Chapter 168: 260, Kongzi and Roosevelt said the same thing

260, Kongzi and Roosevelt said the same thing...

In 26 chapters, Confucius and Roosevelt said the same thing……

――Liu Guozong

At the home of former US President Roosevelt, thieves once stole many of his belongings. Many friends who knew about it came to comfort him, but Roosevelt did not agree. He told his friends: "Dear friends, thank you for your comfort. Thank God, I am now safe. First, what was stolen was my property, and it did not harm my life; second, the thieves only took part of my belongings, not all; third, most fortunate of all, the thief is him, not me."

Facing the theft, Roosevelt appeared broad-minded and composed. Moreover, he felt fortunate for himself, feeling fortunate that the robber did not harm his life, and fortunate that the thief was someone else, not himself.

Kongzi also said something similar to Roosevelt's words; Kongzi said: "Under heaven there are two great prohibitions: one is fate, the other is righteousness."

Life is important not only for presidents and sages but also for ordinary people, because for each person life occurs only once; in the face of life, presidents, sages, and ordinary people are equal. Someone has said: wealth is zero, life is one; without life, everything equals zero.

Of course, there is something even more important for people: righteousness. It is the soul of life; losing righteousness is like life losing its soul, and a life without a soul is merely a walking corpse, a creature that only has a shell. Such a creature will do evil without blushing. Therefore, life and righteousness are the two most precious things for people. Even presidents and sages value them thus, and we ordinary people certainly cannot be an exception.

What are "poor people, rich people"? Apart from righteousness, they are all poor!

Shakespeare said――

Truth, goodness, beauty—these are all my themes,

Truth, goodness, beauty, transforming into different literary forms……