But that a man should have adequately prepared himself for office is not the only precondition for his actually taking office. The times must be right as well. For a man to be so keen that he is ready to take office whether order prevails in the state or not is condemned by Confucius. ‘It is shameful,’ he said, ‘to make salary your sole object, irrespective of whether the Way prevails in the state or not’ (XIV.1). The reason is that when the Way does not prevail in a state one can only stay in office by bending one’s principles.
