You don't think the last two lines could be using 愚 and 贤 in the purely descriptive sense, rather than as quotes/mentions? Understanding the 他 as the subjects of the gossip themselves? I.e. saying something like, if they're dumb, that's their problem; if they're saints, that's their good fortune. I feel that reading would better reflect the heaven-made-them-that-way section at the beginning, and allows the Mencius quote to land better: the Way will have its mysterious effect, and it doesn't need your gossip to help it along.
In the second sentence of this post you lament the return of fascism. Really? Who? Whom? Why inject the grossest of stereotypes into a Substack devoted to some of the most subtle and sophisticated poetry ever written?
You don't think the last two lines could be using 愚 and 贤 in the purely descriptive sense, rather than as quotes/mentions? Understanding the 他 as the subjects of the gossip themselves? I.e. saying something like, if they're dumb, that's their problem; if they're saints, that's their good fortune. I feel that reading would better reflect the heaven-made-them-that-way section at the beginning, and allows the Mencius quote to land better: the Way will have its mysterious effect, and it doesn't need your gossip to help it along.
In the second sentence of this post you lament the return of fascism. Really? Who? Whom? Why inject the grossest of stereotypes into a Substack devoted to some of the most subtle and sophisticated poetry ever written?