2 —they mostly love their ease. In reproving others there is no difficulty, but to receive reproof, and allow it to have a free course, 3 this is difficult!' The sorrow of my heart is this, that the days and months pass away, as if they would not come again. 4 "There were my old counsellors,—I said, 'They will not accommodate themselves to me,' and I hated them. There were my new counsellors, and I would for a time give my confidence to them. Although it may be so with old men and new, hereafter I will take advice from the men of yellow hair, and then I shall be free from 5 error. That good old officer!—all his strength is exhausted, but may I still have him! That dashing brave officer !—his shooting and charioteering are faultless, but I had rather not wish him! As to men of quibbles, skilful at cunning words, and able to make the superior man change his purposes, what have I to do with making much use of them? I do not know whether we should accept the testimony of the preface or that of Ts'een on this point. But the thing is of little moment. They agree in making the speech refer to the defeat which had been incurred by the duke's refusal to listen to wise counsel. The Book is found in both the texts. Contknts. The general nature of these may be gathered from the preceding note; but what is really said is more vague and less to the point of the occasion than we might have expected. The 'Complete Digest' says that parr. 2, 3 declare the fact of the duke's repentance; parr. 4, 5, the grounds of it; and parr. 6 —8, the sincerity or emphasis of it. P. 1. The duke seeks to engage the attention of his officers. -J-,—' my officers' All his ministers are so denominated. 4§- -for i f I I = 'solemnly tell.' ^ =3" ^ "|§", 'the head ( =the most important, the chief) of all words.' The duke means the ancient saying which he proceeds to state, and which seemed to him, in the mood of mind in which he was, to be so important. Ying-ta gives for the clause-^ ^ fjf 0 f <jl Z P. 2. The saying of the ancients, that it is easy to give and difficult to receive reproof. all are naturally thus,—they on most for pleasure.' Choo He said he thought that 'this clause simply meant that it is the disposition of most men to love ease' (5^ p, ^ g£ A trc 1£ 5£ 3& £ !!>■ Tliis is rrobab,y all that is intended; but I do not see the appropriateness of the sentiment as an introduction to what follows. jjg ^ -jjpt TjfJJ —' to receive reproof, and cause—allow—it to be like flowing water.' The meaning is that the reproof is not resisted, but flows on freely. Gauhil mistook the sense, and has translated —' recevoir les avis ct les reprimandes des a at res. sans les laisser couler comme l'eau, e'est la la difficulte.' P. 3. The duke deplores the swift passing away of time. ^jfjjj and |^ are to be taken as synonyms, or to nl0Te 0D'' <t0 Procee<3-' From Ying-til's notes on Gan-kwS's commentary, we see that he read R, and not -pr^. But those terms were anciently interchanged. Whichever we read here, it is to be taken in the sense of or 1 to return,' 'come round.' The duke is conscious that he has done wrong; what he deplores is that the wrong cannot be undone. The day is past, and it will not come again, that he might do differently on it. P. i. He acknowledges his error in rejecting the advice of his aged counsellors and following that of new men, and declares he will not do so again. By 'ancient counsellors,' the duke intends Pinhole He and Keen-shuh, who advised him against attempting to surprise Ch'ing; and by 2: =jjj£ A' 'nH>lIern or recent counsellors,' he means Ke-tsze and the other officers who seduced him to the undertaking. Q ='I said to my self.' ^C^fe"^ 'strength.' |^^=-< has failed.' But^J has always a moral sense, ='a failure,' 'an error,' 'a sin.' We can understand our moral meaning of 'failure' arising from the primary material meaning of the term, but we are called to suppose a reverse process in regard to the usage of the Chinese character. Of all the critics Ts'ae appears to be the only one who felt the pinch of this difficulty, and he supposes that the duke is referring to Rn incident which occurred on the setting forth of the ill-fated expedition. The three commanders were the sons of the two aged ministers who were opposed to it; and when the troops were leaving the capital, the old men wept bitterly. This led to some strong language about them from the duke, and Ts'ae would make the language = 'There is that good old officer, whom I blamed for his want of strength!' But this is much forced, and after all the idea of the want or failure of strength must somehow be introduced into the version. Moreover, the duke is here speaking of different classes of counsellors, in consequence of what had occurred to himself indeed, but generally, and without particular reference to the men who had advised, or blamed, or sanctioned the expedition to surprise $p Ti ?H ik ft Thu °fficc^ vi°iates in nothing the rules of his art. 't% =y = i-y =5", 'artful speech." a 'to change his words if such change of course growing out of a change of purpose. J "I have deeply thought and concluded;—Let me have but one resolute minister, plain and sincere, without other abilities, but having a simple complacent mind, and possessed of generosity, regarding the talents of others, as if he himself possessed them; and when he finds accomplished and sage-like men, loving them in his heart more than his mouth expresses, really showing himself able to bear them:—such a minister would be able to preserve my descendants and my people, and would indeed be a giver of benefits. P. 6. The duke's conception of a thoroughly good and valuable minister. to a 2: , —Gan-kw6 joined this to the preceding par., ft ft* a J»JfcJB£fl5 'Formerly I had many such, because I thought darkly of it, and was not intelligent.' But the balancing of the sentences in par. 5 shows that we ought to stop at and that JJjJ^ JJjJj jffa ^t 2: must belong to another subject. ffc flfc - at IB' 'doeply-' 5$|}> ' l'ie •W«**»,*ce of sincere simplicity.' Both the one and the other= fffi, to be construed with gff g£ |j|f 'easy, straightforward, and loving good.' E'ang-shing defines it by *^ ^jjj, 'the appearance of generous forbearance' T,' #j| # £ M # £ T P Z ffr W # mean8 that the love in his heart is greater than the language in his mouth expresses' (Woo Ch'ing). For ^ in & rife ft. & the 'Great Learning' gives jjjf', which is an emphatic Jib. J#^ft^«H~# these accounts (i.e., with these qualities, thus endowed) he is able to protect,' &c. For 7ff flic -W ffl i8t the 'Great Lewning' gives qt; jjsf ^ which is easier to construe. Ts'ac defines Jjj|j£ by ^ ' to preside over,' the idea being that from such a man benefits, and only benefits, would come. His 'office, that over which he presided, would be, as it were the making of the people prosperous and happy.' "But if the minister, when he finds men of ability, be jealous and hates them; if, when he finds accomplished and sage-like men, he oppose them and do not allow their advancement, showing himself really not able to bear them;—such a man will not be able to protect my descendants and people; and will there not indeed be dangers from him? "The prosperity and unsettledness of a State may arise from one man. The glory and tranquillity of a State also may perhaps arise from the excellence of one man.' P. 7. A thoroughly bad and dangerous minister. For ^p^, 'to cover over,' the ' Great Learning' has ^||, synonymous nearly with A. For Jf\ ^| it has Jf\ jj^, but that variation does not affect the meaning at all. P. 8. A summary statement of the consequences flowing from the good and bad minister respectively. The general meaning of the terms (E is sufficiently determined by their opposition to M. The critics generally content themselves with saying that they=I y^,' unrest.' But that is the idea conveyed by jl^ alone, as its opposite '||f| = 2^> or ' tranquillity.' Now in the diet, the first definition of j|">j£ is yf\J fiE^^r, 'a tree without branches,' which gives us the idea of' sterility.' The opposite idea is conveyed by 'a plant in the glory of its leaves and flowers.' is formed from Jp. and abbreviated, and =' a mound falling to pieces.' By the 'one man' to whom such consequences are attributed, either of good or evil, we are to understand the good minister of par. 6 or the bad one of par. 7. This is the opinion of IVae, after Gan-kw5, and of the commentators generally. The editors of Yun-ching*s Shoo, however, call attention to the opinion of Leu Tsoo-he'eit and some others, that the duke intends himself as 'the one man' of the State. This does not seem at all likely. INDEXES. INDEX I. OF SUBJECTS. Parts of the whole Book are indicated by I., H., Jr. ; separate Boohs by i., ii. $-c.; A Ability, three grades of, V. xix. 4, C. Acts of Shun as emperor, II. i. 15—27. — of the duke of Chow and others to king Clung, xix. 1. — commencement of Yu's, ii. 9—19. — of E Yiu to T'ae-kca, IV. iv. 8 : vi. 1. — to the prince of K'ang, V. ix. 18, 19, 22—24. — of the duke of Chow to Chiug, xv. 12—19: xix. 16—22. — to Chung of Time, xvii. 2—8. — of king P'ing to prince Wan, xxviii. 4. — the duty of listening to good, xv. 18—19. — given by all the princes to K'ang, xxiii. 2, 3. V. ix. 14. Affections, Heaven has no, &c., IV. v. Pt. iii. 1 ; V. xvii. 4. — Tseih, the minister of, II. i. 17, 18: iv. I: V. xxvii. 8. Aim, necessity of a high, V. xx. 17. Altars, the duke of Chow makes two, V. vi. 4. Anarchy in Show's reign, IV. xi. 3. Ancestors send down calamities from heaven on their unworthy posterity, IV. vii. Pt. ii. 11 —14. — direction with regard to the worship of, ix. 5. 8 : V. Pt. i. 2 : vi. 10. — worship, IV. iv. I: V. i. Pt. i. G; Pt. iii. 3: iii. 3. Ancient times, the teachings of, V. xxvii. 2. Ancients, emblematic figures of the, II. iv. 4. — lessons of the, must be followed, IV. viii. Pt. iii. 3: V. ix. 5, 21, 22: xv. 14, 15: xx. l(i: — important saying of the, V. xxx. 1. Pt. ii. 23. — of Chung-bwuy, IV. ii. title. — of T'ang, iii. title. — of the completion of the war by Woo, V. iii. 3. — the Great, vii. title, 1. — to the prince of K'ang, ix. title. — about Drunkenness, x. title. — of the duke of Shaou, xii. title. — concerning L5, xiii. title. — of the royal will to the officers of Shang, xiv. 1 : xvii. 2. — of king K'ang, xxiii. title. Antiquity, Yaou and Shun studied, V. xx. 3. — connected with the dignity of the emperor, xii. 9, 23 : xvj. 18. IV. ix. 3. Archer, Pwan-kfing's will like an, IV, vii, Pt. Archery, II. iv. 6 : IV. v. Pt. i. 7. — of king Woo, V. i. Pt. ii. 1; Pt. iii. 1. under Shun, II. i. 23. Yin were, V. xvi. 8. Tt. i. 2. |