今之謀人姑將 日未就予忌惟

惟邁心 是惟盤民

之 受責訖古

憂艱 責人自人

俾斯若有

謀 哉。俾

忌人,來。尿 如無是 將惟則○逾我流難多日

2 –they mostly love their ease. 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.

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

all that is intended; but I do not see the appropriateness of the sentiment as an introduc受責如

tion to what follows.

defeat which had been incurred by the duke's 流‘to receive reproof, and cause—allow—it

refusal to listen to wise counsel.

The Book is found in both the texts.

CONTENTS. 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. 我士,‘my officers' All

his ministers are so denominated. 誓告 'solemnly tell.' 羣言之首

‘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-tà gives for

to be like flowing water.' The meaning is that the reproof is not resisted, but flows on freely. Gaubil mistook the sense, and has translated -'recevoir les avis et les reprimandes des autres, sans les laisser couler comme l'eau, c'est là la difficultè.'

P. 3. The duke deplores the swift passing away

of time. 逾 and邁 are to be taken as synonyms, 一過or往, to move on, to proceed. From Ying-ta's notes on Gan-kwǒ's commentary, we see that he read 員, and not 云 But those terms were anciently interchanged. Whichever we read here, it is to be taken in the of旋or運

sense

'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

the clause 我告汝言中之 again, that he might do differently on it.

最要者

P. 4. He acknowledges his error in rejecting the

advice of his aged counsellors and following that

P.2. The saying of the ancients, that it is easy of new men, and declares he will not do so again. to give and difficult to receive reproof.

民| By古之謀人, ‘ancient counsellors," the

訖(=盡)自若是多盤people duke intends Pih-le He and Këen-shuh, who all are naturally thus,-they are most for plea- advised him against attempting to surprise Choo He said he thought that this Ching; and by 今之謀人, ‘modern or clause simply meant that it is the disposition of recent counsellors,' he means Ke-tsze and the

most men to love ease’(想只是說人ol other officers who seduced him to the under

情要安逸之意). This is probably taking. 日=‘I said to myself' 未就予

皇 俾 惟不仡旣番髮,然以 多君截違仡愆番則尙為 有子截我勇我良罔親 之易善尙夫尙士所詢雖 ○ 辭 辭不射有旅愆茲則 味我言欲御之力○黃云

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?

忌-其不就我意乃忌疾之strength.,

See other explanations of this in Woo Ching and Këang Shing, the latter of whom adopts adifferent reading,-as usual. Both their construc

tions are intolerably harsh. 姑將以 為親=姑且將以為可親而 與之謀(for a time I thought they might

have my confidence, and be counselled with.'

雖則云然 converts the cases of those counsellors into general characteristics of old and new men.

P.5. Old counsellors; martial counsellors; and

辯粉貌, the appearance of disputatiousness.' Gan-kwð, indeed, makes 勇 武‘brave and martial' The phrase has this

meaning in the She King, but we cannot admit

it here. It is inappropriate to the old counsellors. See Ming-shing, in loc. 番 is here equal to the later 皤 ‘old. 旅力 愆 Gan-kwó makes 旅力一般力, meaning

旣愆‘has failed' But 愆

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

felt

s Ts'ae appears to be the only one who the pinch of this difficulty, and he supposes

that the duke is referring to an 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 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

forced, and after all the idea of the want or

indeed, but generally, and without particular
reference to the men who had advised, or blam-
Ch'ing. 射御不違=善射善
御不違法者 This officer violates
in nothing the rules of his art. 騙言巧
speech. 易辭to change
言,‘artful
his words;' such change of course growing out

ed, or sanctioned the expedition to surprise

“the strength of all the members. It is better of a change of purpose.

to take 旅=呂or膂, (the backbone,' and understand 旅力as simply equivalent to

-, 'leisure.' The duke says he had no leisure-he had something better to do than-to attend to such

men.

6 "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 Both the one and the other, to be con

and valuable minister. 昧昧我思之strued with 斷斷 休休=易

-Gan-kwǒ joined this to the preceding par.,

loving good.'

and for 我皇多有之麻麻我直好善,‘easy, straightforward, and 思之 gives =我前多有之 K'ang-shing defines it by 寬 我昧昧思之而不明故也 容貌 the appearance of generous forbear

'Formerly I had many such, because I thought ance.' 不啻謂心之所好甚 darkly of it, and was not intelligent. But 于口之所言也不啻

the balancing of the sentences in par. 5 show

that we ought to stop at 有之 and that
我思之 must belong to another

Bubject. 昧昧深潛, deeply

From to the end of par. 7 is quoted in

the Great Learning,' Comm. x. 14, with some

trifling variations in particular characters.

means

that the love in his heart is greater than the

language in his mouth expresses' (Woo Ching). For 是 in是能容之 the ‘Great

Learning’gives 實, which is an emphatic 是 以保我子孫黎民=以

Kêang Shing edits the text here, now retaining 故能保安我子孫衆民or

the characters in the textus receptus, and now

giving those of the 'Great Learning;'-but on no critical principle that I can see.

on

these accounts (ie., with these qualities, thus endowed) he is able to protect,' &c.

For

亦職有利哉 the ‘Great Learning'

gives 亦尙有利哉, which is easier to

construe. Ts'ae defines 職by主‘to preside

idea of 'resolute.' Ma Yung explains it by over,' the idea being that from such a man

介一心端慤者:斷斷誠之貌 the appearance of sincere simplicity. For猗 the (Great Learning' has 兮.

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.

7

8

哉孫以不彥疾

慶。懷 由○黎不達

以人故

你一邦民能是而惡 尙人之亦保不違之 邦杌日我能之 人

◎人之有技

人之隉殆子容俾之冒

"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 The glory and tranquillity of a State also may perhaps arise from the excellence of one man.'

man.

P. 7. A thoroughly bad and dangerous minister. | the dict. the first definition of is

$木無枝

For 冒‘to cover over,' the‘Great Learning' | a tree without branches,' which gives us the idea

has

synonymous nearly with. For 不達 it has 不通, 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 杌隉 is

sufficiently determined by their opposition to

of sterility.' The opposite idea is conveyed by

榮

‘a plant in the glory of its leaves and flowers.' 毁

隉 is formed from 阜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 Tsae,

榮懷 The critics generally content them | after Gan-kwd, and of the commentators gener.

selves with saying that they =不安,‘unrest But that is the idea conveyed by alone, as its

opposite 懷=安, or tranquillity. Now in

ally. The editors of Yun-ching's Shoo, however, call attention to the opinion of Leu Tsoo-heen 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., II., &c.; separate Books by i., ii. &c.;
Parts of Books by Pt. i., Pt. ii., &c.; and Paragraphs by 1, 2, &c.