Sunday, July 17, 2011

Chapter 33, Part 7F - Chuang Tzu

Such were the sayings which the rhetoricians used in answer to Hui Shih, rambling on without stop till the end of their days. Huan Tuan and Kung-sun Lung were among such rhetoricians. Dazzling men's minds, unsettling their views, they could outdo others in talking, but could not make them submit in their minds - such were the limitations of the rhetoricians.

Hui Shih day after day used all the knowledge he had in his debates with others, deliberately thinking up ways to astonish the rhetoricians of the world - the examples above will illustrate this. Nevertheless, Hui Shih's manner of speaking showed that he considered himself the ablest man alive. "Heaven and earth - perhaps they are greater!" he used to declare. All he knew how to do was play the hero; he had no real art.
~ Burton Watson translation via Terebess Asia Online ~
Go here to read the introductory post to the chapters of the Book of Chuang Tzu.

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