“To be able to respond to anger without bitterness, to respond to fear without retreat, to meet joy without arrogance – this is the way of ren (humaneness). The noble person is not consumed by emotion, yet is never without feeling. He regulates his passions by the rites and thereby brings harmony to his household and peace to the world. Emotion must be governed by principle, and principle must be expressed with feeling. Without proper emotion, virtue becomes rigid; without principle, emo...
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