2014-04-17

Accomplishment

Another one from Satō Issai 佐藤一斎's 19th-century Genshi shiroku 言志四録 ("Saying what I think: Four records"):

管絃在堂。聲聞四方。聞也。巖石倒谷。響徹大地。達也。
Musical instruments are in the hall; they can be heard in every direction. This is renown. A boulder falls into a valley; the reverberations shake the very earth. This is accomplishment.

Here Satō is referring to the distinction Confucius makes in Analect 12.20 between 聞 ("renown", or "notoriety" in Legge's translation linked above) and 達 ("accomplishment", or "distinction" in Legge). Anyone can draw attention to themselves. Not everyone has the kind of virtuous gravitas that attracts attention naturally.

Popularity factor: 3

languagehat:

Bloggers must ask themselves each day: "Am I a musician or a boulder?"


Matt:

Yes, my rule of thumb is not to post anything unless I'm quite sure it will land with a thud with no-one nearby to notice.


leoboiko:

I think I have resigned myself to blogging rose petals in the Grand Canyon. except that the rose petals are all crudely put together from papier mâché, and then again I spent some six months gazing at Netflix instead of the Canyon.

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