One artisan was famously known

For his mastery of making things

Round and square more exactly

Than if he had used the compass

And setsquare as the perfect tools.

The operation of his fingers

On the forms of things was like

The transformations of them in nature

And required no application of his mind,

And thus his intelligence was entire

And encountered no restriction.

To be unthought of by the feet

It is the fitness of a pair of shoes;

To be unthought of by the waist

Is the fitness of a belt. . .

When one's wisdom does not think

Of the right or wrong of a question,

That shows the suitability of the mind

For any discussion one holds; when

One is conscious of no inward change

Or outward attraction, that shows

The capability of running affairs well.

He who perceives at once the fitness

And never loses the sense of it

Has the fitness that forgets all about

What is fitting. Therefore it is said,

'If you look at those who have

What they call their own, they are

The superior men of Old School;

If you look at him who has nothing

Of the kind, he is the son of Heaven

And the good friend of Earth.'