I. The man of first rate excellence is virtuous independently of instruction; he of the middling class is so after instruction; the lowest order of men are vicious in spite of instruction.

上品之人不教而善，中品之人教而後善，下品之人教而不善。

Superior class of (‘s) men not instructed and yet (are) virtuous; middling class of (‘s) men, instructed, and afterwards are virtuous; lowest order of (‘s) men, instructed and yet are not virtuous.

The first of these are styled 聖 Shing, and are the saints of China; the second are 賢 Hien; the last are called 愚 Yu, Foolish, or worthless. The classification is not based on Intelligent Quotient (IQ), a man might be smart, but morally corrupt, who is self-centered, live on one’s own interest, or strives gain regardless of morality, so who is stuck in the nervousness of competition, and distress of attacks and revenge from others. There are comparison between a Superior Man and Mean Man in Confucius Analects, Confucius said, “The mind of the superior man is conversant with righteousness; the mind of the mean man is conversant with gain.” Confucius also said, “The superior man is composed and at ease; the mean man is always nervous and distress. So a highly intelligent person could act foolishly, and appears worthless, even harmful to the society.