折疑論 3.50

3.50

yet how could a gentleman who has departed from dust, treading the exalted conduct beyond form, imitate them? ('Treading' means high treading. As for 'imitating', the Jiaogong chapter of the Odes says, 'Such is your instruction; the people all imitate it.' The commentary says: The king's position rests on virtue, which is the pivot of the primary customs. When teaching is set forth, the people imitate it very quickly. For an exalted gentleman who has left the worldly dust, practicing lofty and transcendent conduct beyond all forms, how could he be confined to imitating this ritual of bowing low and wearing caps?)