Define these quotes please..?

Question

"Heaven favours, where virtue rules"

and also this quote...

"He who does not believe that straight is straight, must guard against the wickedness of good"

please explain thoroughly what these quotes mean because i am lost , thanks =)

Answer 1

"Heaven favours, where virtue rules."

Here is the context*: "'Master, he said, 'five years ago there was a great drought. The grass did not grow and my people were all dying of hunger. It was pitiful indeed!' Tripitaka nodded. 'Your majesty,' he said, 'there is an ancient saying, "Heaven favours, where virtue rules." I fear you have no compassion for your people; for now that they are in trouble, you leave your city."

So, the meaning seems simple: Had the ruler been virtuous, "heaven would have favoured" his land, and so it would have rained, and his people would have been fed. Or even if it had not rained, virtuous ruling is just more likely to lead to good outcomes for the people.

"He who does not believe that straight is straight, must guard against the wickedness of good"

My uncertain guess: If you don't believe that straight is straight, maybe you would confuse good with evil?

*Source - Monkey: Folk Novel of China

Answer 2

straight  means "the right way - the good way"

(in everything you do, there is a right and a wrong way - choose the right thing even if its harder).

so i think it means that for those people who don't believe that the right way is the good way then they need to be careful of the goodness of others because it will be like wickedness to them.

does that make sense? i hope so.

the first quote was best defined by your first answerer.