover, if the kings, dukes, great men and gentlemen of the world truly desire to practise magnanimity and righteousness, and seek to be gentlemen; if above they desire to accord with the way of the sage kings, and below they desire to accord with the benefit of the states and the people, so that the world is in harmony and the common people are abundant; then those who are near will be at peace with them and those who are far away will come to them, as far as the sun and moon shine, as far as boats and carts reach, as far as rain and dew moisten, and as far as the grain of the field feeds men. Therefore the doctrine of the exaltation of the virtuous is one that cannot but be examined. The exaltation of the virtuous is a benefit to GOD, to the angels and to the people, and it is the root of government.