Mencius

3. " The loss of his place," was the reply j " is to an officer like the loss of his State to a prince. It is said in the Book of Rites, ' The prince ploughs [himself], and is afterwards assisted [by others], in order to supply the milletvessels [for sacrifice] . His wife keeps silk-worms and un winds their cocoons, to make the robes [used in sacrificing] . If the victims be not perfect, the millet in the vessels not CH. III. OFFICE is TO BE EAGERLY DESIRED ; AND YET IT SHOULD NOT BE SOUGHT BY ANY BUT ITS PROPER PATH. It will be seen that the ques tioner of Mencius in this chapter wished to condemn him for the dignity of reserve which he maintained in his intercourse with the princes, and which is the subject of the 1st chapter of this Part. Mencius does not evade any of his questions, and defends himself very ingeniously. Par. 1. Chow Seaou was one of the wandering scholars of Mencius' time. In the " Plans of the Warring States," under the division of Wei, of which lie was a native, he appears as an opponent of Kung-sun Yen of last chap ter. The " Record," from which Mencius quotes about Confucius, whatever it was, is now lost. Every person waiting on another — a superior — was supposed to pave his way by some introductory gift ; and each official rank had its proper article to be used for that purpose by all belonging to it ; — see the Le Ke, I. ii. III. 18. Confucius carried his gift with him, that he might not lose any opportunity of being in office again. Kung-miug E, — see on Part I. i.

Par. 3. In his quotations here from the Le Ke, Mencius combines and adapts to his purpose different passages, with more than his usual free dom. Choo He, to illustrate the text, gives his own summary of the same passages thus : — " It is said in the Book of Rites that the feudal princes FT II. CH. III.] TfANG WAN KUNG. 219 pm-e, and the robes not complete, he does not presume to sacrifice. And the scholar, who, [out of office], has no [holy] field, also does not sacrifice. The victims for slaugh ter, the vessels, and the robes, not being all complete, he does not presume to sacrifice, and then he does not presume to feel at ease and happy/ Is there not in all this sufficient ground for condolence ? " 4. [Seaou again asked], "What was the meaning of [Confucius'] always carrying his proper gift of introduction with him, when he passed over the boundary [of a State] ? " 5. "An officer's being in office," was the reply,- "is like the ploughing of a husbandman. Does a husbandman part with his plough because he goes from one State to another ? " 6. [Seaou] pursued, " The kingdom of Tsin is one, as well as others, of official employments, but I have not heard of any being thus earnest about being in office in it. If there should be this urgency about being in office, why does a superior man make any difficulty about taking it ? " [Mencius] replied, " When a son is born, what is desired for him is that he may have a wife ; and when a daughter is born, what is desired for her is that she may have a husband. This is the feeling of the parents, and is possessed by all men. [If the young people], without waiting for the orders of the parents and the arrangements of the go-betweens,

had their special field of a hundred acres, in which, wearing their crown, with its blue flaps turned up, they held the plough to commence the plough ing, which was afterwards completed with the help of the common people. The produce of this field was reaped and stored in the ducal granary, to supply the vessels of millet in the ancestral temple. They also cause the noble women of their harem to attend to the silkworms in the silkworm house attached to the State mulberry trees, and to bring the cocoons to them. These were then presented to their wives, who received them in their sacri ficial head-dress and robe, soaked them, and thrice drew out a thread. The cocoons were then distributed among the ladies of the three palaces to pre pare the threads for the ornaments of the robes to be worn in sacrificing to the former kings and dukes." The officer's field is the " holy " field of Pt i. III. 16. The argument is that it was not the loss of office which was a proper subject for grief and condolence, but the consequences of it in not being able, especially, to con tinue the proper sacrifices ; — as here set forth.

Par. 6. By the " superior man " and his making a difficulty in taking office, Seaou evidently intended Mencius himself, who, however, does not take any notice of the insinuation. The method of contracting marriages here referred to by Mencius still exists, and seems to have been the rule of the Chinese race from time immemorial. shall bore holes to steal a sight of each other, or get over the wall to be with each other, then their parents and all other people will despise them. The ancients did indeed always desire to be in office, but they also hated being so by any but the proper way. To go [to see the princes] by any but the proper way is of a class with [young people's] boring holes/' IV. L P'ang Kang asked [Mencius], saying1, " Is it not an extravagant procedure to go from erne prince to another and live upon them, followed by several tens of carriages and attended by several hundred men ? " Mencius replied, " If there be not a proper ground [for taking it], a single bamboo-cup of rice should not be received from a man ; if there be such a ground for it, Slum's receiving from Yaou all under heaven is not to be considered excessive ? Do you think it was excessive ? "

2. [Kang] said, "No. [But] for a scholar performing no service to receive his support notwithstanding is improper." 3. [Mencius] answered, " If you do not have an inter communication of the productions of labour and an inter change of [men's] services, so that [one from his] overplus may supply the deficiency of another, then husbandmen will have a superfluity of grain, and women a superfluity of cloth. If you have such an interchange, then cabinet makers, builders, wheel-wrights, and carriage-builders may all get their food from you. Here is a man, who, at home, is filial, and, abroad, respectful to his elders ; and who watches CH. IV. THE LABOUREE is WORTHY OF HIS HIRE : AND THERE is NO LA BOURER SO WORTHY AS THE SCHOLAR WHO INSTRUCTS HEX IX THE PRINCI PLES, AND GUIDES MEN IX THE PRACTICE. OF VIRTUE. Pa?'. 1. P'ang Kang was a disciple of Mencius. Whether his own mind was really perplexed as to the character of his master's way of life, or he simply wished to stir him up to visit the princes and go into office, we cannot tell. Parr. 2 — 5. We cannot but admire the ingenuity which Mencius displays here in the turn which he gives to the conversation. And he is right in saying that it is not the purpose which we remunerate, hut the work which is done for us. Yet his argument, as a defence of himself and his own practice, fails to carry conviction to the mind. Men in general will give honour to him who holds the principles of henevolence and righteousness, inculcating them, moreover, and exemplifying them ; hut it does not follow that they are hound to support him, nor can he accept their support without gome loss of character.

PT II. CH. V.] TfANG WAN KUNQ. 221 over the principles of the ancient kings to be ready for [the use of] future learners : — and yet he will not be able to get his support from you. How is it that you give honour to the cabinet-makers, and the others I have mentioned, and slight him who practises benevolence and righteousness." 4. [P'ang Kilng] said, " The aim of the cabinet-maker, and others of his class, is [by their trades] to seek for a living ; — is it also the aim of the superior man, in his prac tice of the principles [you mention], to seek for a living ?" "What have you to do with his aim ? " was the reply. " He renders services to you. He deserves to be supported, and you support him. And [let me ask], — do you remunerate a man for his intention ? or do you remunerate him for his service ? " [To this Kiing] replied, " I remunerate him for his intention." 5. [Mencius] said, "There is a man here who breaks your tiles, and draws [unsightly] ornaments on your walls, his purpose being thereby to seek for his living ; but will you indeed remunerate him ? " " No, " was the reply ; and [Mencius then] concluded, " Then, it is not for his purpose that you remunerate a man, but for the work dorfe."

V. 1. Wan Chang said [to Mencius], " Sung is a small State ; but [its ruler] is now setting about to practise the [true] royal government, and IVe and Ts'oo hate and attack him ; — what is to be done in the case ? " 2. Mencius said, "When T'ang dwelt in Poh, he adjoined CH. V. THE PRINCE WHO WILL SET HIMSELF TO PRACTISE A BENEVOLENT GOVERNMENT ON THE PRINCIPLES OF THE ANCIENT KINGS HAS NONE TO FEAR : — WITH REFERENCE TO THE CASE OF A DUKE OF SUNG WHO CLAIM ED THE TITLE OF KING. Par. 1. Wan Chang was a disciple of Mencius, the fifth Book of whose Works is named from him. The ruler of Sung to whom reference is made was Yen, who raised himself by violence to the dukedom in B.C. 328, and in 317 assumed the title of king, when he gained some successes over the States of Ts'e on the north, of Ts'oo on the south, and of Wei on the west. He probably "gave out at first that he meant to imitate the ancient kings in his government, but he was very far from doing so. In the Historical Records, Book XXXVIII., he appears as a worthless and oppressive ruler, and his ambition, which led him into collision with the great States men tioned above, precipitated the extinction of the dukedom of Sung, which took place in B.C. 285. Wan Chang gives a too favourable account of him to our philosopher, who, however, was not deceived by it.

Par. 2. Compare I. ii. III. 1, and XI. 2. Poh, the capital of T'ang's to [the State of] Koh, the earl of which was living in a dis solute state, and neglecting [his proper] sacrifices. T'ang sent messengers to ask why he did not sacrifice, and when he said that he had no means of supplying the [necessary] victims,, T'ang caused sheep and oxen to be sent to him. The earl, however, ate them, and still continued not to sacri fice. T'ang again sent messengers to ask him the same question as before, and when he said that he had no means of supplying the vessels of millet, T'ang sent the people of Poll to go and till the ground for him, while the old and feeble carried their food to them. The earl led his people to intercept those who were thus charged with spirits, cooked rice, millet and paddy, and took their stores from them, killing those who refused to give them up. There was a boy with millet and flesh for the labourers, who was thus killed and robbed. What is said in the Book of History, ' The earl of Koh behaved as an enemy to the provision-carriers/ has reference to this.

3. " Because of his murder of this boy, [T'ang] proceeded to punish him. All within the four seas said, ' It is not be cause he desires the riches of the kingdom, but to avenge the common men and women/ 4. " When T'ang began his work of executing justice, he commenced with Koh ; and though he punished eleven [States], he had not an enemy under heaven. When he pursued his work in the east, the rude tribes in the west murmured. So did those in the north, when he pursued it in the south. Their cry was, ' Why does he make us last ? ' The people's longing for him was like their longing for rain principality (though there were three places of the same name), is referred to a place in the present district of Shang-k'ew, in the department of Kweitih, Ho-nan ; and the capital of the earldom of Koh was in the district of Ning-ling in the same department, so that Mencius might say well enough that Poh adjoined to Koh, and T'ang might render to the earl of Koh the services which are mentioned. The passage of the Shoo referred to at the end is from IV. ii. 6.

Pa?-. !!. " To avenge the common men and women " is spoken generally, but the words have a special application to the father and mother of the murdered boy. Par. 4. Compare I. ii. XI. 2 ; and for the quotations from the Shoo, see TV. ii. 6, and v. Pt II. 5. The eleven punitive expeditions «f T'ang cannot all be made out. In the Shoo and the She we find only six. By a peculiar construction of the text here, Ch'aou K'e makes them to have been 22 ; others have put them down at as many as 27. FT II. CH. VI.] TfANQ WAN KUNG. 223 in a time of great drought. The frequenters of the markets stopped not ; those engaged in weeding made no change [in their operations]. While he punished their rulers, he consoled the people. [His progress was] like the falling of opportune rain, and the people were delighted. It is said in the Book of History, ' We have waited for our prince. When our prince comes, we shall escape the misery [under which we suffer].' 5. " There being some who would not become the subjects [of Chow, king Woo] proceeded to punish them on the east. He gave tranquillity to [their people, both] men and women, who [welcomed him] with baskets full of their dark and yellow silks, [saying,] 'From henceforth [we shall serve] our king of Chow, and be made happy by him/ So they gave in their adherence as subjects to the great State of Chow. The men of station [of Shang] took baskets full of dark and yellow silks, to meet the men of station [of Chow], and the lower classes of the one met those of the other with bam boo-cups of cooked rice and vessels of congee. [Woo] saved the people from the midst of fire and water, seizing only their oppressors, [and destroying them] .

6. "It is said in ' The Great Declaration : ' — ' My military prowess is displayed, and I enter his territories, and will seize the oppressor. My execution and punishment of him shall be displayed, more glorious than the work of T*ang/ 7. " [Sung] is not practising royal government, as you say among other things about it. If it were practising royal government, all within the four seas would be lifting up their heads, and looking for [its king], wishing to have him for their ruler. Great as Tsfe and IVoo are, what would there be to fear from them ? " VI. 1. Mencius said toTae Puh-shing, "Do you indeed, Par. 5. The first half of this paragraph is substantially a quotation from the Shoo, V. iii. 7 ; but that Book of the Shoo is supposed to be imperfect, and to require considerable emendation. Par. 6. See the Shoo, V. i. Ft II. 6. Par. 1 . Here is the conclusion of the matter. The king of Sung, having taken the sword in a different spirit from T'ang and Woo, would perish by the sword. CH. VI. THE ALL-POWERFUL INFLUENCE OF EXAMPLE AND ASSOCIATION. Sir, wish your king to be virtuous ? Well, I will plainly tell you [how he may be made so]. Suppose that there is here a great officer of Ts'oo, who wishes his son to learn the speech of Tsfe, will he employ a man of Ts'e as his tutor, or a man of Ts'oo ? " " He will employ a man of Ts'e to teach him/' was the reply, and [Mencius] went on, " If [but] one man of Ts'e be teaching him, and there be a multitude of men of Ts'oo shouting out about him, although [his father] beat him eveiy day, wishing him to learn the speech of Ts'e, it will be impossible for him to do so. [But] in the same way, if he were to be taken and placed for several years in the Chwang [street], or the Yoh [quarter], although [his father] should beat him every day, wishing him to speak the language of Ts'oo, it would be impossible for him to do so.

2. " You say that Se'eh Keu-chowis a scholar of virtue, and you have got him placed in attendance on the king. If all that are in attendance on the king, old and young, high and low, were Se'eh Keu-chows, whom would the king have to do evil with ? [But] if those that are in attendance on the king, old and young, high and low, are all not Se'eh Keu-chows, whom will the king have to do good with ? What can one Seeh Keu-chow do alone for the king of Sung ? " VII. 1. Kung-sun Ch'ow asked [Mencius], saying, "What is the point of righteousness in your not going to see the THE IMPORTANCE OF HAVING VIRTUOUS MEN ABOUT A EULEU'S PERSON. This chapter may bo considered as connected with the preceding. Pa?-. 1. Tae Puh-shing was a minister, probably the chief minister, of Sung, a descendant from one of its dukes; who had received the posthumous epithet of Tae, which had been adopted as their clan-name by a branch of his posterity. Chwang and Yoh were two well-known quarters in the capital of Ts'e. They are both mentioned in the Tso Chuen under par. 6 of the 28th year of duke Seang. Some will have it that Chwang was the name of a street merely, and Yoh of a neighbourhood.

Par. 2. Se'eh Keu-chow was also a minister of Sung, recommended as tutor or adviser to the king by Tae Puh-shing. He was a man of virtue and acquirements, — a descendant of the lords of Se'eh, which principality dates at least from the time of Yu. CH. VII. MENCIUS DEFENDS HIS NOT GOING TO SEE THE PRINCES BY THE EXAMPLE AND MAXIMS OF THE ANCIENTS. Akin to the first and other chapters of this Book. Par. 1. In Ana. XIV. xxii. we have an example of how Confucius, not then actually iu office, but having been so, went to see the marquis of Loo. princes ? " Mencius said, " Anciently, if one had not been a minister [in the State], he did not go to see [the ruler]. 2. " Twan Kan-muh leaped over a wall to avoid [the prince] ; Seeh Lew shut the door and would not admit him. These two, however, [carried their scrupulosity] to excess. When a prince is urgent, it is not improper to see him. 3. " Yang Ho wished to get Confucius to go to see him, but disliked [that he should be charged himself with] any want of propriety. [As it was the rule, therefore, that] when a great officer sends a gift to a scholar, if the latter be not at home to receive it, he must go and make his acknowledg ments at the gate of the other, Yang Ho watched when Confucius was out and sent him a steamed pig. Confucius, in his turn, watched when Ho was out, and went to pay his acknowledgments to him. At that time Yang Ho had taken the initiative ; — how could [Confucius] avoid going to see him ?

4. " The philosopher Tsang said, ' Those who shrug up their shoulders and laugh in a nattering way toil harder than the summer [labourer in the] fields.' Tsze-loo said, ' There are those who will talk with people with whom they have no agreement. If you look at their countenances, they are full of blushes, and are not such as I [care to] know/ By looking at the matter in the light of these remarks, [the spirit] which the superior man nourishes may be known/' He had a good reason, however, for doing so, independently of his having been in office. Mencius is never altogether satisfactory in vindicating his own conduct in the matters affecting his intercourse with the princes, which staggered the faith of his followers. Par. 2. Twan Kan-muh, or Twan-kan Muh (the surname and name nre not clearly ascertained), was a native of Tsin, and a disciple of Tsze-hea. The prince whom he avoided in the way which Mencius refers to was Sze, the first marquis of Wei, known as duke Wan, who died in B.C. 386. He never drove past Twan's door, it is said, without bowing forward to the front bar of his carriage in token of respect ; but Twan stood out upon his purity, and would not go to see him.

Seeh Lew has been mentioned in II. ii. XI. 3. Par. 3. See Ana. XVII. i. In the incident which is here related f>w will see anything more or higher than the ingenuity of Confucius in getting out of a difficulty. Par. 4. We must understand Tsze-loo as speaking of those men who gave their counsels freely to princes and men of influence of whom they disapproved. 226 THE WORKS OF MEXCIUS. [fiK III. VIII. 1. " Tae Ying-clie said [to Mencius], " I am not able at present and immediately to do with a tithe [only], and abolish [at the same time] the duties charged at the passes and in the markets. With your leave I will lighten all [the present extraordinary exactions] until next year, and then make an eud of them. What do you think of such a course \ " 2. Mencius said, <f Here is a man who every day appropri ates the fowls of his neighbours that stray to his premises. Some one says to him, ' Such is not the way of a good man/ and he replies, ' With your leave I will diminish my appro priations, and will take only one fowl a month, until next year, when I will make an end of the practice altogether/

o. " If you know that the thing is unrighteous, then put an end to it with all despatch ; — why wait till next year ? " IX. 1. The disciple Kung-too said [to Mencius], " Master, people beyond [our school] all say that you are fond of dis puting. I venture to ask why you are so." Mencius replied, " How should I be fond of disputing? But I am compelled to do it. 2. "A long period has elapsed since this world [of men] received its being, and there have been [along its history] now a period of good order, and now a period of confusion. CH. VIII. WHAT is WRONG SHOULD BE PUT AN END TO AT ONCE, WITH OUT KESERVE, AND WITHOUT DELAY. Pur. 1. Tae Ying-clie was a minister of Sung; — supposed by some to have been the same with the Tae I'uh-shing of chapter vi. I think it likely they were the same. We must suppose that Mencius had been talking with him on the points indicated in his remarks, and insisting on them as necessary to the benevolent government, which, it was pretended, was being instituted in Sung. See I. ii. V. X ; II. i. V. 3 ; and III. i. III.

CH. IX. MENCIUS DEFENDS HIMSELF AGAINST THE CHARGE op BEINO FOND OF DISPUTING. Wl-IAT LED TO HIS APPEARING TO BE SO WAS THE NECESSITY OF THE TIME. Compare II. i. II. It would appear from that chapter and this that our philosopher believed that the mantle of Confucius had fallen upon him, and that he was in the position of a sage on whom it devolved to live and labour for the world. Par. 1. Kung-too, — see II. ii. V. 4. There was some truth, no doubt, in the common opinion about Mencius reported to him by Kung-too. PitT. 2, 3. Commentators are unanimous in understanding Mencius to be speaking here not of the material world, but of the first appearance of men ; n:id it is remarkable that in his review of the history of mankind, he does not go beyond the time of Yaou, and that at its commencement he places a PT IT, CH. ix.] T-'ANO WAN KUNG. 227 3. " In the time of Yaou, the waters, flowing out of their channels, inundated all through the States, snakes and dragons occupied the country, and the people had no place where they could settle themselves. In the low grounds they made [as it were] nests for themselves, and in the high grounds they made caves. It is said in the Book of History, ' The vast waters filled me with dread.' What are called ' the vast waters ' were those of the [above] great inun dation.

4. " [Shun] employed Yu to reduce the waters to order. He dug open the ground [which impeded their flow], and led them to the sea. He drove away the snakes and dragons, and forced them into the grassy marshes. [On this] the waters pursued their course in their channels, — [the waters of] the Keang, the Hwae, the Ho, and the Han. The [natural] difficulties and obstructions being thus removed, and the birds and beasts which had injured the people having disappeared, men found the plains [available for them] , and occupied them. 5. "After the death of Yaou and Shun, the "principles of [those] sages fell into decay. Oppressive rulers arose one after another, who pulled down the houses [of the people] to make ponds and lakes, so that the people could nowhere rest in quiet, and threw fields out of cultivation to form gar dens and parks, so that the people could not get clothes and food. [Afterwards] , corrupt speakings and oppressive deeds also became rife ; gardens and parks, ponds and lakes, thickets and marshes were numerous ; and birds and beasts made their appearance. By the time of Chow, all under heaven was again in a state of great confusion.

period of disorder. Compare Pt i. IV. 7. The "nests " were huts on highraised platforms. In the Le Ke, IX. i. 8, it is said that these were the summer habitations of the earliest men, who made caves for themselves in the winter, and lived in them. For the words of the Shoo, see that work. II. iii. 14. Par. 4. " The waters pursued their course in their channels ; " — or, it may he, " the waters pursued their course through the country," that is, no more overflowed it. Par. 5. The dynasties of Hea and Shang have their history summed up here in very small compass. Yu and T'ang, and various worthy, if not sage, sovereigns are passed over without ceremony. Does not the account thus given imply that down to the rise of the Chow dynasty the coautry was very thinly peopled ? 228 THE WORKS OF MENCIU3. [fiK III. 6. " The duke of Chow assisted king Woo, and destroyed Chow. He' attacked Yen, and in three years put its ruler to death. He drove Fei-leen to a corner by the sea, and slew him. The States which he extinguished amounted to fifty. He drove far away the tigers, leopards, rhinoceroses, and elephants. All under heaven were greatly pleased. It is said in the Book of History, ' How great and splendid were the plans of king Wan ! How greatly were they carried out by the energy of king Woo. They are for the help and guidance of us their descendants, — all in principle correct, and deficient in nothing.'

7. " [Again] the world fell into decay, and principles faded away. Perverse speakings and oppressive deeds again became rife. There were instances of ministers who murdered their rulers, and of sons who murdered their fathers. 8. " Confucius was afraid and made the Ch'un Ts'ew. What the Ch'un Ts'ew contains are matters proper to the son of Heaven. On this account Confucius said, ' It is the Ch'uii Ts'tiw which will make men know me, and it is the Ch'un, Tsfew which will make men condemn me/ 9. " [Once more] sage kings do not arise, and the princes of the States give the reins to their lusts. Unemployed scholars indulge in unreasonable discussions. The words of Yang Choo and Mih Teih fill the kingdom. [If you Par. 6. Yen was a State in the present district of K'euh-fow, department Yen-chow, Shan-tung. From the specification of it here, it must have been, of considerable note and influence. Fei-leen was a favourite minister of Chow, who abetted him in his enormities. It would be vain to try to enu merate the " fifty States," which the duke of Chow is said to have extin guished. " The tigers," &c., spoken of here, are said to have been those kept by the tyrant Chow, and those infesting the country, as in earlier' times. The text of Mencius, however, produces a different impression on my mind. He would have us think of much of the country as being, even in the time of the duke of Chow, still over-run by wild animals. See the Shoo, V. xxv. 6.

Parr. 7,8. What Mencius says here about the "Spring and Autumn" is very perplexing, and the reader will lind the passages discussed at length in the first chapter of my Prolegomena to Vol. V. of my larger work. It is difficult to believe that our philosopher can be speaking of the " Spring and Autumn " which we now have ; and yet the evidence seems complete that the present classic of that name is what came from the sti/ltis of the sage. Par. 9. From Confucius to Mencius was but a short time compared with that which intervened between Confucius and the duke of Chow, and that again between the duke of Chow and Yaou and fcjhun. The process of decay was going on with unexampled rapidity. Of Yang Choo, as well as FT ii. CH. ix.] T'ANG WAN KUNG. 229 listen to] people's discourses throughout it, [you will find that] if they are not the adherents of Yang, they are those of Mih. Yang's principle is — ' Bach one for himself;' which leaves no [place for duty to] the ruler. Mih's prin ciple is — ' To love all equally ; ' which leaves no place for [the peculiar affection due to] a father. But to acknow ledge neither ruler nor father is to be in the state of a beast. Kung-tning E said, ' In their stalls there are fat beasts, and in their stables there are fat horses, but their people have the look of hunger, and in the fields there are those who have died of famine. This is leading on beasts to devour men.-1 If the principles of Yang and Mih are not stopped, and the principles of Confucius are not set forth, then those perverse speakings will delude the people, and stop up [the path of] benevolence and righteousness. When bene volence and righteousness are stopped up, beasts will be led on to devour men, and men will devour one another.

10. "I am alarmed by these things, and address myself to the defence of the principles of the former sages. I oppose Yang and Mih, and drive away their licentious expressions, so that such perverse speakers may not be able to show them selves. When [their errors] spring up in men's minds, they are hurtful to the conduct of affairs. When they are thus seen in their affairs, they are hurtful to their government. When a sage shall again arise, he will certainly not change [these] my words. 11. " Formerly, Yu repressed the vast waters [of the in undation], and all under the sky was reduced to order. The cluke of Chow^s achievements extended to the wild tribes of the east and north, and he drove away all ferocious animals, so that the people enjoyed repose. Confucius completed the Spring and Autumn, and rebellious ministers and villainous sons were struck with terror. 12. " It is said in the Book of Poetry, ' He smote the tribes of the west and the north ; He punished King and Shoo ; And no one dared to resist us.' of Mih Teih. and of the principles of them both, I have spoken in the Pro legomena. See the words here attributed to Kung-ming E in I. i. IV. 4.

Par. 10. Compare II. i. II. 17. Par. 11. The way in which the duke of Chow's driving away " all fero cious animals " is here mentioned seems inconsistent with the view of the expression of which I have spoken under par. 6. Par. 12. See on Pt i. IV. 16. These fatfrer-deniers and king-deniers would have been smitten by the duke of Chow. 1-3. "I also wish to rectify men's hearts,, and to put an end to [those] perverse speakings, to oppose their one-sided actions., and banish away their licentious expressions ; — and thus carry on the [work of the] three sages. Do I do so be cause I am fond of disputing? I am constrained to do it. 14. " Whoever can by argument oppose Yang and Mih is a disciple of the sages/' X. 1. K'wang Chang said [to Mencius], " Is not Mr Ch'in. Chung a man of true self-denying purity ? He was living in Woo-ling, and for three days was without food, till ho could neither hear nor see. Over a well there grew a plum tree, a fruit of which had been, more than half of it, eaten by worms. He crawled to it, and tried to eat [some of this fruit], when, after swallowing three mouthfuls, he recovered his sight and hearing."

2. Mencius replied, " Among the scholars of Tsfe I rnu^t regard Chung as the thumb [among the fingers]. But still, how can he be regarded as having that self-denying puritv ? To carry out the principles which he holds, one must become an earth-worm, for so only can it be done. Par. 13. Compare II. i. II. 17. Pur. 14. Mencius seems here to call on all disciples of Confucius to co operate with him in upholding the doctrines of the sage, and yet the sentence was perhaps intended to take away from the forcible assertion to which he had given utterance, and by which he claimed for himself a place in the line of sages. CH. X. THE MAX WHO WILL AVOID ALL ASSOCIATION WITH, AND OBLI GATION TO, TIIOSK OF WHOM HE DOES NOT APPKOVE MUST NEEDS GO OUT OF THE WOKLD. — ILLUSTRATED BY THE CASE OF ClI'IN CHUNG OF Ts'E. Par. 1. K'wang Chang and Cli'in Chung (called also Ch'in Tsze-chuug) were hoth natives of Ts'e. The former was high in the confidence and em ployment of the kings Wei and Seuen, and did good service to the Shite on more than one occasion ; — see on IV. ii. xxx. The latter, as we learn from tin's chapter, belonged to an old and noble family of the State. II is prin ciples appear to have been those of Heu Hing, mentioned in 1't i. IV., or ••veil more severe. We may compare him with the recluses of Confucius' time. Woo-ling was a poor, wild place, where Chung and his wife, likeminded with himself, lived in retirement. It was somewhere in the present department of Tse-nan. Chaou K'e thinks that it is said the plum was .half-eaten, to show how Mr Chung had really all but lost his eye-sight.

Par. 2. Meneius' idea is that Clriu Chung's principles were altogether impracticable. PT ii. CH. x.] T'ANG WAN KCNG. 231 3. " Now an earth-worm eats the dry mould above, and drinks the yellow spring below. Was the house in which Mr Chung lives built by a Pih-e ? or was it built by a robber like Chili ? AVas the grain which he eats planted by a Pih-e ? or was it planted by a robber like Chih ? These are things which cannot be known." 4. "But/' said [Chang], "what does that matter? He himself weaves sandals of hemp, and his wife twists hempen threads, which they exchange [for other things]." 5. [Mencius] rejoined, " Mr Chung belongs to an ancient and noble family of IVe. His elder brother Tae received from Kah a revenue of 10,000 cliunq, but he considered his brother's emolument to be unrighteous, and would not dwell in the place. Avoiding his brother, and leaving his mother, he went and dwelt in Woo-ling. One day after wards, he returned [to their house], when it happened that some one sent his brother a present of a live goose. He, knitting his brows, said, ' What are you going to use that cackling thing for ? ' By-and-by, his mother killed the goose, and gave him some of it to eat. [Just then] his brother came into the house and said, ' It's the flesh of that cackling thing,' on which he went out, and vomited it.

6. " Thus what his mother gave him he would not eat, but what his wife gives him he eats. He will not dwell in his brother's house, but he dwells in Woo-ling. How can he in such cii-cumstances complete the style of life which he professes ? With such principles as Mr Chung holds, [a man must be] an earth- worm, and then he can carry them out." Par. 3. Pih-e, —see II. i. II. 22, et al. Chih was a famous robber chief of Confucius' time, a younger brother of Hvvuy of Lew-hea, celebrated by Mencius in II. i. IX. 2, et al. There was, however, it is said, in high an tiquity in the time of Hwang-te, a noted robber so called, whose name was given to Hwuy's brother because of the similarity of their course. " The robber Chih " had come to be used like a proper name. — As Chung with drew from human society lest he should be denied by it, Mencius shows that unless be were a worm, he could not be independent of other men. Even the house he lived in, and the grain he ate, might be the result of the labour of a villain like Chih, or of a worthy like Pih-e, for anything he could tell.

Purr. 4, 5. K'wang Chang says that the lodging and food of Mr Ch'in were innocently and righteously come by ; and it was not necessary to push one's inquiries further back. Mencius does not reply to him directly, but throws ridicule on the self-denying recluse by the ridiculous story which he tells ; and concludes by reiterating what he had affirmed as to the impracti cability of the man and of his principles. CHAPTER I. 1 . Mencius said, " The power of vision of Le Low, and the skill of hand of Kung-shoo, without the compass and square, could not form squares and circles. The acute ear of the [music] -master Kwang, without the pitch-tubes, could not determine correctly the five notes. The principles of Yaou and Shun, without a benevolent government, could not secure the tranquil order of the kingdom. With this Book commences what is commonly called the second or lower Part of the Works of Mencius ; but that division is not recognized in the critical editions. It is called Le Low from its commencing with those two characters, and contains twenty-eight chapters which are most of them shorter than those of the preceding Books.

CH. I. THERE is AN AKT OF GOVERNMENT, AS WELL AS A WISH TO GOVERN WELL, TO BE LEARNED FROM THE EXAMPLE AND PRINCIPLES OF THE ANCIENT KINGS, AND WHICH MUST BE STUDIED AND PRACTISED BY RULERS AND THEIR MINISTERS. Par. 1. Le Low, called also Le Choo, carries us hack to the highest Chinese antiquity. He was, it is said, of the time of Hwang-te, and so acute of vision that at the distance of a hundred paces he would see the point of the smallest hair. Kung-shoo, named Pan, was a celebrated mechanist of Loo, contemporary with Confucius, if, as some think, he was a son of duke Ch'aou. He is fabled to have made birds of bamboo which could continue flying for three days, and other marvellous contrivances. He is now the tutelary spirit of carpenters, under the name of Loo Pan or Pan of Loo ; but many critics contend that the Kung-shoo of Mencius and Loo Pan ought not to be identified. See the Le Ke, II. ii. II. 21. Kwang, styled Tsze-yay, was a famous music-master of Tsin, a little before the time of Confucius. There is an interesting conversation between him and the marquis of Tsin in the Tso Chuen, under the 14th year of duke Seang. The pitch-tubes, here called " six," by synecdoche for "twelve," were invented in the earliest times, to determine by their various lengths the notes of the musical scale, and for other purposes. See some account of them under par. 8 in the Shoo, IT. i. " The rive notes" are the five full notes of the octave, omitting the semitones. The word " principles " in the phrase, " the principles of Yaou and Shun," must be taken vaguely, and as meaning simply the wish to govern rightly, subsequently embodied in " benevolent government," such as Mencius delighted to dwell on in many chapters of the previous Books. The use of " principles," however, in this vague and uncertain way, introduces au

2. " There are now [princes] wlio Lave benevolent hearts and a reputation for benevolence, while yet the people do not receive any benefits from them, nor will they leave any example to future ages ; — all because they do not put into practice the ways of the ancient kings. 3. " Hence we have the saying, ' Goodness alone is not sufficient for the exercise of government ; laws alone cannot carry themselves into practice.'' 4. " It is said in the Book of Poetry, ' Erring in nothing, forgetful of nothing, Observing and following the old statutes.' Never has any one fallen into error who followed the laws of the ancient kings. 5. " When the sages had used all the power of their eyes, they called in to their aid the compass, the square, the level, and the line ; and the ability to make things square, round, level, and straight was inexhaustible. When they had used all the power of their ears, they called in the aid of the pitch-tubes ; and the ability to determine correctly the five notes was inexhaustible. When they had used all the thoughts of their hearts, they called in to their aid a government that could not bear [to witness the suffering of] men ; and their benevolence overspread all under heaven.

6. " Hence we have the saying, ' To raise a thing high we must begin from [the top of] a mound or a hill ; to dig inconsistency and ambiguity into the chapter. Mencius exhorts to follow the ways or " principles " of the ancient kings, and yet they are here said to be insufficient for good government. Par. 2. One of the early commentators of the Sung dynasty refers to king Seuen of Ts'e of I. i. VII. et al., as an instance of the rulers who have a benevolent heart, and to the first emperor of the Leang dynasty, (A.D. 502 — 549), whose Buddhistic scrupulosity about taking life made him have a reputation for benevolence. Yet the heart of the one and the reputation of the other proved of little benefit to their people. Par. 3. " Goodness alone " is the benevolent heart without the method. " Laws alone " is the benevolent government without the heart. For. 4. See the She, 111. ii. V. 2. Par. 5. According to the views of Chinese writers, the lever was the first of the mechanical powers which was invented. " The lever revolving pro duced the circle. The circle produced the square. The square produced the line ; and the line produced the let'el." On government as " not bearing to witness the sufferings of men," see II. i. VI.

Par. 6. The saying is found in the Le Ke, X. ii. 10. 23 i THE WORKS OF MENCIUS. [BK IV. to a [great] depth, we must commence in [the low ground of] a stream or a marsh/ Can he be pronounced wise who, in the exercise of government,, does not start from the ways of the ancient kings. 7. " Therefore only the benevolent ought to be in high stations. When a man destitute of benevolence is in a high station, he thereby disseminates his wickedness among the multitudes [below him]. 8. " When the ruler has not principles by which he exam ines [his administration], and his ministers have no laws by which they keep themselves [in the discharge of their duties], then in the court obedience is not paid to principle, and in the office obedience is not paid to rule. Superiors violate [the laws of] righteousness, and inferiors violate the penal laws. It is only by a fortunate chance that a State in such a case is preserved. 9. " Therefore it is said, ' It is not the interior and ex terior walls being incomplete, nor the supply of weapons of fensive and defensive not being large, which constitutes tho calamity of a State. It is not the non-extension of the cultivable area, nor the non-accumulation of stores and wealth, which is injurious to a State.' When superiors do not observe the rules of propriety, and inferiors do riot learn [any thing better], then seditious people spring up, and [that State] will peris h in no time.

10. " It is said in the Book of Poetry, 'Heaven is now producing such movements ; — - l)o not be so indifferent.' 11. " ' Indifferent,' that is, careless and dilatory. 12. "And so may [those officers] be deemed who serve their ruler without righteousness, who take office and retire from office without regard to propriety, and in their words disown the ways of the ancient kings. Par. 1. The "therefore" expresses a consequence from what has been said in all the previous paragraphs. " High stations " should perhaps be " the highest station." The ruler is indicated. Par. 8 is an illustration of the concluding clause of par. 7, showing how wickedness flows downwards, with its consequences. Par. 10. See the She, III. ii. X. 2. — From this paragraph Menciushas the ministers of a ruler in view. They have their duties to perform, in order that the benevolent government may be realized. Par. 13. Compare II. ii. II. 4. 13. "Therefore it is said, 'To urge one's ruler to difficult achievements should be called showing respect for him ; to set before him what is good and repress his perversities should be called showing reverence for him. [He who does not do these things, but says to himself], ' My ruler is incompetent to this/ should be said to play the thief with him/'

II. 1. Mencius said, "The compass and square produce perfect circles and squares. By the sages the human rela tions are perfectly exhibited. 2. " He who, as a ruler, would perfectly discharge the duties of a ruler, and he who, as a minister, would perfectly discharge the duties of a minister, have only to imitate,— the one Yaou, and the other Shun. 'He who does not serve his ruler as Shun served Yaou does not reverence his ruler, and he who does not rule the people as Yaou ruled them injures his people. 3. " Confucius said, ' There are but two courses, that of benevolence and its opposite/ 4. " [A. ruler] who carries the oppression of his people to the highest pitch will himself be slain, and his State will perish. If one stop short of the highest pitch, his life will be in danger, and his State will be weakened. He will be styled ' The Dark ' or ' The Cruel ; ' and though he may have filial sons and affectionate grandsons, they will not be able in a hundred generations to change [the designation] . CH. II. A CONTINUATION OF LAST CHAPTER. — THAT YAOU AND SlIUN WERE PERFECT MODELS FOR RULERS AND MINISTERS ; AND THE CONSE QUENCES OF NOT IMITATING THEM.

Pur. 1. The "human relations" are the five specified in III. i. IV. 8. " The sages," according to this par., were not only models for rulers and ministers, but showed human nature in all its relations according to its ideal. Pur. 2. We have no particular account of how Shun discharged his duties as a minister, nor of how Yaou discharged his as a ruler. All our information about them is comprised in a short space at the beginning of the Shoo. We must believe that Shun was all that a minister could be, and Yaou all that a ruler could be. Par. 3. This is a saying of Confucius for the preservation of which we are indebted to Mencius. By the course of benevolence is intended the imitation of Yaou and Shun ; by its opposite the neglect of them as models. Par. 4. By rulers who carry oppression to the highest pitch Mencius intends Keen and Chow, the last sovereigns of the He'a and Yin dynasties ; by " The 5. " This is what is intended in the words of the Book of Poetry, 'The beacon of Yin is not far distant; — It is in the age of the [last] sovereign of Hea.' "

III. 1. Meiicius said, " It was by benevolence that the three dynasties gained the kingdom, and by not being benevolent that they lost it. 2. " It is in the same way that the decaying and flourish ing, the preservation and perishing, of States are deter mined. 3. " If the son of Heaven be not benevolent, he cannot preserve [all within] the four seas [from passing from him] . If a feudal prince be not benevolent, he cannot preserve his altars. If a noble or great officer be not benevolent, he cannot preserve his ancestral temple. If a scholar or com mon man be not benevolent, he cannot preserve his four limbs. 3. "Xow they hate death and ruin, and yet delight in not being benevolent ; — this is like hating to be drunk, and yet being strong [to drink] spirits." IV. 1 . Mencius said, " If a man love others, and no [re sponsive] affection is shown to him, let him turn inwards Dark " and " The Cruel," he intends the twelfth and tenth kings of the Chow dynasty, who received those posthumous, but indelible, designations. Par. 5. See the She, III. iii. I. 6.

CH. in. THK IMPORTANCE TO ALL, BUT ESPECIALLY TO RULERS, OF EX ERCISING BENEVOLENCE. Par. 1. "The three dynasties" are of course those of Hea, Shang or Yin, and Chow. It is a bold utterance, seeing that the dynasty of Chow was still existing in the time of Mencius ; but he regarded it as old and ready to vanish away. Par. 3. " The four seas " is here equivalent to "all beneath the sky," which means the empire or kingdom of China. See on the Shoo, II. i. 13. " The altars " are in the Chinese text specifically those to the spirits of the land and the grain. The phrase is here equivalent to " his State." Par. 4 has for its subject the princes of Mencius' time. CH. IV. WITH WHAT MEASURE A MAN METES IT WILL BE MEASURED TO HIM AGAIN ; AND CONSEQUENTLY BEFORE A MAN DEALS WITH OTHERS, EXPECTIXG THEM TO BE AFFECTED BY HIM, HE SHOULD FIRST DEAL WITH HIMSELF. The sentiment is expressed quite generally, but a particular re- and examine his own benevolence ; if he [is trying to] rule others, and his government is unsuccessful, let him turn in wards and examine his own wisdom. If he treats others politely and they do not return his politeness, let him turn inwards and examine his own [feeling of] respect.

2. "If we do not by what we do realize [what we desire], we should turn inwards, and examine ourselves in every point. When a man is himself correct, all under heaven will turn to him [with recognition and submission]. 3. "It is said hi the Book of Poetry, ' Always strive to accord with the will [of Heaven] ; So shall you be seeking for much happiness.' " V. 1. Mencius said, " People have this common saying, — ' The kingdom, the State, the clan.' The root of the kingdom is in the State ; the root of the State is in the clan ; the root of the clan is in the person. VI. Mencius said, " The administration of govern ment is not difficult ; it lies in not offending against the great Houses. He whom the great Houses affect will be affected by the whole State ; and he whom a whole State affects will be affected by all under heaven. When this is fcrence is to be understood to the princes of the time. The lines quoted are from the She, III. i. I. 6. They were adduced before in II. i. IV. 6.

CH. "V. THE GREAT THING TO BE ATTENDED TO is THE CULTIVATION OP PERSONAL CHARACTER. I think this is the idea which Mencius had in mind in the words given here. The common saying to which he refers was good so far as it went, but it did not go far enough. His course of thought is followed out to greater length in " The Great Learning." See the 4th par. of the Confucian Text there, and many passages of the Commentary. ClI. VI. THE IMPORTANCE TO A RULER OF SECURING THE SUBMISSION AND ESTEEM OF THE GREAT HOUSES IN HIS STATE. The ruler's " not offending the great Houses "means his not doing any thing that will excite their resentment, but commanding their loyal attach ment by his personal character and his administration. Choo He refers, in illustration of the sentiment, to a story about duke Hwan of Ts'e which we find in one of the works of Lew He'ang. The duke, we are told, came one day in hunting to the district of Mih-k'e'w, and lighted on an old man, who .said, in answer to his inquiry, that he was 83. " A beautiful old age," said the duke. " Pray that I may be blessed with an equal longevity." The old man accordingly prayed, " May his lordship, my ruler, live to a very great

238 THE WORKS OF MENCIUS. [fiK IV. the case, [such an one's] virtue and teachings will ' spread over [all within] the four seas like the rush of water." VII. I. Mencius said, "When right government prevails throughout the kingdom, [princes of] little virtue are sub missive to those of great, and [those of] little worth to [those of] great. When bad government prevails, the small are submissive to the large, and the weak to the strong. Both these cases are [the law of] Heaven. They who accord with Heaven are preserved ; they who rebel against Heaven perish. 2. " Duke King of Ts'e said, ' Not to be able to command age, despising gold and gems, and counting men his jewels ! " The duke said, " Good ! But the highest virtue is not found alone ; good words must be repeated. Do you, Sir, pray for me a second time." The man did so, saying, " May his lordship, my ruler, not be ashamed to learn, nor dislike to ask his inferiors, have men of worth by his side, and give access to such as •will admonish him ! '' The duke expressed his satisfaction with this prayer in nearly the same terms as before, and asked the old man to pray for him a third time. The man complied, and said, " May his lordship, my ruler, not offend against his ministers and the people ! " The duke changed colour at these words, and said, :' I have heard that a son may offend against his father, and a minister against his ruler, but I have not heard of a ruler's offending against his minister ; — this prayer is not of a piece with the two former ones. Please to change it." The old man knelt down in obeisance, and then stood up and said, " This prayer is superior to the two former ones. A son who has offended against his father may apologize through his aunts and uncles, and the father can forgive him. A minister who has offended against his ruler may apologize through his ruler's familiar attendants, and be forgiven. But when K'e'eh offended n gainst T'ang, and Chow offended against king Woo, these were cases of rulers offending against their nobles. There were none through whom they could apologize ; the offences were never forgiven, and the retribution for them continues to the present day." The duke acknowledged the truth of what the man said, and showed to him great honour.

CH. VII. THE WILL OP HEAVEN TN REGARD TO THE SUBJECTION OF ONE STATE TO ANOTHER is VARIOUSLY INDICATED, AND DEPENDS ON CERTAIN CONDITIONS ; WHICH EXISTING, THK RESULT CANNOT BE AVOIDED. A PRINCE'S ONLY SECURITY FOR SAFETY AND PROSPERITY IS IN BEING BENE VOLENT. Par, 1. " Both these cases are [the law of] Heaven : " — Heaven, it is said, embraces here the ideas of what must be in reason, and the dili'erent powers of the contrasted States. This is true ; in a virtuous age, the great est virtue will influence the most, and in a bad age, the greatest strength will prevail. But why sink the idea of a Providential government which is implied in ': Heaven " ? Par. 2. Duke King of Ts'e has been mentioned already in I. ii. IV. 4, et [others], and further to refuse to receive their commands, is to cut one's-self off from all intercourse with them/ His tears flowed forth, and he gave his daughter in mar riage to [the prince of] Woo. 3. " Now the small States take for their models the large States, but are ashamed to receive their commands ; — this is like scholars being ashamed to receive the commands of their master.

4. " For [a prince] who is ashamed of this, the best plan is to make king Wan his model. Let one take king Wan as his model and in five years, if his State be large, or in seven years, if it be small, he will be sure to give law to all under heaven. 5. "It is said in the Book of Poetry, ' The descendants of [the sovereigns of] Shang Were more in number than a hundred thousand ; But when God gave the command, They became subject to Chow. ' They became subject to Chow. The appointment of Heaven is not constant. The officers of Yin, admirable and alert, Assist at the libations in our capital.' Confucius said, 'As [against so] benevolent [a ruler, the multitudes] could not be deemed multitudes.' If the ruler of a State love benevolence, he will have no opponent under heaven. al. The affair here referred to does not appear in the Tso Chuea, but is mentioned by Lew Heang and other writers. The duke, it appears, pur chased peace from Hoh-leu, king of Woo as he called himself, by sending his daughter to Woo to be married to his son. Woo, corresponding to the northern part of Cheh-keang and the south of Keang-soo, was still con sidered a barbarous State in the time of Confucius, and the civilized States of Chow were ashamed to have dealings with it on equal terms. The princess of Ts'e mentioned here soon pined away and died, and was followed to the grave ere long by her husband, the old barbarian king showing much sym pathy with her case.

Par. 3. The smaller States followed the example of the larger in what was evil, and yet were ashamed to submit to them. Parr. 4, f>. See the She, III. i. I. stt. 4, 5. We are to understand that the remark of Confucius was made on reading the stanzas of the ode just referred to : — Against a benevolent prince, like king Wan, the myriads of the adherents of the Shaug dynasty ceased to be myriads. They would not act against him. 240 THE WORKS OF MENCIUS. [fiK IV. 6. " Now-a- days, they wish to have no opponent under heaven, but [they do] not [seek to attain this] by being benevolent ; — this is like trying to hold a heated substance, without having dipped it in water. It is said in the Book of Poetry, 'Who can hold anything hot ? Must he not dip it [first] in water ? '" VIII. 1. Mencius said, " How is it possible to speak with [princes] who are not benevolent ? Their perils they count safety, their calamities they count profitable, and they de light in the things by which they are going to ruin. If it were possible to talk with them who [so] violate benevo lence, how should we have such ruin of States and de struction of families ?

2. " There was a boy singing, •When the water of the Ts'ang-lang is clear, It does to wash the strings of my cap ; When the water of the Ts'ang-lang is muddy, It does to wash niy feet.' 3. " Confucius said, ' Hear what he says, my children : — when clear, to wash the cap strings ; when muddy, to wash the feet.' [This different application] is brought [by the water] on itself. 4. " A man must [first] despise himself, and then others will despise him. A family must [first] overthrow itself, and then others will overthrow it. A State must [first] smite itself, and then others will smite it. 5. " This is illustrated by the passage in the Tfae-keah, ' Calamities sent by Heaven may be avoided ; but when we bring on the calamities ourselves, it is not possible to live.' ' Par. 6. See the She, III. iii. 111. ">, with the remarks which I have there made in Vol. IV., of my larger Work, on the passage. CH. VIII. THAT A PRINCE is THE AGENT OF HIS OWN RUIN BY HIS Par. 2. The name Ts'an»-lang is found applied to different streams. One is mentioned in the Shoo, III. i. Pt II. 8 ; but the one in the text was pro bably in Shan-tung, in the present district of Yih, department Yen-chow.

Pur. 3. The boy was singing without any thought of the meaning which the sage could rind in his words, and of the expansion of that meaning which our philosopher would give. Par, 5. See on II. i. IV. G. IX. 1. Mencius said, " Keeh and Chow's losing the king dom arose from their losing the people ; and to lose the peo ple means to lose their hearts. There is a way to get the kingdom ; — get the people, and the kingdom is got. There is a way to get the people ; — get their hearts, and the peo ple are got. There is a way to get their hearts ; — it is simply to collect for them what they desire, and not to lay on them what they dislike. 2. " The people turn to a benevolent [rule] as water flows downwards, and as wild beasts run to the wilds. 3. " Accordingly [as] the otter aids the deep waters, driv ing the fish to them, and [as] the hawk aids the thickets, driving the little birds to them, [so] did Keeh and Chow aid Tfang and Woo, driving the people to them.

4. " If among the present rulers throughout the kingdom there were one who loved benevolence, all the [other] princes would aid him by driving the people to him. Although he wished not to exercise the royal sway, he could not avoid doing so. 5. " The case of [one of the] present [princes] wishing to attain to the royal sway is like the having to seek for mugwort three years old to cure a seven years' illness. If it have not been kept in store, the whole life may pass with out getting it. If [the princes] do not set their minds on a benevolent [government], all their days will be in sorrow and disgrace, till they are involved in death and ruin. CH. IX. BEING BENEVOLENT is THE STJRK WAY FOR A RULER TO RISE TO THE HEIGHT OF THE ROYAL DIGNITY; AND IS MOREOVER THE ONLY WAY TO AVOID DEATH AND RUIN. Par. 1. Choo He illustrates what is said here about getting the people's hearts by what we find in the Biographies of the Books of Han about Ch'aou Ts'oh, who is mentioned in the Prolegomena to the Shoo, in my larger Work, p. 16, in connexion with the recovery of some of the books of that classic through the scholar Fuh-sang. The tranquillity of the kingdom, according to Ts'oh, depended on its government being administered in harmony with the feelings of the people. " By those feelings," said Ts'oh, " people are desirous of longevity, and the three kings cherished the people's lives and allowed no injury to happen to them. They are desirous of riches, and the three kings were generous, and subjected them to no straits. They are desirous of securi ty, of ease, &c., and the three kings secured to them the enjoyment of these."

Par. 5. The down of the mugwort burnt on the skin was and is used for purposes of cautery. The older the plant, the more valuable for this appli cation. And the longer any disease in which it could be employed had VOL. II. 16 2i2 THE WORKS OF MENCIUS. [BK IV. 6. " This is illustrated by what is said in the Book of Poetry, ' How can you [by your method] bring a good state of affairs about ? You [and your] advisers will sink together in ruin.' " X. 1. Mencius said, "With those who do violence to themselves it is impossible to speak. With those who throw themselves away it is impossible to do anything. To dis own in his conversation propriety and righteousness is what we mean by saying of a man that he does violence to him self; that [he says], ' I am not able to dwell in benevolence and pursue the path of righteousness ' is what we mean by saying of a man that he throws himself away. 2. " Benevolence is the tranquil habitation of man, and righteousness is his straight path. 3. " Alas for those who leave the tranquil dwelling empty and do not reside in it, and who neglect the straight path and do not pursue it ! "

XT. Mencius said, " The path [of duty] is in what is near, and [men] seek for it in what is remote. The work [of duty] is in what is easy, and [men] seek for it in what is difficult. If each man would love his parents, and show the due respect to his elders, all-under-heaveu good order would prevail." existed, the more desirable it was to get the most effectual remedy for it. .The kingdom and each State had long been suffering from cruel and op pressive government, and their cure must come from a benevolent rule long pursued and consolidated. This seems to be Mencius' idea. Par. 6. See the She, III. iii. III. 5. The lines immediately follow the two quoted at the end of ch. vii. OH. X. A WARNING TO THE VIOLENTLY EVIL AND THE WEAKLY EVIL. Choo He concludes his comments here with the words : — " This chapter tells us that the principles of rectitude and virtue do originally belong to human nature, while men extinguish them by their voluntary act. Profound is the caution here conveyed by the sages and worthies, and learners ought to give the most earnest heed to it."

CH. XI. THE WAY OF DUTY is NOT FAR TO SEEK ; AND THE TRANQUIL PROSPERITY OF THE KINGDOM DEPENDS ON THE DISCHARGE OF THE COMMON RELATIONS OF LIFE. Compare the 12th, 13th, and several other chapters of •• The Doctrine of the Mean." XII. 1. When those occupying inferior situations do not obtain the confidence of their superior, they cannot succeed in governing the people. There is a way to obtain the con fidence of the superior ; — if one is not trusted by his friends, he will not obtain the confidence of his superior. There is a way to being trusted by one's friends ; — if one do not serve his parents so as to make them pleased, he will not be trusted by his friends. There is a way to make one's parents pleased ; — if one on turning his thoughts inwards finds a want of sincerity, he will not give pleasure to his parents. There is a way to the attainment of sincerity in one's-self ; — if a man do not understand what is good, he will not attain to sincerity in himself. 2. "Therefore sincerity is the way of Heaven; and to think [how] to be sincere is the way of man."

3. " Never was there one possessed of complete sincerity who did not move [others] . Never was there one without sincerity who yet was able to move others." XIII. 1. Mencius said, " Pih-e, that he might avoid Chow, was dwelling on the coast of the northern sea. When he heard of the rise of king Wan, he roused himself and said, ' Why should I not attach myself to him ? I have heard that the chief of the West knows well how to nourish the old.' T'ae-kung, that he might avoid Chow, was dwell ing on the west coast of the eastern sea. When he heard ClI. XII. THE GREAT WORK OF EVERY MAN SHOULD BE TO TRY TO AT TAIN COMPLETE SINCERITY IN HIMSELF, WHICH WILL GIVE HIM A PARREACHING POWER OVER OTHERS. Compare the 17th and 18th paragraphs of the 20th chapter of " The Doctrine of the Mean," which are here sub stantially quoted. As that chapter, however, is also found in the " Family Sayings," Mencius may have had the fragmentary memorabilia of Confucius, from which that compilation was made, before him, and not the Chung Yung. CH. XIII. THE GOVERNMENT OF KING WAN IN ITS ASPECT TOWARDS THE AGED AND HELPLESS ; AND THE INFLUENCE WHICH ANY GOVERNMENT LIKE IT WOULD PRODUCE.

Par. 1. Pih-e ;— See II. i. II. 22 ; LX. i.; III. ii. X. 3. What is herecalled the northern sea must be, I think, the northern part of the gulf of Pih-chihle. T'ae-kung is Leu Shang, a great counsellor of the kings Wan and Woo. He claimed to be descended from one of Yu's assistants in the regulation of the waters, from whom he had the surname of Keang ; and some member of the family had been invested with the principality of Leu, so that Leu be- of the rise of king1 Wan, he roused himself and said, ' Why should I nob attach myself to him ? I have heard that the chief of the West knows well how to nourish the old/ 2. "These two old men were the greatest old men in the kingdom. When they attached themselves to [king Wan] it was [like] all the fathers in the kingdom taking his side. When the fathers of the kingdom joined him, to whom could the sons go ? 3. " Were any of the princes to practise the government of king Wan, within seven years lie would be sure to be giving law to all under heaven/'

XIV. ] . Moncius said, " Kfew acted as chief officer to the Head of the Ke family, whose [evil] ways he was unable came a clan-name or second surname of his descendants. The legend goes that king Wan first met with T'ae-kung as a fisherman on the banks of the Wei, which is not according to the account of Mencius here, which would make us suppose that he was living somewhere in the east of the present Shan tung when he went over to the side of Wan. King Wan had been warned by an oracle that he was to meet with a powerful assistant on the day that he encountered T'ae-kung, and accordingly he said to him, " My grandfather expected you long," which led to his beingcalled T'ae-kung Wang, or " Grand father Hope." Though Pih-e and T'ae-kung are here represented as led to king AVan in the same way, their subsequent course and relation to the new dynasty of Chow were very different. I'ih-e would not sanction the over throw of the Shang dynasty, while T'ae-kung acted an important part in that achievement, and was rewarded with the marquisate of Ts'e. Wan is here styled " Chief of the West," because he was appointed by the sovereign of Shang his viceroy or chief over all the States in that part of the kingdom. Wan's government is spoken of here only in its relation to the aged, but we must consider that term as embracing other helpless classes ;— see the decription in 1. ii. V. 3.

Par. 2. On this par. the " Daily Explanation " says :—" Moreover these two old men were not ordinary men. Distinguished alike by age and virtue, they were the greatest old men of the kingdom. Fit to be so named, the hopes of all looked to them, and the hearts of all were bound to them. All under heaven looked up to them as fathers, and felt as their children, so that when they were moved by the government of king Wan, and came to him from the coasts of the sea, how could the children leave their fathers and go to any other ? " Par. 3. Compare what Confucius says of the results which he could pro duce if he were put in charge of the government of a State, in Ana. XIII. x., et al. CH. XIV. AGAINST THE MINISTERS OP THE TIME, WHO PURSUED THEIR WARLIKE AND OTHER SCHEMES, REGARDLESS OF THE LIVES AJSfD HAPl'IKESS OF THE PEOPLE. to change, while he exacted from the people double the grain which they had formerly paid. Confucius said, ' He is no disciple of mine. Little children, beat the drum and assail him/ 2. " Looking at the subject from this case, [we perceive that] when a ruler who was not practising benevolent government, all [his ministers] who enriched him were dis owned by Confucius; — how much more [would he have dis owned] those who are vehement to fight [for their ruler] ! Some contention about territory is the ground on which they fight, and they slaughter men till the fields are filled with them ; or they fight for the possession of some fortified city, and slaughter men till the walls are covered with them. This is what is called ' leading land on to devour human flesh.' Death is not enough for such a crime.

3. " Therefore those who are skilful to fight should suffer the highest punishment. Next to them [should be punish ed] those who unite the princes in leagues ; and next to them, those who take in grassy wastes, and impose the cul tivation of the ground [upon the people] ." XV. 1. Mencius said, " Of all the parts of a man's [body] there is none more excellent than the pupil of the eye. The pupil cannot [be used to] hide a man's wickedness. If with in the breast [all] be correct, the pupil is bright ; if within the breast [all] be not correct, the pupil is dull. 2. "Listen to a man's words, and look at the pupil of his eye ; — how can a man conceal [his character] ? " Par. 1. For the case of K'ew or Yen Yew, see the Ana. XI. xvi. See also the last narrative of the Tso Chuen under the llth year of duke Gae. Pa): 2. " Leading on land to devour human flesh ; " this is a striking variation of the language in I. i. IV. 4, et al. Par. 3. Here we have thi-ee classes of adventurers who were rife in Mencius' times, and who recommended themselves to the princes of the States in the ways described, pursuing the while their own ends, and regard less of the people. Some advanced themselves by their skill in war ; some hy their talents for intrigue, forming confederacies among the States, especially to oppose the encroachments of Ts'in ; and some by their plans to make the most of the ground, turning every bit of it to account, but for the good of the ruler, not of the people.

CH. XV. THE PUPIL OP THE EYE THE INDEX OF THE MIND AND HEART. This chapter is to be understood as spoken by Mencius for the use of those who thought they had only to hear men's words to judge of them. Compare Ana. II. x. THE VVOfOLS OF ilEXCIUS. [EK IV. XVI. Mencius said, " The courteous do not insult others, and the economical do not plunder others. The ruler who treats men with insult and plunders them is only afraid that they will not prove submissive to him ; — how can he be re garded as courteous or economical ? How can courtesy and economy be made out of tones of the voice and a smiling manner ? " XVII. 1. Shun-yu K'wan said, "Is it the rule that males and females shall not allow their hands to touch in giving or receiving anything ? " Mencius replied, " It is the rule/' " If a man's sister-in-law be drowning/' asked K'wan, " shall he rescue her by the hand?" [Mencius] said, " He who would not [so] rescue his drowning sister-in-law would be a wolf. For males and females not to allow their hands to touch in giving and receiving is the [general] rule ; to rescue by the hand a drowning sister-in-law is a peculiar exigency.

2. [KSvan] said, "Now the whole kingdom is drowning; and how is it that you, Master, will not rescue it ? " 3. [Mencius] replied, "A. drowning kingdom must be rescued by right principles, as a drowning sister-in-law has to be rescued by the hand. Do you, Sir, wish me to rescue the kingdom with my hand ? " CH. XVI. DEEDS, NOT WORDS OR MANNER, NECESSARY TO PROVE MEN TAL QUALITIES. The first sentence is as general in the original as in the translation, but all the Chinese critics say that the statements are to be understood of the princes of Mencius' time, who made great pretensions to courtesy and economy, of which their actions proved the insincerity. But I think the propositions in the first sentence are quite general. Our philo sopher proceeds to make the application of them. CH. XVII. HELP— EFFECTUAL HELP — CAN BE GIVEN TO THE WORLD Par. 1. Shun-yu K'wan was a native of Ts'e. a famous sophist, and otherwise a man of note in his day. See his biography in the 12tith Book of the " Historical llecords." He here tries to entrap Mencius into a con fession that he did not do well in maintaining the dignity of reserve, which marked him in his intercourse with the princes. For the rule of propriety referred to, see the Le Ke, I. ii. 31.

Par. 3. Choo lie expands here : — " The drowning kingdom can be rescued only by right principles ; — the case is different from that of a drowning sister-in-law who can be rescued with the hand. Now you, wishing to rescue the kingdom, would have me, in violation of right principles, seek alliance with the princes, and so begin by losing tlu means wherewith it XVIII. 1. Kung-sun Ch'ow said, "Why is it that the superior man does not [himself] teach his son ? " 2. Mencius replied, " The circumstances of the case for bid its being done. A teacher must inculcate what is cor rect. Doing this, and his lesson not being learned, he follows it up with being angry ; and through thus being angry, he is offended, contrary to what should be, [with his pupil] . [At the same time, the pupil] says, ' My master inculcates on me what is correct, and he himself does not proceed in a correct path/ Thus father and son would be offended with each other, but when father and son come to be offended with each other, the case is evil. 3. " The ancients exchanged sons, and one taught the son of another.

4. " Between father and son there should be no reproving admonitions as to what is good. Such reproofs lead to alienation ; and than alienation there is nothing more inaus picious." XIX. 1. Mencius said, " Of services which is the greatest ? The service of parents is the greatest. Of charges which is the greatest ? The charge of one's self is the greatest. That those who do not fail to keep them selves are able to serve their parents is what I have heard. might be rescued ; — do you wish to make me rescue the kingdom with the hand ? " I do not see the point of the last question. CH. XVIII. THE REASON WHY A FATHER SHOULD NOT HIMSELF UNDER TAKE THE TEACHING OF HIS SON. But the assertion of Kung-sun Ch'ow is not to be taken in all its generality. Confucius taught his son, and so did other famous men their sons. Of the statement in par. 3 about the custom of antiquity I have not been able to find any proof or illustration. Par. 2. " The circumstances of the case " here refer to that of a stupid or perverse child.

Par. 3. The commentators all say that " the exchanging of sons " merely means that the ancients sent out their sons to be taught away from home by masters. It is difficult to see what else the expression can mean, though this is explaining away the force of the term " exchanged." CH. XIX. THE IMPORTANCE OP SERVING ONE'S PARENTS, AND HOW THE DUTY SHOULD BE PERFORMED. IN ORDER TO DISCHARGE IT WE MUST WATCH OVER OURSELVES. ILLUSTRATED IN THE CASES OF TSANG-TSZE AND HIS SON. Par. 1. By "services" we are to understand the duties of service which a man has to render to others, and by " charges," what a man has to guard [But] I have never heard of any who, having failed to keep themselves, were able [notwithstanding] to serve their pa rents. 2. "Everything [done] is a service, but the service of pa rents is the root of all others. Everything [obligatory] is a charge, but the charge of one's self is the root of all others. 3. " Tsang-tsze, in nourishing Tsang Seih, was always sure to have spirits and flesh provided. And when they were about to be removed, he would ask respectfully to whom [what was left] should be given. If [his father] asked whether there was anything left, he was sure to say, ' There is.' After the death of Tsang Seih, when Tsang Yuen came to nourish Ts<lng-tsze, he was sure to have spirits and flesh provided ; but when the things were about to be removed, he did not ask to whom [what was left] should be given, and if [his father] asked whether there was anything left, he would answer, 'No;' — intending to bring them on again. This was what is called — -' nourishing the mouth and body/ We may call Tsang-tsze' s practice — 'nourishing the will/

4. " To serve one's father as Tsaug-tsze served his may [be pronounced filial piety]/' XX. Mencius said, " It is not enough to reprove [a and keep. The " keeping one's self " is the holding one's self aloof from all unrighteousness. Par. 2. " The service of parents " is represented as the "root of all other services," according to the Chinese doctrine of filial piety ; — see the '' Classic of Filial Piety," passim. There is more truth in the 2nd part of the para graph. Par. 3. Seih was the father of the more celebrated Tsang-tsze, or Tsang Sin ; — see the Ana. XI. xxv. " Nourishing the will " means gratifying, carrying out, and fostering the father's wishes. On par. 4 Choo He quotes the following words from one of the brothers Ch'ing : — " To serve one's father as Tsang Sin did his may be called the height of filial piety, and yet Mencius says only that it might be accepted as that virtue. Did he really think that there was something superero gatory in Tseng's service?" Possibly Mencius may have been referring to Tsang'S-tsze's disclaimer of being considered a model of filial piety. See the Le Ke, XXI. ii. 14, where Tsang-tsze says, "What the superior man calls filial piety is to anticipate the wishes and carry out the mind of one's parents, always leading them on in what is right and true. I am only one who nourishes his parents ; — how can I be deemed filial ? "

CH. XX. A TEULY GREAT MINISTER WILL DIRECT HIS EFFORTS NOT SO ruler] on account of [his mal- employment of] men, nor to blame [errors of] government. It is only the great man who can correct what is wrong in the ruler's mind. Let the ruler be benevolent, and all [his acts] will be benevolent. Let the ruler be righteous, and all [his acts] will be righteous. Let the ruler be correct, and everything will be correct. Once rectify the ruler, and the State will be firmly settled/' XXI. Mencius said, " There are cases of praise which could not have been expected, and of reproach where the parties have been seeking to be perfect." XXII. Mencius said, ' ' Men's being ready with their words arises simply from their not having been reproved/' XXIII. Mencius said, " The evil with men is that they like to be teachers of others." XXIV. 1. The disciple Yoh-ching went in the train of Tsze-gaou to Ts'e. MUCH TO CORRECT ERRORS IN MATTERS OF DETAIL, AS TO CORRECT HIS RULER'S CHARACTER, FROM WHICH ALL BENEFITS WILL ACCRUE TO THE STATE. The sentiment of the chapter is illustrated by an incident related of Mencius in one of the Books of Seun K'ing : — " Mencius having had three interviews with the king of Ts'e without speaking to him of any par ticular affair, his disciples were troubled, but the philosopher said to them, ' I must first attack his wayward mind.' "

CH. XXI. PRAISE AND BLAME ARE SOMETIMES GIVEN WITHOUT ANY CH. XXII. WHEN A MAN is REPROVED FOR LIGHT SPEECH, HE DOES NOT so READILY REPEAT THE OFFENCE. Choo He supposes that the remark here was made with some particular reference. CH. XXIII. BE NOT MANY MASTERS. The tendency here rebuked indi cates, it is said, a self-sufficiency, which puts an end to self-improvement. CH. XXIV. How MENCIUS REPROVED YOH-CHING FOR ASSOCIATING WITH AN UNWORTHY MAN OF POSITION, AND BEING REMISS ON WAITING ON HIMSELF, HIS MASTER. Par. 1. Yoh-ching ; — see I. ii. XVI. 2. Tsze-gaou was the designation of Wang Hwan mentioned in II. ii. VI. From that chapter we may understand that Mencius would not be pleased with one of his disciples who associated with such a person. 2. He came to see Mencius, who said to him, "Are you, Sir, also come to see me ? " " Master, why do you use such words ?" was the reply. " How many days have you been here ?" asked [Mencius]. " I came [only] yesterday/' said [the other] . " Yesterday ! Then is it not with reason that I thus speak ? " " My lodging-house was not arranged/'' urged [Yoh-ching]. "Have you heard," said [Mencius] " that a scholars lodging-house must be arranged before he visits his master ? "

3. [Yoh-ching] said, "I have done wrong." XXV. Mencius, addressing the disciple Yoh-ching, said, " Your coming here in the train of Tsze-gaou was only [be cause of] the food and the drink [that you would so get]. I could not have thought that you, Sir, having learned the ways of the ancients, would have acted with a view to eating and drinking." XXVI. 1. Mencius said, " There are three things which are unfilial, and to have no posterity is the greatest of them. We must understand that Tsze-gaou had gone on a mission from Ts'e to Loo, and that Yoh-ching took the opportunity to go in his train hack with him to Ts'e, pretending that he wished to see his master Mencius. Par. "2. Chaou K'e understands the word which I have rendered yesterday to mean — "formerly." "some days ago." It may have that meaning; but it is undoubtedly used for " yesterday," in II. ii. II. 2, and the whole par. here has more force by giving to it that meaning. \Ve see what respectful attention to himself Mencius exacted from his followers. CH. XXV. FURTHER AND MORE DIRECT REPROOF OF YOH-CHING. The terms used here for "eating and drinking" are both contemptuous,:=:our application of " the loaves and n'shes."

JUSTIFIED BY THE MOTIVE, WHICH WAS TO RAISE UP POSTERITY TO HIS PARENTS. Par. 1. The two other things which are unfilial are, according to Chaou K'e, 1st, by a flattering assent to encourage parents in unrighteousness, and 2nd, not to succour their poverty and old age by engaging in official service. To be without posterity is greater than those faults, because it is an offence against the whole line of ancestors, and brings the sacrifices to them to an end. In ii. XXX. 2, Mencius specifies five things which were commonly deemed unfiiial, and not one of these three is amongst them. The sentiment here is to be understood as spoken from the point of view of the superior man, and moreover as laying down the ground for the vindication of iShuu. 2. " Shun married without informing his parents because of this, — lest he should have no posterity. Superior men consider that his doing so was the same as if he had inform ed them." XXVII. 1. Mencius said, "The richest fruit of benevo lence is this, — the service of one's parents. The richest fruit of righteousness is this, — the service of one's elder brother.

2. " The richest fruit of wisdom is this, — the knowing those two things and not departing from them. The richest fruit of propriety is this, — the ordering and adorning those two things. The richest fruit of music is this, — the joying in those two things. When joyed in, they grow. Growing, how can they be repressed ? When they come to this state that they cannot be repressed, then unconsciously the feet begin to dance and the hands to move." XXVIII. 1. Mencius said, " [Suppose the case of] all under heaven turning with great delight to an individual to Par. 2. See the account of Shun's marriage at the end of the first Book of the Shoo. From that we might give a different reason for his contracting it from that which Mencius assigns. He intimates that Shun's parents were so hostile to him, that they would have forbidden his marriage, if he had told them about it. CH. XXVII. FILIAL PIETY AND FRATERNAL AFFECTION IN THEIR RE LATION TO BENEVOLENCE, RIGHTEOUSNESS, WISDOM, PROPRIETY, AND MUSIC. Pa?1. 1. Benevolence, righteousness, &c., are the principles of filial piety and fraternal affection, — the capabilities of them in human nature, which may have endless manifestations, but are chiefly and primarily to be seen in those two virtues.

Par. 2. The introduction of the subject music here strikes us as strange. A commentator tries to explain it in the following way : — " Benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom are the four virtues, but Mencius here proceeds to speak of music also. And the principles of music are really a branch of propriety; and when the ordering and adorning, which belong to that, are perfect, then harmony and pleasure spring up as a matter of course. In this way we have propriety mentioned first and then music. Moreover, the fervency of benevolence, the exactness of righteousness, the clearness of knowledge, and the firmness of maintenance must all have their depth mani fested in music. If this chapter had not spoken of music, we should not have seen the whole amount of achievement." CH. XXVIII. How SHUN VALUED FILIAL PIETY MORE THAN THE POS- submit to him. To regard all under heaven [thus] turning to him with delight but as a bundle of grass ; — only Shun was capable of this. [He considered that] if [one] could not get [the hearts of] his parents he could not be con sidered a man, and if he could not get to an entire accord with his parents, he could not be considered a son.

2. " By Slum's completely fulfilling the duty of serving parents, Koo-sow was brought to feel delight [in what was good]. When Koo-sow was brought to feel delight [in what was good], all under heaven were' transformed. When Koo-sow was brought to feel delight [in what was good] , all fathers and sons under heaven were established [in their respective duties]. This may well be called great filial piety." SESSION OF THE EMPIRE, AND EXEMPLIFIED IT TILL HE WROUGHT A GLOEIOUS CHANGE IN HIS FATHER'S CHARACTER. Par. 1. The first sentence is to be understood as of general application, and not with reference to Shun simply. It is incomplete. The conclusion of it would be something like — " this would be accounted the greatest hap piness and glory.'' Choo He and others endeavour to find in the " getting to an entire accord with his parents " the bringing them to accord with what is right, so as then fully to accord with them. Par. 2. Shun's father is known in history by the name of Koo-sow. The characters representing those sounds both denote "blind " or rather "eye less," and K'ung Gan-kwoh says that the individual in question was so styled because of his mental blindness and opposition to all that was good.

PT ii. CH. i.] LB LOW. 253 CHAPTER I. 1 . Mencius said, " Shun was born in Choofung, removed to Foo-hea, and died in Ming-tfeaou ; — a man [from the country] of the wild tribes on the east. 2. " King Wan was born in K"'e-chow and died in Peihying; — a man [from the country] of the wild tribes on the west. 3. " Those regions were distant from each other more than a thousand le, and the age of the one [sage] was pos terior to that of the other more than a thousand years. But when they got their wish and carried out [their principles] throughout the middle States, it was like uniting the two halves of a seal. CH. 1. THE AGREEMENT OF SAGES NOT AFFECTED BY TIME OR PLACE ; — SHOWN IN THE CASES OF SHUN AND KING WAN. Par. 1. According to Sze-ma Ts'een, Shun was a native of K'e-chow, for the dimensions of which see the note on the Shoo, III. i. Pt I. 2 ; and all the places here mentioned are referred by him to the same province. Some, however, and especially Tsang Tsze-koo of the Sung dynasty, find Shun's birth-place in the department of Tse-nan, Shan-tung, and this would seem to be supported by Mencius in this passage. According to Ts'e'en, moreover, Shun died, when on a tour of inspection in the south, in the wild of Ts'angwoo, and was buried in mount Kcw-e, in the present district of Ling-ling, department of Yung-chow, Hoo-nan. The discussions on the point are nu merous. It was Mencius' object to place Shun in the east, and his birth and life were in the country east from that of king Wan. He can hardly have intended to say that Shun and Wan were themselves men of the wild tribes of the east and west, though his words, literally taken, say so.

Par. 2. K'e-chow, or the plain of Chow at the foot of mount K'e, was in the present department of Fung-ts'eang, Shen-se. Peih-ying is to be dis tinguished from Ying, the capital of the large State of Ts'oo. It was in the present district of Heen-ning, department Se-gan of Shen-se ; and there the grave of king Wan, or the place of it, is still pointed out. Par. 3. "The two halves of a seal ; " — perhaps it would be as well to say "a tall)'," or " a token." Anciently the king delivered, as the token of in vestiture, one half of a tally of wood or of jade, reserving the other half in his own keeping. It was cut right through a line of characters, indicating the appointment, and the halves fitting each other when occasion required was the test of truth and identity. The formation of the character for the term shows that the tally was originally of bamboo. 254 THE WORKS OF MENCIUS. [fiK IV. 4. " [When we examine] the sages — the earlier and the later — their principles are found to be the same." II. 1. When Ts^e-ch'an was chief minister of the State of Ch'ing, he would convey people across the Tsin and the Wei in his carriage.

2. Mencius said, " It was kind, [but showed that] he did not understand the practice of government. 3. " In the eleventh month of the year the foot-bridges should be completed, and the carriage-bridges in the twelfth month, and the people will [then] not have the trouble of wading. 4. "Let a governor conduct his rule on the principles of equal justice, and he may cause people to be removed out of his path when he goes abroad ; but how can he convey everybody across the rivers ? 5. " Thus if a governor will [try] to please everybody, he will find the days not sufficient [for his work]." III. 1. Mencius addressed himself to king Seuen of Tsfe, saying, " When a ruler regards his ministers as his hands CH. II. GOOD GOVERNMENT LIES IX EQUAL MEASURES FOR THE GENERAL GOOD, AND NOT IN ACTS OF KINDNESS TO INDIVIDUALS ; ILLUSTRATED Par. 1. Tsze-ch'an ; — see on Ana. V. xv. The Tsin and Wei were two rivers of Ch'ing, having their rise in the Ma-ling hills in the present depart ment of Ho-nan, Ho-nan province. They met at a certain point, after which the common stream seems to have borne the names of both its afflu ents. Mencius has reference to a conversation between Confucius and Tszeyew about Tsze-ch'an, related in the fourth Book of the Kea Yu. The sage held that Tsze-ch'an was kind, but only as a mother who loves but does not teach her children, and in illustration of his view says that " Tsze-ch'au used the carriage in which he rode to convey over those who were wading through the water in the winter."

Par. 3. The llth and 12th months here correspond to the 9th and 10th of the present calendar. Mencius is referring to a rule for the repair of the bridges on the termination of the agricultural labours of the year. Par. 4. " Removing people from the way," when the ruler was going abroad, was also a rule of the Chow dynasty ; and not only did it take effect, in the case of the ruler, but also in that of many officers and women ; — see the Official Book of Chow, VII. ix. CH. III. WHAT TREATMENT RULERS GIVE TO THEIR MINISTERS WILL Par. 1. " As his hands and feet ; " i. e., with kindness and attention. " As and feet, they regard him as their belly and heart ; when he regards them as his dogs and horses, they regard him as they do any ordinary man; when he regards them as the ground or as grass, they regard him as a robber and an enemy." 2. The king said, " According to the rules of propriety, [a minister] should wear mourning [when he hears of the death of] a ruler whose service he had left ; — how must [the ruler] have regarded him that [the minister] shall thus wear mourning for him ? "

3. Mencius said, " The admonitions [of a minister] hav ing been followed and his advice listened to, so that blessings have descended on the people, if for some cause he leaves [the State], the ruler sends an escort to conduct him beyond the boundaries, and also sends before him [a recommendatory notice of him] to the State to which he is proceeding. When he has been gone three years and does not return, [only] then does he take back his fields and residence. This treat ment is what we call ' a thrice-repeated display of considera tion/ When a ruler acts thus, mourning will be worn [on hearing of his death] . 4. " Now-a-days the remonstrances of a minister are not followed, and his advice is not listened to, so that no bless ings descend on the people. When for any cause he leaves the State, the ruler tries to seize and hold him as a prison er. He also pushes him to extremity in the State to which he has gone, and on the day of his departure he takes back his fields and residence. This treatment shows [the ruler] to be what we call ' a robber and an enemy ; ' — how can mourning be worn for ' a robber and an enemy ' ? "

his belly and heart ; " i. e., with watchfulness and honour. " As his dogs and horses ; " i. e., without respect, but feeding them. " As any ordinary man " is, literally, " as a man of the State," meaning without any distinction or reverence. "As the ground or as grass ; " — i. e. trampling on them, and cutting them off. Par. 2. The rule here is mentioned in the 13th Book of the E Le, or " Rules of Deportment ; " but the passage is obscure. The king falls back on this rule, thinking that Mencius had expressed himself too strongly. Par. 3. " Fields " here is to be taken in the sense of revenue or emolu ment. The " thrice-repeated display of consideration " refers, 1st, to the escort as a protection from danger ; 2nd, to the anticipatory recommendations ; and 3rd, to the long-continued emoluments. 256 THE WORKS OF MEXCIUS. [fiE IT. IV. Mencius said, " When inferior officers are put to death without any crime, it is [time] for the great officers to leave [the State]. When the people are slaughtered without any cause, it is [time] for the inferior officers to remove."

Y. Meucius said, "If the ruler be benevolent, all will be benevolent ; if the ruler be righteous, all will be righteous." VI. Mencius said, " Acts of propriety which are not [really] proper, and acts of righteousness which are not [really] rio'hteous, the great man does not do." VII. Mencius said, "Those who keep the Mean train up those who do not, and those Avho have ability train up those who have not, and therefore men rejoice in having fathers and elder brothers of virtue and talent. If those who keep the Mean spurn those who do not, and those who have ability spurn those who have not, then the space between them — those who have the virtue and talents and those who are inferior to them — will not amount to an inch.'"' VIII. Mencius said, "When men have what 'they will not do, they are prepared to act in what they do do [with CH. IV. PROMPT ACTION is NECESSARY AT THE RIGHT TIME. How OFFICERS MAY KNOW WHEN THEY SHOULD LEAVE A STATE. CH. V. THE INFLUENCE OF THE RULER'S EXAMPLE. See the 20th chap ter of Part I. There we find the same statements, intended to stir up minis ters to seek to correct the errors of their ruler.

Cn. VI. GREAT MEN MAKE NO MISTAKES IN MATTERS OF PROPRIETY AND RIGHTEOUSNESS. "What is proper and right at one time, it is said, may not be so at another. Ilespect belongs to propriety, but it may be carried so far as to amount to flattery. These are among the instances which are given of the things mentioned in this chapter. CH. VII. IF THOSE WHO ARE MORE HIGHLY GIFTED THAN OTHERS DO NOT USE THEIR GIFTS FOR THE BENEFIT OF THOSE OTHERS, THEY ARE NOT TO BE CONSIDERED AS SUPERIOR TO THE.M. CH. VIII. HE WHO ESCHEWS WHAT is WRONG CAN DO WITH BOLD DE CISION WHAT is RIGHT. In illustration of the sentiment here, Chaou K'e says, " If a man will not descend to any irregular acquisition, he will be prepared to yield even a thousand chariots," i. e., a large State. IX. Mencius said, " What future misery are they sure to have to endure who talk of what is not good in others ! " X. Mencius said, " Chung-ne did not do extraordinary things." XI. Mencius said, "The great man does not think before hand of his words that they shall be sincere, nor of his actions that they shall be resolute ; — he simply [speaks and does] what is right."

XII. Mencius said, " The great man is he who does not lose his child's heart." XIII. Mencius said, " The nourishment of the living is not fit to be accounted the great thing. It is only in per forming their obsequies when dead that we have what can be considered the great thing." CH. IX. EVIL SPEAKING IS SURE TO BRING WITH IT EVIL CONSEQUENCES' Choo He supposes that the remark here was made with some particular reference. CH. X. THAT CONFUCIUS KEPT THE MEAN. Compare with this the Doctrine of the Mean, XI. and XIII., and Ana. VII. xx., et al. CH. XI. WHAT is RIGHT is THE SUPREME PURSUIT OF THE SUPERIOR MAN. Compare Ana. IV. x. CH. XII. A MAN IS GREAT IN PROPORTION AS HE IS CHILDLIKE. ChaOU K'e supposes that " the great man " is a ruler, and that the sentiment is that he treats his people as his children, and does not lose their hearts. The meaning given in the version is, no doubt, the correct one, and the saying is sure to suggest to my readers the words of our Saviour, — •'' Except ye be con verted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." With Mencius "the child's heart " is the ideal moral condition of humanity. Choo He says on this chapter : — " The mind of the great man comprehends all changes of phenomena, and the mind of the child is nothing but a pure simplicity, free from all hypocrisy. Yet the great man is the great man, just as he is not led astray by external things, but keeps his original simplicity and freedom from hypocrisy. Carrying this out, he be comes omniscient and omnipotent, and reaches the extreme point of great ness." We need not suppose that Mencius would himself have expanded his thought in this way.

CH. XIII. FILIAL PIETY is MOST SURELY SEEN IN THE WAY IN WHICH THE OBSEQUIES OF PARENTS ARE PERFORMED. VOL. II. 17 258 THE WORKS OP MENCIUS. [fiK IV. XIY. Mencius said, " The superior man makes profound advances [in what he is learning], and by the proper course, wishing to get hold of it as in himself. Having got hold of it in himself, he abides in it quietly and firmly. Abiding in it quietly and firmly, he reposes a deep reliance on it. Re posing a deep reliance on it, he lays hold of it on the right and left, meeting with it as a fountain [from which things flow]. It is on this account that the superior man wishes to get hold of [what he is learning] in himself." XV. Mencius said, " In learning extensively and setting forth minutely [what is learned], [the object of the superior man] is to go back and set forth in brief what is essential." XVI. Mencius said, " Never has he who would by his excellence subdue men been able to subdue them. Let [a ruler seek] by his excellence to nourish men, and he will be able to subdue all under heaven. It is impossible that one should attain to the true royal sway to whom the hearts of all under heaven are not subject."

Some critics suppose, and with reason probably, that the saying here was directed against the Mihist practice of burying the dead with a spare simpli city ; — see III. i. V. 4. The funeral rites, it is said, are performed once for all ; and if they are done wrong, the fault cannot be remedied. CH XIV. THE VALUE OF LEARNING THOROUGHLY INWROUGHT INTO THE MIND. One may read scores of pages in the Chinese commentators, and yet not get a clear idea in his own mind of Mencius' teaching in this chapter. Most of them understand the subject studied to be man's own self, and not things external to him. CH. XV. Choo He says, and with reason apparently, that this is a continu ation of the former chapter, showing that the object of the superior man, in the extensive studies which he pursues, is not vain-glory, but to get to the substance and essence of things. CH. XVI. WHEN PEOPLE'S MINDS ARE SUBJECT TO A PRINCE, THEY WILL MAKE HIM KING. HOW THEIR MINDS CAN BE MADE SO SUBJECT. The first utterance here is to me quite enigmatical. Paul's sentiment, that " scarcely for a righteous man will one die, yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die," occurs to the mind on reading the first and second parts ; but the native commentators make the " nourishing " to have nothing to do with men's bodies.

XVII. Mencius said, "Words which are not true are [all] inauspicious, but those which are most truly obnoxious to the charge of being inauspicious are those which throw into the shade men of talents and virtue." XVIII. 1 . The disciple Seu said, " Chung-ne often praised water, saying, ' 0 water ! 0 water ! ' What did he find in water [to praise] ? " 2. Mencius replied, "How the water from a spring gushes out ! It rests not day nor night. It fills up every hole, and then advances, flowing on to the four seas. Such is water having a spring ! It was this which he found in it [to praise] . 3. " But suppose that [the water] has no spring. In the seventh and eighth months the rain collects, and the chan - nels in the fields are all filled, but their being dried up again may be expected in a short time. Thus it is that a superior man is ashamed of a reputation beyond the fact [of his merits] ." XIX. 1. Mencius said, "That whereby man differs from CH. XVII. THE WORDS WHICH ARK MOST INAUSPICIOUS ARE THOSE WHICH ARE INTENDED TO PREVENT THE RECOGNITION OF TALENTS AND VIRTUE. The words of this chapter may also be translated : — " There are no words really inauspicious, but those which may really be considered in auspicious," »fec. The version which I have preferred is equally allowable.

CH. XVIII. How MENCIUS EXPLAINED CONFUCIUS' FREQUENT PRAISE OF WATER, FROM THE PERMANENCE OF A SPRING-FED STREAM. Par. 1. See Ana. IX. xvi. for instance of the sage's praise of water. Par. 3. Here again the months must be reduced to the 5th and 6th, — those of the Chow year. CH. XIX. THAT THE SMALL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MEN AND ANIMALS IS PRESERVED ONLY BY SUPERIOR MEN ; — ILLUSTRATED IN SHUN. Par. I. Mencius has not told us in what the small point distinguishing men from birds and beasts consists. Chaou K'e says that it is simply the interval between the knowledge of righteousness and the want of that knowledge. And this is so far correct ; but this difference cannot be said to be " small." According to Choo He, men and creatures have the le — the intellectual and moral principles — of Heaven and earth to form their nature, and the k'e, or matter, of Heaven and earth to form their bodies, only men's k'e is more correct than that of animals, so that they are able to fill up the capacity of their nature. This seems to deny any essential difference 260 THE WORKS OF MENCIUS. [liX 17.

the animals is but small. The mass of men cast it away, while superior men preserve it. 2. " Shun clearly understood the multitude of things, and closely observed the relations of humanity. He walked along the path of benevolence and righteousness, and did not pursue [as by any effort] benevolence and righteousness.''' XX. 1. Mencius said, " Yu hated the pleasant wine, and loved good words. 2. " T'ang held fast the Mean, and employed men of ta lents and virtue wherever they came from. 3. " King Wan looked on the people as [he would do with affectionate interest] on a man who was wounded ; he look ed towards the right path as [earnestly as] if he did not see it. 4. " King Woo did not disregard the near, nor forget the distant. 5. " The duke of Chow desired to unite in himself [the virtues of those] kings, [the founders of the] three [dynas ties], that he might display in his practice [those] four things [which they did]. If [in his practice] there was any thing which did not agree with them, he looked up and thought of it, from day-time into the night ; and when he was fortunate enough to master [the difficulty], he sat waiting1 for the morning."

between men and animals, what difference there is being merely corporeal tind in degree. Par. 2. The first predicate of Shun is to me hardly intelligible ; the last seems to say that benevolence and righteousness were natural to him, ob served without any effort. CH. XX. THE SAME SUBJECT ; — ILLUSTRATED IN Yu, T'ANG, WAN, Woo, Par. 1. In the " Plans of the Warring States," it is said that " E-teih made spirits which Yu tasted and liked, but he said, ' In after-ages there will be those who through spirits will lose their States ; ' so he degraded E-teih, and refused to drink the pleasant spirits." What we read in the Shoo, III. iii. 6, gives some countenance to this story. For his love of good words, see the Shoo, II. ii. 21. Par. 1. In illustration of what is said of T'ang, commentators refer to the Shoo, IV. ii. 7, 8. Par. 3. For an illustration of Wan's fostering care of the people, see the Shoo, V. xv. 9, 10, and the She, III. i. VI., et al., for the other characteristic. XXI. 1. Mencius said, " The traces of true royal rulo were extinguished, and [the royal] odes ceased to be pro duced. When those odes ceased to be produced, then the Ch'un Ts'ew was made.

2. " The Shing of Tsin, the T'aou-wuh of Ts'oo, and the Ch'un Ts'e'w of Loo were [books] of the same character. 3. " The subjects [of the Ch'un Ts'e'w] are Hwan of Ts'e and Wan of Tsin, and its style is the historical. Confucius said, ' Its righteous decisions I ventured to make.' ' XXII. 1. Mencius said, "The influence of a sovereign sage terminates in the fifth generation. The influence of one who is merely a sage does the same. 2. "I could not be a disciple of Confucius himself, but I have endeavoured to cultivate my virtue by means of others [who were]. XXIII. Mencius said, " When it appears proper to take [a thing] , and [afterwards] not proper, to take it is contrary to moderation. When it appears proper to give [a thing], and [afterwards] not proper, to give it is contrary to kind ness. When it appears proper to sacrifice one's life, and CH. XXI. This chapter is said to continue the subject of the two pre ceding, and to illustrate it by the case of Confucius. I confess that I am not able to trace the connexion. See what I have said on the difficulties belonging to several of the statements in the chapter in the first Book of my Prolegomena to the Ch'un Ts'ew.

CH. XXII. MENCIUS INSINUATES THAT, THOUOH HE HAD NOT BEEN IN PERSONAL CONTACT WITH CONFUCIUS, HE SHOULD BE CONSIDERED HIS SUCCESSOR. This chapter is further said to continue the subject of the three preceding, and to illustrate it in the case of Mencius himself. I should be inclined to make the former paragraph of ch. xix. a chapter by itself, and to read the other paragraph, and chapters xx., xxi., and this one, as one chapter. Par. 1. Thirty years are held to cover one generation. We might suppose that the influence of " a sovereign sage " would last longer than that of one who had no distinction of authority ; but Mencius is pleased to say that it lasts only the same time. far. 2. What Mencius is here supposed to insinuate would seem to indi cate that a space of about five generations should be placed between him and Confucius. CH. XXIII. FIRST JUDGMENTS ARE NOT ALWAYS CORRECT. IMPULSES [afterwards] not proper, to sacrifice it is contrary to bravery." XXIV. 1. P'ang Mung learned archery of E. When he had completely acquired all the method of E, thinking that under heaven only E was superior to himself, he slew him. Mencius said, "In this case E also was to blame. Kungming E [indeed] said, ' It would appear that E was not to be blamed/ but he [only] meant that the blame at taching to him was slight ; — how can he be held to have been without any blame ?

2. " The people of Ch'ing sent Tsze-choh Yu-tsze to make an incursion into Wei, which sent Yu Kung-sze to pursue him. Tsze-choh Yu-tsze said, ' To-day I leel un well, and cannot hold my bow ; — I am a dead man.' [At the same time] he asked his driver who was his pursuer ; and being told that it was Yu Kung-sze, he said, ' I shall live/ The driver said, ' Yu Kung-sze is the best archer of Wei, what do you mean by saying that you shall live ? ' ' Yu Kung-sze/ replied he, 'learned archery from Yin Kung-tfo, who again learned it from me. Yin Kung-tfo is an upright man, and the friends of his selection must be up right [also].' When Yu Kung-sze came up, he said, ' Master, why are you not holding your bow ? ' [Yu-tsze] answered, ' To-day I am feeling unwell, and am unable to hold my bow.' [Kung-sze] said, ' I learned archery from Yin Kung-t'o, who again learned it from you. I cannot bear to injure you with your own science. The business of to- MUST BE WEIGHED IN THE BALANCE OF REASON, AND WHAT REASON DIC TATES SHOULD BE FOLLOWED.

CH. XXIV. THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING CAREFUL WHOM WE MAKE FRIENDS OF. The sentiment is good, but surely Mencius might have found better illustrations of it than those which he gives. Par. 1. On E see the note to Ana. XIV. vi. Both Chaou K'e and Choo He strangely explain P'ang Mung as meaning Kea chung, E's domestics. I suspect there is an error in their texts, and that we should read Ken shin = E's "steward." He may have been employed by the Han Tsuh in the note referred to, to do the deed. Kung-ming E has already been quoted by Mencius in III. i. I., and ii. III. and IX. The idea of Mencius was that E was to blame for having made a friend of such a man as P'ang Mung. Par. 2. In the Tso Chuen, under the 14th year of duke Se'ang, we have a narrative bearing some likeness to the account here given by Mencius, and in which Yin Kung-t'o and a Yu Kung-ch'ae (or ts'ze) figure as famous archers of Wei. Yet the differences between Tso's narrative aud the text day, however, is my ruler's business, which I dare not neglect.' He then took an arrow and knocked off the steel against his carriage-wheel. [In this way] he discharged four of them, and turned back/'

XXV. 1 . Mencius said, ' ' If the lady Se had been wear ing a filthy head-dress, people would all have stopped their noses in passing her. 2. " Though a man be wicked, yet, if he adjust his thoughts, fast, and bathe, he may sacrifice to God." XXVI. 1. Mencius said, t{ All who speak of the natures rof things], have in fact only their phenomena [to reason from], and the value of a phenomenon is in its being natural. here are so great that we can hardly receive them as relating to the same passage of history. CH. XXV. BEAUTY THROUGH CERTAIN ACCESSORIES MAY BE DISGUSTING TO MEN, AND WICKEDNESS, BY HOLY ENDEAVOUR, MAY BECOME ACCEPT ABLE TO GOD. Par. 1. The lady Se, or if we translate the terms, "the western lady," was a poor girl of Yueh, called She E, of surpassing beauty, presented by the king of Yueh to his enemy, the king of Woo, who became besottedly at tached to her, and neglected all the duties of his government. She was contemporary with Confucius. If we may receive the works of Kwan-tsze, however, as genuine, there had been a celebrated beauty called " the western lady," two hundred years before that time, and the lady of Yueh chose to assume her designation.

Par. 2. Chaou K'e and Choo He take the character which I have trans lated " wicked " in the sense of " ugly." It may have either signification according to the context. I cannot but suppose, however, that Mencius intended it in the sense which I have given, and that his object was to en courage men to repentance and well-doing. By the law of China it was competent only for the king to sacrifice to God, and the language of our philosopher strikingly shows the virtue he attached to penitent purification. CH. XXVI. HOW KNOWLEDGE OUGHT TO BE PURSUED BY THE CAREFUL STUDY OF PHENOMENA. Mencius here points out correctly the path to science. The rule which he lays down is in harmony with the philosophy of Bacon ; yet in China, more perhaps than in any other part of the world, the proper method has been disregarded. Par. I. "Natures " is to be taken here quite generally, and not, as some commentators think, in the singular, referring to the nature of man. Possi bly, Mencius may have had in view the discussions about human nature which were rife in his days ; but he is speaking generally, and those dis cussions were only one perversion of the method on which he insists.

261 THE WORKS OF MENCIUS. [fiK IV. 2. " What I hate in your wise men is their chiselling out [their conclusions]. If those wise men would act as Yu did when he conveyed away the waters, there would be nothing1 to dislike in their wisdom. The way in which Yu conveyed away the waters was by doing that which gave him no trou ble. If your wise men would also do that which gave them no trouble, their wisdom would also be great. 3. " There is heaven so high ; there are the stars and zodi acal spaces so distant. If we have investigated their pheno mena, we may, while sitting [in our places], ascertain the solstices for a thousand years [past] ." XXVII. 1. The officer Kung-hang having in hand the funeral of his son, the master of the Right went to condole with him. When [this noble] entered the door, some mo tioned to him to come to them, and spoke with him, and others went to his place and spoke with him. 2. Mencius did not speak with him, on which the master of the Right was displeased, and said, " All the gentlemen have spoken with me. There is only Mencius who has not spoken with me, thereby slighting me."

3. When Mencius heard of this remark, he said, " Accord ing to the prescribed rules, in the court we must not change Par. 2. By " chiselling or " boring " we are to understand the violent forcing out of conclusions, instead of pursuing the inductive method. Yu's operations gave him abundance of trouble ; what Mencius means to say is that they were all in harmony with the nature and circumstances of the waters, which he was labouring to reduce. Par. 3. Compare the language of the 1st sentence of par. 0 in the 2Gth chap ter of the Doctrine of the Mean. The solstices referred to are those of winter. Most modern commentators hold that one solstice is intended, — that from which the Chinese cycle dates its commencement, when the sun, moon, and planets are all supposed to have been in conjunction at midnight. This is not necessary. CH. XXVII. How MENCIUS WOULD NOT IMITATE OTHERS IN PAYING COURT TO A FAVOURITE, AND HOW HE EXCUSED HIMSELF. Par. 1. Many think that the death which gave occasion to what is here related was that of the officer Kung-hang himself. The view which I have followed is more in accordance with the Chinese text. The master of the Right was the Wang Hwan of II. ii. i>, and the Tsze-gaou of XXIV. and XXV. of the first Part of this Book. He was a man with whom our phi losopher would have nothing to do.

Par. 3. The officers were not now " in the court," but they had gone by the king's order to condole with Kuug-haug, and ought therefore to have ob- our places to speak with one another, and must not pass out of our own rank to bow to one another. I was wishing to observe these rules; — is it not strange that Tsze-gaou should think I was thereby slighting him ? " XXVIII. 1. Mencius said, "That wherein the superior man is different from other men is what he preserves in his heart; — namely, benevolence and propriety. 2. " The benevolent man loves others; the man of pro priety shows respect to others. 3. "He who loves others is always loved by them, and he who respects others is always respected by them. 4. " Here is a man who treats me in a perverse and un reasonable manner ; — [as] a superior man, I will turn round upon myself, [and say,] ' I must have been wanting in benevolence; I must have been devoid of propriety ; — how [else] should this have happened to [me] ? ' 5. " Having thus examined myself, I am [specially] benevolent, and [specially] observant of propriety. If the perversity and unreasonableness of the other be still the same, [as] a superior man [I will say], ' I must have been failing to do my utmost/

6. " I again turn round upon myself, and proceed to do my utmost. If the perversity and unreasonableness of the other be still the same, [as] a superior man, I will say, ' This is a man utterly lost indeed. Since he conducts him so, there is nothing to choose between him and a beast ; why should I go to trouble myself about a beast ? ' 7. " Thus it is that the superior man has a life-long anxiety, but not one morning's serious trouble. As to what is matter of anxiety to him, he has it [thus] : — ' Shun,' [he says,] ' was a man, and I also am a man. Shun gave an example to all under heaven, and [his conduct] was fit to be served the rules which regulated their positions and movements when in the court. On those rules, see the Official Book of Chow, XXII. iii. 1, ct ul. CH. XXVIII. HOW THE SUPEKIOR MAN IS DISTINGUISHED FROM OTHERS BY THE CULTIVATION OP HIS MORAL EXCELLENCE ; AND HOW IN THAT HE HAS HIS REMEDY AGAINST THE MISCONDUCT OF OTHERS TO HIM. Mencius shows here an admirable faith in the power of goodness to pro duce a corresponding response in others, and in the peace which the con sciousness of having acted in kindness and righteousness will produce under the most perverse treatment.

handed down to future ages, while I am nothing better than a villager.' This indeed is proper matter of anxiety to him ; but in what way is he anxious ? Simply that he may be like Shun. As to what would be matter of serious trouble to a superior man, there is no such thing. He does nothing which is contrary to benevolence ; he does nothing which is not according to propriety. Should there be one morning's trouble, as a superior man he does not reckon it a trouble." XXIX. 1. Yu and Tseih, in an age of tranquillizing [government], thrice passed their doors without entering them. Confucius praised them. 2. Yen-tsze, in an age of disorder, dwelt in a mean narrow lane, having his single bamboo-dish of rice, and his single gourd-cup of water. Other men could not have en dured the distress, but he did not allow his joy to be affected by it. Confucius [also] praised him. 3. Mencius said, " Yu, Tseih, and Yen Hwuy agreed in the principles of their conduct. 4. " Yu thought that if any one under heaven were drowned, it was as if he himself drowned him . Tseih thought that if any one under heaven suffered hunger, it was as if he himself famished him. It was on this account that they were so earnest.

5. "If Yu and Tseih, and Yen-tsze could have exchanged places, they would have done each what the other did. 6. "Here now in the same apartment with you are peo ple fighting; and [you wish to] part them. Though you OH. XXIX. HOW AN UNDERLYING PRINCIPLE WILL BE FOUND TO RECON CILE THE DIFFERENCES IN THE CONDUCT OF GREAT AND GOOD MEN OCCA SIONED BY THEIR DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCES ; — ILLUSTRATED IN THE CASES OF Yu, TSEIH, AND YEN HWUY. Par. \. See III. i. IV. 7, et al. The thrice passing his door was peculiar to Yu, though it is here ascribed also to Tseih, or How-tseih. Their age was not one of tranquillity, but the government in it was good, and they were employed to bring it to tranquillity. Par. 2. See Ana. VI. ix. Parr. 6, 7. The rules anciently prescribed for dressing were very minute. Much had to be done with the hair, before the final act of putting on the cap, with the strings tied under the chin. In the case in par. 6 all these rules are neglected. The urgency of the case, and the intimacy of the in dividual with the parties quarrelling, justified such neglect. This was the case of Yu and Tseih in relation to their age, while that in par. 7 is supposed

were to part them with your cap tied on over your hair un bound, your conduct would be allowable. 7. "If the fighting were [only] in your village or neigh bourhood, and you were to go to part them with your cap [so] tied on over your hair unbound, you would be in error. Though you were to shut your door [in such a case] , your conduct would be allowable/' XXX. 1. The disciple Kung-too said, "Throughout the whole State, all pronounce K'wang Chang unfilial, and yet you, Master, keep company with him, and moreover treat him with politeness. I venture to ask why you do so." 2. Mencius replied, " There are five things which in the common parlance of the age are said to be unfilial. The first is laziness in the use of one's four limbs, so as not to attend to the maintenance of his parents. The second is to illustrate Hwuy's relation to his. — But Mencius' illustrations are for the most part happier than these. CH. XXX. How MENCIUS EXPLAINED HIS INTERCOURSE WITH A MAN COMMONLY HELD TO BE UNFILIAL. THE CASE OF K'WANG CHANG. Par. 1. K'wang Chang was an officer of Ts'e, and had been employed in important military affairs. He commanded the troops of Ts'e in the opera tions against Yen referred to in I. ii. X., et al. We have no account of the particulars of his conduct which made him he regarded throughout the State as unfilial, though perhaps a hint about them may be obtained from a narrative in the " Plans of the Warring States," in the first Book relating to Ts'e. It is there said that king Wei of Ts'e appointed K'wang Chang to command an army against Ts'in, which was threatening the State. For some time reports were rife that Chang-tsze was playing the traitor, but king Wei refused to believe them, saying he was confident of the good faith of his general. At last news came of a great defeat inflicted on Ts'in, and the king, being asked what had made him so trustful of K'wang Chang, said, " Chang-tsze's mother offended his father, and was put to death by him, and buried in a stable. When I was sending him forth on this expedition, I said that, if he conducted it vigorously, I would on his return bury his mother elsewhere, but he said that he might have done so before, but his mother having offended his father, and his father having died without giving him any instructions on the point, he did not dare to remove the body to another grave, lest he should be dealing wrongly by his deceased father. If Chang-tsze is thus faithful to his deceased father, he will not be faithless to me." Possibly, the alienation between Chang-tsze and his fathe? may have arisen about the latter's putting his mother to death. Whatever was the cause of it, i*- is evident from what Mencius says that it did not seriously compromise his character.

Par. 2. " Gambling and chess-playing ; " — see on Ana. XVII. xxii. But gambling and ck ess -play ing, and being fond of spirits, so as not to attend to the maintenance of one's parents. The third is being fond of goods and money, and being selfishly at tached to one's wife and children, so as not to attend to the maintenance of one's parents. The fourth is following the desires of one's ears and eyes, so as to bring one's parents to disgrace. The fifth is being fond of bravery, fighting and quarrelling, so as to endanger his parents. Is Changtsze guilty of any one of these things ? 3. " Between Chang-tsze and his father there arose dis agreement, he, the son, reproving his father to urge him to what was good. 4. " To urge one another by reproofs to what is good is the way of friends. But such urging between father and son is the greatest injury to the kindly feeling [that should prevail between them] . 5. " Did not Chang-tsze wish to have all that belongs to [the relationships] of husband and wife, child and mother P But because he had offended his father and was not permit ted to approach him, he sent away his wife and drave forth his son, and would not for all [the rest of] his life receive any cherishing attentions from them. He settled it in his mind that, if he did not act in this way, his would be the greatest of crimes. Such and nothing more is the case of Chang-tsze."

XXXI. 1. When Tsling-tsze dwelt in Woo-shing, there came [a band of] plunderers from Yueh. Some one said [to him] , " The plunderers are come ; why not leave this ? " [On this Tsang-tsze left the city] , saying [to the man in charge of his house], " Do not let any one lodge in my house, lest he break and injure the plants and shrubs about it." But the chess-playing could not be the game analogous to ours, for the emperor of the Chow dynasty alluded to in the note there as its inventor belonged to the latter dynasty of that name in the 10th century of our era. Parr. 3, 4. Compare Part i. XVIII. 2. Par. 5. Readers not Chinese will think that Chang's treatment of his wife and son was more criminal than his conduct to his father. CH. XXXI. How MENCIUS EXPLAINED THE DIFFERENT CONDUCT OF TSANG-TSZE AND TSZE-SZE IN OUTWARDLY SIMILAR CIRCUMSTANCES. Compare chapter xxix. Par. 1. Woo-shing was a city of Loo, — 90 le to the south-west of the present district city of Pe, department E-chow. Tsang-tsze had here opened when the plunderers were withdrawing [lie sent word], say ing, " Repair the walls and roof of rny house ; I will return to it; " and when the plunderers had retired, he returned. His disciples said, " Since our Master was treated with so much attention and respect, for him to be the first, on the arrival of the plunderers, to go away, so as to be observed by the people, and then, on their retiring, to return, seems to us to be improper." Shin-yew Hang said [to them], " You do not understand this matter. Formerly, when [the house of us], the Shin-yew, was exposed to the outbreak of the grasscarriers, there were seventy disciples in our Master's follow ing, and none of them took any part in the matter/'

2. When Tsze-sze was living in Wei, there came plunder ers from Ts'e. Some one said to him, "The plunderers are coming ; why not leave this ? " [But] Tsze-sze said, " If I go away, whom will the ruler have with him to guard [the city]?" 3. Mencius said, " Tsang-tsze and Tsze-sze agreed in the principle of their conduct. Tsang-tsze was a teacher; — in the position of a father or elder brother. Tsze-sze was a minis ter ; — in a meaner position. If they could have exchanged places, each would have done what the other did/' XXXII. The officer Ch'oo said [to Mencius] , " The king sent a person to spy out whether you, Sir, were really different from other men." Mencius replied, " How should a school or lecture-room in the place, having, probably, as many suppose, been invited to do so — to be "aguestand teacher" — by the commandant. It was thus in the south of the present Shan-tung province. South from it, and covering the present Keang-soo and part of Cheh-keang, were the States of Woo and Yueh, all at this time subject to Yueh. Shin-yew Hang is sup posed to have been a disciple of Tsang-tsze, and a native of Woo-shing. The Shin-yew of whom he speaks must mean the head of his clan, or rather his House. When it was in peril, Tsang-tsze's seventy disciples would have been abundantly able to cope with the grass-carriers. That they did not attempt to do so, showed that there was some reason for his conduct more than the objectors to it saw on the surface.

Par. '2. Tsze-sze of course is Confucius' grandson. He was living in Wei, and sustaining office in it. Pur. 3. We have here a striking illustration of the importance attached to the position of a " teacher," of which I have spoken in the Prolegomena. CH. XXXII. SAGES ARE JUST LIKE OTHER MEN IK THEIR PERSONAL I be different from other men ? Yaou and Shun were just the same as other men." XXXIII. 1. "A man of Ts'e had a wife and a concubine, and lived together with them in his house. When their good-man went out, he was sure to get himself well filled with spirits and flesh and then return, and on his wife's asking him with whom he had been eating and drinking, they were sure to be all men of wealth and rank. The wife informed the concubine, saying, ' When the good-man goes out, he is sure to come back having partaken plentifully of spirits and flesh, and when I ask him with whom he has been eating and drinking, they are all men of wealth and rank. And yet no men of distinction ever come [here]. I will spy out where our good-man goes.' [Accordingly] she got up early in the morning, and privately followed the good-man to where he was going. All through the city there was nobody who stood and talked with him. At last he came to those who were sacrificing among the tombs outside the outer wall on the east, and begged what they had left. Not being satis fied, he looked round him and went to another party ; — and this was the way in which he got himself satiated. Hia wife went home, and infoi-med the concubine, saying, ' It was to the good-man that we looked up in hopeful contem plation, and with whom our lot is cast for life ; — and these are his ways.' [On this] she and the concubine reviled their good-man, and wept together in the middle courtyard. [In the mean time] the good-man, knowing nothing of all this, came in with a jaunty air, carrying himself proudly to them.

Ch'oo was a minister of Ts'e. The incident mentioned probably occurred on Mencius' first arrival in Ts'e, and before he had any interview with the king. CH. XXXIII. THE DISGRACEFUL MEANS WHICH MANY TOOK TO SEEK FOR Par. 1. A " Mencius said " must have dropt out of the text at the begin ning of this paragraph. All the commentators seem to be agreed in this. The statement that the man " lived together with his wife and concubine in the house" seems to be intended to indicate that he passed as a man of wealth, who was not engaged in trade, or any business that called him away from home. " Good-man " is equivalent to husband ; so " good-man " used to be employed in Scotland. 2. " According to the view which a superior man takes of things, as to the ways by which men seek for riches, honours, gain, and advancement, there are few of their wives and concubines who might not be ashamed and weep together because of them." Par. 2 contains the moral and application of the narrative given in the former paragraph. CHAPTER I. 1. Wan Chang asked [Mencius], saying, " [When] Shun went into the fields, he cried out and wept towards the pitying heavens. Why did he cry out and weep ? " Mencius replied, " He was dissatisfied and full of earnest desire."