Shih Tzu, Ancient Chinese Philosopher (Expanded}

A Work of Creative Fiction
Shih Tzu was a brilliant Chinese poet and philosopher who lived in the 17th century. Early in his life he studied in Tibet and traveled to many places in search of wisdom and enlightenment including India. This caused him to be somewhat eclectic in his philosophical views. He held a position of great honor in the court of an emperor of the Manchu Dynasty. The Empress Dowager was his greatest patron. Details of his life are rather sketchy and exact dates are uncertain, little is known of his thinking beyond his classic work "The Book of Quietude" and a few poems. Most of this book is composed of aphorisms.
His book, as everyone knows, is not to be confused with the occultic book of a similar title translated into Latin by Abdul Al Hazred in the 8th century.(Abdul Al Hazred, as everyone knows is famous, or infamous, as the translator of The Necronomicon, that compendium of evil, occultic lore. Al Hazred is also known as "the mad Arab", probably his evil occupation accounts for his madness.)
Authentic manuscripts are very rare, and there is some question as to whether everything ascribed to Shih Tzu is truly his or the work of a later redactor. The following are his most quoted sayings:

The fate of empires rests with the improvement of the soul!
Know thyself and thou shall have the key to all knowledge, but if thou know not thyself all worth knowing shall elude thee!
Know evil and good for the one gives definition to the other.
Beautiful women are pleasant to look upon but beauty without wisdom and depth of soul are vanity and a snare!
However pleasant thy surroundings and thy barns and coffers full, death will overtake thee!
Live wisely that thou may die in peace!
It was said of Han Shee "If he ever lost his mind he would not have missed it!"
After his death, his head was carefully examined by the hammer craftsmen. It revolutionized their trade.
Three babbling baboons: See no truth, hear no truth, speak no truth.
The nobler and more perfect a thing is, the slower it is in arriving at maturity.
The path of wisdom leads ever upward to mountaintop vistas of beauty.
Ignorance and folly lead ever downward to murky depths of futility and despair.
Walk in thy own way and be filled with the fruits thereof!
Let thy thoughts be deep, thy speech scanty. Not all things true are suitable to be aired in public.
Keep thy own counsel.
When people unknown to thee seek to draw thee out, ask what they think.
Come before those in reputation for wisdom as an empty pitcher before a full fountain of knowledge.
Appearance often conceals reality as quicksand appears to be solid ground and the strength of flexibility appears to be weakness.
More things come to him who waits than to him who vigorously pursues them.

ustice among men should begin
with those who so fervently claim to long for it!
To study wisdom is most commendable,
to practice it far more so!
They are wise indeed, who know what they are doing,
especially when they are doing it.
If men teach wisdom but do not practice it,
follow the wisdom, not the example.
He who is brought low by misfortune
may be a good guide to where the pitfalls lie.
We may learn much from him.
To be wise is good. To become intoxicated
by praise of thy wisdom may well be the cure of it.
Experience is a hard teacher. Alas!
Even the wisest have need of this instruction!
Fools will learn in no other, if even then!
A wise man's steps are directed by what he understands,
the outcome is determined by what is true.
Learn to be thy own best friend and thy own best critic.
Truth is always true and will go right on being true,
in spite of what men think!
The king has power to silence all opposition,
but woe to him when his critics are right!
They are foolish indeed
who think that all powerful rulers
can do exactly as they please.
Wealth and power may be good in a measure,
but greater than this is the improvement of the soul
for virtue and wisdom do not come from wealth and power,
wealth and power come from virtue and wisdom, seek them first.
All things good are good in a measure.
It is wisdom, indeed, to know the measure!
Actions have consequences
and thy thoughts bear fruit for good or ill,
learn to choose well and seek ever to walk in the right path.
A measure of dross costs a measure of gold,
when fools attain the desire of their heart, it destroys them.
The wise betimes crawl into a corner to contemplate their foolishness
as an animal licks its wounds. Fools glory in their folly.
Women are like architecture: it's nice to have splendid façade, but it's what's on the inside that really counts.
Fools who need advice most, seldom seek it, seldom take it.
Thou hast many acquaintances, few friends. Most are flatterers.
Real friends will draw thee off to the side,
risking offense, to tell thee your mistakes.
Power forces, authority wins assent.
Authority is born of dignity, worth and virtue.
Error shuts out the contrary.
Truth illumines everything.
The wise follow the path of light,
fools walk in their own way
and that way leads to destruction!
Fools characterize what is right, just and true
as a product of intolerance
while they force their folly on others!
The wise hear and understand.
Only the rod compels fools and then far from always!
Go to the light, walk in the light,
for without light there is only darkness
in which all deeds are dark.
Hate the evil, love the good,
establish justice that thy days may be long and fruitful!
Fail to teach a child respect and obedience
and you will fail to teach him anything else!
The first step to learning
is to realize thy ignorance.
Those wise in their own eyes
have no reason to accept instruction!
Who can take credit for wisdom?
It comes from listening, thinking,
experience and applying standards.
Which of these hast thou made?
The wise Ming Foo has observed:
"He who rides a tiger may fear to dismount.
We must one day account for foolish words
and foolish silences.
Men stand alone, baboons hunt in packs!

Of Knowledge and Wisdom

Youth imagines old men are fools.
Old men know the foolishness of youth for certain!
Much learning makes one know many things
and gives an awareness of vast ignorance.
Ignorance always exceeds knowledge.
The study of wisdom
makes us know that we are fools.
The wise Ming Foo observes:
To practice wisdom is like climbing a hill.
When the young men come into the room
to express their opinions,
the old men edge out the door.
It is wisdom to know what can be
known for certain, which is much,
and what cannot be known,
which is greater!
When I was young,
I thought five lifetimes
would be sufficient
to study all I wished to know.
In old age, ten would be better!
Alas, that suicides
could give over to me the years they are throwing away