|
1 See the symbolism of line 2, of the 25th Hexagram, vol. xvi,
pp. no, in. The last character here is not in the Yi, and a
different moral seems to be drawn from the whole.
BK.
XXVII. FANG Kt. 297
"When we gather the mustard-plant and earth-
melons,
We do not reject them because of their roots.
While I do
nothing contrary to my good name,
I should live with you till our death."
In this way it was intended to guard the people
against loving wrong
; and still some forget righteous-
ness and struggle for gain, even to their
own ruin.'
33. The Master said, ' The ceremonial usages
serve as
dykes to the people against bad excesses
(to which they are prone). They
display the separa-
tion which should be maintained (between the sexes),
that there may be no occasion for suspicion, and the
relations of the
people be well defined. It is said in
the Book of Poetry (I, viii, ode vi,
3, 4),
" How do we proceed in hewing an axe-handle ?
Without another
axe it cannot be done.
How do we proceed in taking a wife ?
Without a
go-between it cannot be done.
How do we proceed in planting hemp ?
The
acres must be dressed length-wise and cross-
wise.
How do we proceed in
taking a wife ?
Announcement must first be made to our parents."
In
this way it was intended to guard the people
(against doing wrong), and
still there are some
(women) among them, who offer themselves (to
the
male).'
34. The Master said, 'A man in taking a wife
does not take
one of the same surname with him-
self : — to show broadly the distinction
(to be main-
tained between man and wife). Hence, when a man
is buying a
concubine, if he do not know her surname,
298 THE Li k\. BK.
xxvn.
he consults the tortoise-shell about it. In this way
it was
intended to preserve the people (from going
wrong in the matter) ; and yet
the Khww KIi\\x of
Lu still suppresses the surname of duke A'ao's wife,
simply saying "Wu," and the record of her death is
" Mang (the elder)
$ze died 1 ." '
35. The Master said, 'According to the rules, male
and female do not give the cup to one another, ex-
cepting at sacrifice.
This was intended to guard the
people against (undue freedom of intercourse)
; and
yet the marquis of Yang killed the marquis of Mu,
and stole away
his wife 2 . Therefore the presence
of the wife at the grand entertainments
was dis-
allowed.'
36. The Master said, 'With the son of a widow
one does not have interviews : — this would seem to
be an obstacle to
friendship, but a superior man will
keep apart from intercourse in such a
case, in order
to avoid (suspicion). Hence, in the intercourse of
friends, if the master of the house be not in, a visitor,
unless there
is some great cause, does not enter the
door. This was intended to preserve
the people
(from all appearance of evil) ; and yet there are of
them who
pay more regard to beauty than to virtue.'
3 J. The Master said, ' The
love of virtue should
be like the love of beauty (from an inward
constraint).
Princes of states should not be like fishers for beauty
1 The latter entry is found in the Z/mn A7/iu, under the twelfth
A.
year of duke Ai. The lady's surname is not found in that
A~ing
at all; and Confucius himself probably suppressed it. Compare
what
is said in the Analects, VII, 30, where the sage, on the same
subject, does
not appear to more advantage than he does here.
2 Who these princes
were, or what were the circumstances of
the case, is not known.
BK. XXVII.
FANG k\. 299
(in the
families) below them. Hence the superior
man keeps aloof from beauty, in
order to constitute
a rule for the people. Thus male and female, in
giving and receiving, do not allow their hands to
touch ; in driving his
wife in a carriage, a husband
advances his left hand ; when a young aunt, a
sister,
or a daughter has been married, and returns (to her
father's
house), no male can sit on the same mat
with her; a widow should not wail at
night; when a
wife is ill, in asking for her, the nature of her illness
should not be mentioned : — in this way it was sought
to keep the people
(from irregular connexions) ; and
yet there are those who become licentious,
and intro-
duce disorder and confusion among- their kindred.'
38.
The Master said, 'According to the rules of
marriage, the son-in-law should
go in person to meet
the bride. When he is introduced to her father and
mother, they bring her forward, and give her to
him 1 : — being afraid
things should go contrary to
what is right. In this way a dyke is raised in
the
interest of the people ; and yet there are cases in
which the wife
will not go (to her husband's) 2 .'
1 ' Warning her, at the same time,
to see that she reverenced her
husband.'
2 We should rather say here
— ' in which the bride will not go
to the bridegroom's.' The commentators do
not give instances in
point from the records of Chinese history. Perhaps the
Master
merely meant to say that there were cases in which the bride did
not go to her new home in the spirit of reverence and obedience
enjoined
upon her.
BOOK XXVIII. ATJNG YUNG
OR
THE STATE OF
EQUILIBRIUM AND HARMONY 1 .
Section I.
1. What Heaven has
conferred is called the
Nature. An accordance with this nature is called
the Path of Duty; the regulation of this path is
called the System of
Instruction.
2. The path should not be left for an instant ; if
it
could be left, it would not be the path.
3. On this account the superior
man does not wait
till he sees things to be cautious, nor till he hears
things to be apprehensive.
4. There is nothing more visible than
what is
secret, and nothing more manifest than what is
minute. Therefore
the superior man is watchful
over himself when he is alone.
5. When
there are no stirrings of pleasure, anger,
sorrow, or joy, we call it the
State of Equi-
librium. When those feelings have been stirred,
and all
in their due measure and degree, we call it
the State of Harmony. This
Equilibrium is
the great root (from which grow all the human
actings) in
the world; and this Harmony is the
universal path (in which they should all
proceed).
6. Let the State of Equilibrium and Har-
mony exist in
perfection, and heaven and earth
1 See the introductory notice, vol.
xxvii, pp. 42, 43.
SECT. I. JKUNG YUNG. 3OI
would have
their (right) places, (and do their
proper work), and all things would be
nourished
(and flourish) 1 .
7. Aung-ni 2 said, 'The superior man
(exhibits)
the state of equilibrium and harmony 3 ; the small
1
These six short paragraphs may be considered a summary of
the Confucian
doctrine, and a sort of text to the sermon which
follows in the rest of the
Treatise ; — the first chapter of it. The
commencing term, Heaven, gives us,
vaguely, the idea of a
supreme, righteous, and benevolent Power ; while '
heaven and
earth,' in paragraph 6, bring before us the material heaven and
earth with inherent powers and capabilities, by the interaction of
which
all the phenomena of production, growth, and decay are
produced. Midway
between these is Man; and nothing is wanting
to make a perfectly happy world
but his moral perfection, evidenced
by his perfect conformity to the right
path, the path of duty. ' The
superior man,' in paragraph 3, has evidently
the moral signification
of the name in its highest degree. He is the man '
who embodies
the path (^9 ^ ^* >W The description of him in para-
graph 4, that ' he is watchful over himself when alone/ is, literally,
that ' he is watchful over his solitariness,- — his aloneness,' that ' soli-
tariness ' being, I conceive, the ideal of his own nature to which every
man in his best and highest moments is capable of attaining.
2 See
the introductory notice of Book XXV.
3 Formerly I translated this by '
The superior man (embo-
dies) the course of the mean.' Zottoli gives for it,
' Sapiens
vir tenet medium;' Re'musat, 'Le sage tient invariablement
le
milieu,' and ' Sapiens medio constat.' The two characters
A\ing yung (pfcf
ljif)> however, are evidently brought on from
the preceding chapter, yung
(Jm) being used instead of the ho
(^fj) in paragraphs 5 and 6. In the
Khang-hsi dictionary, we
find that yung is defined by ho, among other terms,
with a
reference to a remark of Aang Hsiian, preserved by Lu Teh-ming,
that ' the Book is named the A'ung Yung, because it records the
practice
of the -A'iing Ho.' Kzng was obliged to express himself
so, having defined
the yung of the title by another yung (IB),
meaning 'use' or 'practice.' But
both kung and yung are
adjectival terms used substantively.
302 THE LI Kl.
BK. XXVIII.
man
presents the opposite of those states. The
superior man exhibits them,
because he is the superior
man, and maintains himself in them ; the small
man
presents the opposite of them, because he is the small
man, and
exercises no apprehensive caution.'
8. The Master said, ' Perfect is the
state of equi-
librium and harmony ! Rare have they long been
among the
people who could attain to it ! '
9. The Master said, ' I know how it is
that the
Path is not walked in. The knowing go beyond it,
and the stupid
do not come up to it. The worthy
go beyond it, and the unworthy do not come
up to it.
There is nobody but eats and drinks ; but they are
few who can
distinguish the flavours (of what they
eat and drink) 1 .'
10. The
Master said, 'Ah ! how is the path un-
trodden ! '
11. The Master
said, 'Was not Shun grandly
wise ? Shun loved to question others, and to
study
their words though they might be shallow. He
concealed what was
bad (in them), and displayed
what was good. He laid hold of their two
extremes,
determined the mean 2 between them, and used it in
(his
government of) the people. It was this that
made him Shun !'
12. The
Master said, 'Men all say, "We are wise;"
but being driven forward and taken
in a net, a trap,
or a pitfall, not one of them knows how to escape.
Men
all say, "We are wise;" but when they have
chosen the state of equilibrium
and harmony, they
are not able to keep in it for a round month.'
1
Men eat and drink without knowing why or what.
2 Here Kung has the
signification of ' the mean,' the just
medium between two extremes.
SECT. I. 20JNG YUNG. 303
13. The Master said, ' This was
the character of
Hui : — Having chosen the state of equilibrium and
harmony, when he found any one thing that was good,
he grasped it
firmly, wore it on his breast, and did not
let it o-o 1 .'
14. The
Master said, 'The kingdom, its states,
and clans may be perfectly ruled ;
dignities and
emoluments may be declined ; but the state of equi-
librium and harmony cannot be attained to.'
15. 3ze-lu 2 asked about
fortitude. 16. The Master
said, ' Do you mean the fortitude of the South,
the
fortitude of the North, or your fortitude ?' 17. To
show forbearance
and gentleness in teaching others ;
and not to return conduct towards one's
self which
is contrary to the right path : — this is the forti-
tude of
the South, and the good man makes it his
study. 18. To lie under arms, and
to die without
regret: — this is the bravery of the North, and the bold
make it their study. 19. Therefore, the superior man
cultivates a
(friendly) harmony, and is not weak ; —
how firm is he in his fortitude ! He
stands erect in
the middle, and does not incline to either side ; —
how
firm is he in his fortitude ! If right ways pre-
vail in (the government of
his state), he does not
change from what he was in retirement ; — how firm
is he in his fortitude ! If bad ways prevail, he will
die sooner than
change ; — how firm is he in his
fortitude !'
20. The Master said, '
To search for what is
1 3 ze -hui was Yen Yuan, Confucius' favourite
disciple.
2 3 z e-l u was /Tung Yu, another celebrated disciple, famous
for
his bravery. ' Your fortitude,' in paragraph 1 6, is probably the
fortitude which you ought to cultivate, that described in para-
graph
19.
3O4 THE ii Kl. BK. XXVIII.
mysterious 1 , and
practise marvellous (arts), in order
to be mentioned with honour in future
ages : — this
is what I do not do. 21. The good man tries to
proceed
according to the (right) path, but when he
has gone half-way, he abandons it
; — I am not able
(so) to stop. 22. The superior man, acting in accord-
ance with the state of equilibrium and harmony,
may be all unknown and
unregarded by the world,
but he feels no regret : — it is only the sage who
is
able for this 2 .
23. ' The way of the superior man reaches far
and
wide, and yet is secret. 24. Common men and women,
however ignorant,
may intermeddle with the know-
ledge of it ; but in its utmost reaches there
is that
which even the sage does not know. Common men
and women, however
much below the ordinary
standard of character, can carry it into practice ;
but in
its utmost reaches, there is that which even the sage
cannot
attain to. 25. Great as heaven and earth are,
men still find things in their
action with which to be
dissatisfied 3 .
26. ' Therefore, if the
superior man were to speak
(of this way) in its greatness, nothing in the
world
would be able to contain it ; and if he were to speak
of it in its
smallness, nothing in the world would be
1 This is translated
from a reading of the text, as old as the
second Han dynasty.
2 With
this ends the second chapter of the Treatise, in which
the words of
Confucius are so often quoted; specially it would
appear, to illustrate what
is meant by ' the state of equilibrium
and harmony.' Yet there is a great
want of definiteness and
practical guidance about the utterances.
3
Who does not grumble occasionally at the weather, and dis-
turbances
apparently of regular order in the seasons ?
SECT. I, #UNG YUNG.
305
found able to divide it. 27. It is said in the Book
of Poetry
(III, i, ode 5),
" Up to heaven flies the hawk ;
Fishes spring in
the deep,"
telling how (the way) is seen above and below.
28. The
way of the superior man may be found
in its simple elements among common men
and
women, but in its utmost reaches it is displayed in
(the operations
of) heaven and earth V
29. The Master said, ' The path is not far from
man. When men try to pursue a path which is
far from what their nature
suggests, it should not
be considered the Path. 30. It is said in the Book
of Poetry (I, xv, ode 5),
"In hewing an axe-shaft, in hewing an
axe-shaft,
The pattern is not far off."
We grasp one axe-handle to
hew the other ; but if
we look askance at it, we still consider it far off.
31. Therefore the superior man governs men ac-
cording to their humanity
; and when they change
(what is wrong), he stops. 32. Fidelity to one's self
and the corresponding reciprocity are not far from
the path. What you do
not like when done to
yourself, do not do to others. 33. In the way
of
the superior man there are four things, to not
one of which have I, A7^iu 2
, as yet attained. — To
1 With this chapter commences, it is commonly
and correctly
held, the third part of the Treatise, intended to illustrate
what is
said in the second paragraph of it, that ' the path cannot be left
for an instant.' The author proceeds to quote sayings of Confucius
to
make his meaning clear, but he does so ' in a miscellaneous
way,' and so as
to embrace some of the widest and most difficult
exercises of Chinese
thought.
2 The name first given to Confucius by his parents.
[28] X
306 THE Ll Kt. BK. XXVIII.
serve my
father as I would require my son to serve
me, I am not yet able ; to serve
my ruler as I would
require my minister to serve me, I am not yet able ;
to serve my elder brother as I would require a younger
brother to serve
me, I am not yet able ; to set the
example in behaving to a friend as I
would require
him to behave to me, I am not yet able. 34. In
the
practice of the ordinary virtues, and attention to
his ordinary words, if
(the practice) be in anything
defective, (the superior man) dares not but
exert
himself; if (his words) be in any way excessive, he
dares not
allow himself in such license. His words
have respect to his practice, and
his practice has
respect to his words. 35. Is not the superior man
characterised by a perfect sincerity ?
36. ' The superior man does
what is proper to the
position in which he is ; he does not wish to go be-
yond it. In a position of wealth and honour, he does
what is proper to a
position of wealth and honour.
In a position of poverty and meanness, he
does what
is proper to a position of poverty and meanness.
Situated
among barbarous tribes, he does what is
proper in such a situation. In a
position of sorrow
and difficulty, he does what is proper in such a
position. The superior man can find himself in no
position in which he
is not himself. 37. In a high
situation, he does not insult or oppress those
who
are below him ; in a low situation, he does not cling
to or depend
on those who are above him.
38. ' He rectifies himself, and seeks for
nothing
from others ; and thus none feel dissatisfied with him.
Above,
he does not murmur against Heaven ; below,
he does not find fault with men.
39. Therefore the
superior man lives quietly and calmly, waiting for the
SECT. I. A'UNG YUNG. 307
appointments (of Heaven) ;
while the mean man
does what is full of risk, looking out for the turns of
luck.' 40. The Master said, ' In archery we have
something like (the way
of) the superior man. When
the archer misses the centre of the target, he
turns
round and seeks for the cause of his failure in
himself.
41. ' The way of the superior man may be com-
pared to what takes
place in travelling, when to go
far we must traverse the space that is near,
and in
ascending a height we must begin from the lower
ground. 42. It is
said in the Book of Poetry (II, i,
ode 4, 7, 8),
" Children and wife
we love ;
Union with them is sweet,
As lute's soft strain, that
soothes our pain.
How joyous do we meet!
But brothers more than
they
Can satisfy the heart.
'Tis their accord does peace afford,
And lasting joy impart.
For ordering of your homes,
For
joy with child and wife,
Consider well the truth I tell ; —
This is
the charm of life ! "
43. The Master said, ' How complacent are
parents (in such a state of things) ! '
44. The Master said, ' How
abundant and rich
are the powers possessed and exercised by Spiritual
Beings ! We look for them, but do not see them ;
we listen for, but do
not hear them ; they enter into
all things, and nothing is without them 1 .
45. They
1 We hardly see the relevancy of pars. 44-47 as illustrating
the
X 2
;o8 THE LI kL
BK. XXVIII.
cause all under Heaven to fast and purify themselves,
and to
array themselves in their richest dresses in
order to attend at their
sacrifices. Then, like over-
flowing water, they seem to be over the heads,
and
on the left and right (of their worshippers). 46. It
is said in the
Book of Poetry (III, iii, ode 2, 7),
" The Spirits come, but when and
where,
No one beforehand can declare.
The more should we not Spirits
slight,
But ever feel as in their sight."
47. ' Such is the
manifestness of what is minute.
Such is the impossibility of repressing the
outgoings
of sincerity ! '
48. The Master said, ' How greatly filial
was
Shun! His virtue was that of a sage; his dignity
was that of the son
of Heaven ; his riches were all
within the four seas ; his ancestral temple
enjoyed
his offerings ; his descendants preserved (those to)
himself.
49. Thus it was that with his great virtue
he could not but obtain his
position, his riches, his
fame, and his long life. 50. Therefore Heaven, in
statement that ' the path cannot be left.' They bear rather on the
next statement of the first chapter, the manifestness of that which is
most minute, and serve to introduce the subject of ' sincerity,'
which
is dwelt upon so much in the last part of the Treatise. But
what are the
Spirits or Spiritual Beings that are spoken of? In
paragraphs 45, 46, they
are evidently the spirits sacrificed to in
the ancestral temple and spirits
generally, according to our meaning
of the term. The difficulty is with the
name in paragraph 44, the
Kwei Shan there. Re*musat renders the phrase
simply by f les
esprits,' and in his Latin version by ' spiritus genii que,'
as also
does Zottoli. Wylie gives for it ' the Spiritual Powers.' Of course
A'au
Hsi and all the Sung scholars take it, according to their philosophy,
as meaning the phenomena of expansion and contraction, the dis-
plays of
the Power or Powers, working under Heaven, in nature.
SECT. I.
2TUNG YUNG.
309
producing things, is sure to be
bountiful to them
according to their qualities. 51. Thus it nourishes
the tree that stands flourishing, and that which is
ready to fall it
overthrows. 52. It is said in the
Book of Poetry (III, ii, ode 5, 1),
' What brilliant virtue does our king,
Whom all admire and love,
display !
People and officers all sing
The praise of his impartial
sway.
Heaven to his sires the kingdom gave,
And him with equal
favour views,
Heaven's strength and aid will ever save
The throne
whose grant it oft renews."
Hence (we may say that) he who is greatly
virtuous
is sure to receive the appointment (of Heaven).'
53. The
Master said, ' It is only king Wan of
whom it can be said that he had no
cause for grief !
His father was king Ki, and his son was king Wu.
His
father laid the foundations of his dignity, and
his son transmitted it. 54.
King Wu continued the
line and enterprise of kings Thai, Ki, and Wan. Once
for all he buckled on his armour, and got possession
of all under heaven
; and all his life he did not lose
the illustrious name of being that
possessor. His
dignity was that of the son of Heaven ; his riches
were
all within the four seas ; his ancestral temple
enjoyed his offerings ; and
his descendants preserved
those to himself. 55. It was in his old age that
king Wu received the appointment (to the throne),
and the duke of A'au
completed the virtuous achieve-
ments of Wan and Wu. He carried back the
title
of king to Thai and Ki, sacrificing also to all the
dukes before
them with the ceremonies of the son
A A
3IO THE
LI Kl. bk. xxviii.
of Heaven. And the practice was extended as a
rule to all the feudal princes, the Great officers,
all other officers,
and the common people. If the
father were a Great officer, and the son an
inferior
officer, the former was buried with the ceremonies
due to a
Great officer, and sacrificed to with those
due by an inferior officer. If
the father were an
ordinary officer, and the son a Great officer, the
burial was that of an ordinary officer, and the sacri-
fices those of a
Great officer. The one year's
mourning extended up to Great officers ; the
three
years' mourning extended to the son of Heaven
(himself). In the
mourning for a father or mother
no difference was made between the noble and
the
mean ; — it was one and the same for all'
56. The Master said, '
How far-extending was the
filial piety of king Wu and the duke of A"au ! Now
filial piety is the skilful carrying out of the wishes of
our
forefathers, and the skilful carrying on of their
undertakings. In spring
and autumn 1 they repaired
and beautified the temple-halls of their
ancestors,
set forth their ancestral vessels, displayed their
dresses,
and presented the offerings of the several
seasons. 57. By means of the
ceremonies of the
ancestral temple, they maintained the order of their
ancestors sacrificed to, here on the left, there on the
right, according
as they were father or son ; by
arranging the parties present according to
their rank,
they distinguished between the more noble and the
less ; by
the arrangement of the various services,
they made a distinction of the
talents and virtue of
1 Two seasons, instead of the four, as in the
title of the If/iun
Km.
SECT. I. JfUNG YUNG. 311
those discharging them ; in the ceremony of general
pledging, the inferiors presented the cup to the
superiors, and thus
something was given to the
lowest to do ; at the (concluding) feast, places
were
given according to the hair, and thus was made the
distinction of
years. 58. They occupied the places
(of their forefathers) ; practised their
ceremonies ;
performed their music ; showed their respect for
those whom
they honoured ; and loved those whom
they regarded with affection. Thus they
served
the dead as they served them when alive, and served
the departed
as they would have served them if they
had been continued among them : — all
this was the
perfection of filial duty.
59. 'By the ceremonies of
the border sacrifices (to
Heaven and Earth) they served God, and by those
of the ancestral temple they sacrificed to their fore-
fathers l . 60.
If one understood the ceremonies of
the border sacrifices and the meaning of
the sacrifices
of the ancestral temple, it would be as easy for him
to
rule a state as to look into his palm 2 .'
1 The phraseology of this
paragraph and the next is to be taken
in accordance with the usage of terms
in the chapters on Sacrifices.
2 With this ends, according to the old
division of the Treatise,
followed by the A^ien-lung editors, the first
section of it ; and with
it, we may say, ends also the special quotation by
the author of the
words of Confucius to illustrate what is said in the first
chapter
about the path being never to be left. The relevancy of much of
what we read from paragraph 24 downwards to the purpose which
it is said
to serve, it is not easy for us to appreciate. All that the
Master says from
paragraph 48 seems rather to belong to a
Treatise on Filial Piety than to
one on the States of Equilibrium
and Harmony.
312 THE LI kL
BK. XXVIII.
Section II.
i. Duke Ai asked about
government 1 . The
Master said, ' The government of Wan and Wu is
exhibited in (the Records), — the tablets of wood and
bamboo. Let there
be the men, and their govern-
ment would (again) flourish ; but without the
men,
their government must cease. 2. With the (right)
men the growth of
government is rapid, (just as)
in the earth the growth of vegetation is
rapid.
3. Government is (like) an easily-growing rush 2 . 4.
Therefore
the exercise of government depends on
(getting) the proper men. 5. (Such)
men are to be
got by (the ruler's) own character. That character
is to
be cultivated by his pursuing the right course.
That course is to be
cultivated by benevolence.
6. Benevolence is (the chief element in) humanity
3 ,
and the greatest exercise of it is in the love of rela-
tives.
Righteousness is (the accordance of actions
with) what is right, and the
greatest exercise of it is
in the honour paid to the worthy. The decreasing
1 A considerable portion of this chapter, with variations and
additions, is found in the Narratives of the School, forming the
17th
article of that compilation. It may very well stand by itself;
but the
author of the A'ung Yung adopted it, and made it fit into
his own way of
thinking.
2 Literally, ' a typha or a phragmites.' Such is Ku Hsi's view
of the text. The old commentators took a different view, which
appears
to me, and would appear to my readers, very absurd.
3 Literally,
'Benevolence is Man (^ ^ \ "tii) ; a remark_
able saying, found elsewhere in
the Li K\, and also in Mencius.
The value of it is somewhat marred by what
follows about ' righteous-
ness ' and ' propriety.'
SECT.
II. A'UNG YUNG.
measures in the love of relatives, and the stej
the honour paid to the worthy, are produced by
principle of) propriety.
7. When those in inferior
situations do not obtain (the confidence of) their
superiors, the people cannot be governed success-
fully 1 . 8. Therefore
the wise ruler should not
neglect the cultivation of his character. Desiring
to cultivate his character, he should not neglect to
serve his parents.
Desiring to serve his parents,
he should not neglect to know men. Desiring
to
know men, he should not neglect to know Heaven.
9. The universal path
for all under heaven is five-
fold, and the (virtues) by means of which it
is
trodden are three. There are ruler and minister;
father and son ;
husband and wife ; elder brother
and younger; and the intercourse of friend
and
friend: — (the duties belonging to) these five (relation-
ships)
constitute the universal path for all. Wisdom,
benevolence, and fortitude: —
these three are the
universal virtues of all. That whereby these are
carried into exercise is one thing 2 . 10. Some are
born with the
knowledge of these (duties) ; some
know them by study ; and some know them
as the
result of painful experience. But the knowledge
being possessed,
it comes to one and the same thing.
11. Some practise them with the ease of
nature;
some for the sake of their advantage ; and some by
1 This
short sentence is evidently out of place. It is found
again farther on in
its proper place. It has slipped in here by
mistake. There is a consent of
opinion, ancient and modern, on
this point.
2 ' One thing ; '
literally ' one/ which might be translated ' sin-
gleness/ meaning,
probably, the ' solitariness ' of chapter i, or the
' sincerity ' of which
we read so often in the sequel.
314 THE L ^ K ^-
BK. XXVIII.
dint of strong effort. But when the
work of them
is done, it comes to one and the same thing V
12. The
Master said, ' To be fond of learning is
near to wisdom ; to practise with
vigour is near to
benevolence ; to know to be ashamed is near to
fortitude. He who knows these three things, knows
how to cultivate his
own character. Knowing how
to cultivate his own character, he knows how to
govern other men. Knowing how to govern other
men, he knows how to
govern the kingdom with its
states and families.
13. 'All who have
the government of the kingdom
with its states and families have nine
standard rules
to follow: — the cultivation of themselves; the honour-
ing of the worthy ; affection towards their relatives ;
respect towards
their great ministers ; kind and
sympathetic treatment of the whole body of
officers
dealing with the mass of the people as their children
encouraging the resort of all classes of artisans
indulgent treatment of
men from a distance ; and
the kindly cherishing of the princes of the
states.
14. 'By (the rulers) cultivation of himself there is
set up
(the example of) the course (which all should
pursue) ; by his honouring of
the worthy, he will be
preserved from errors of judgment ; by his showing
affection towards his relatives, there will be no dis-
satisfaction
among his uncles and brethren ; by
respecting the great ministers he will be
kept
from mistakes ; by kindly treatment of the whole
body of officers,
they will be led to make the most
1 After this, it follows in the
'Narratives:' — The duke said,
' Your words are admirable, are perfect ; but
I am really stupid
and unable to fulfil them.'
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