officer of government, is undutiful; unfaithfulness towards friends, is undutiful; and a want of courage in battle is also an undutiful act. If, therefore, in any one of these five particulars there is a failure, calamity will surely overtake your parents; how then can you dare to demean yourself in an unbecoming manner?"

Confucius said, "Of the three thousand crimes included under the five kinds of punishment, there is none greater than disobedience to parents."

THE MIRROR OF THE MIND.

of

Ming Sum Paou Keën, is the full title of the book, (from which we here give a quotation) which means, A Precious Mirror to reflect Light on the Mind. When it was first published does not appear. The edition frorn which this was taken was published in the 58th year Keenlung (1793). It consists wholly of quotations from the most approved Chinese writers, both ancient and modern. These quotations are from upwards of seventy different authors-moralists and philosophers, and writers of the three religious sects-who lived in all the intervening ages from Yau down to about the middle of the last century, embracing a period of little less than four thousand years.

The book is a small octavo of fifty-four pages, and is divided into twenty sections, on as many different subjects, but all designed to inculcate good morals, and good manners. The sentences given below are simply specimens from each of the twenty sections. The work is wholly of a didactic kind. It is a compound of poetic and prosaic compositions; consisting of anecdotes, aphorisms, and history. The style is often figurative, and par

takes of that variety which would be expected in a book made up, as it is, of quotations.

The translations given below were made by the late Dr. Wm. Milne, for the Chinese Repository.

See Vol. XVI, p. 406.

1. "Treasure up gold to hand down to posterity, and it is not certain that posterity will take due care of it. Collect books to hand down to posterity, and it is not certain that posterity will be able to read them. It is therefore better to lay up in darkness a store of secret virtues, as the sure plan of permanent advantage to posterity."

2. "The man, who, by committing bad actions, becomes famous, if men do not punish him, Heaven will certainly slay him."

3. "Death and life are here determined-riches and honor are from Heaven."

4. "He who acts filially towards his parents, his own children will also act filially towards him. If he is himself unfilial, how can he expect his children to be filial? The dutiful and obedient will have dutiful and obedient children—the rebellious and obstinate will have rebellious and obstinate children. If you do not believe, only look at the drop from the eaves, how it successively falls, and without error."

5. "He who does not value himself, will suffer disgrace. He who does not respect himself, invites misery. He who is not self-full, receives advantage. He who is not self-opinionated, will attain extensive learning."

6. "Contentment furnishes constant joy. Much covetousness, constant grief. To the contented, even poverty is joy. To the discontented, even wealth is a vexation.

The contented will always have a competence, and be their whole lives without disgrace. He who knows where to stop, and always stops there, will his whole life be without shame. Compared with those of your superiors, your circumstances may not be competent; compared with your inferiors, you possess superfluity."

7. "Sit in your secret chamber, as if passing through the public street. Take care of the inch-large heart, as if driving six horses."

8. "Man's temper is like water. Water overturned, cannot be gathered up again. The temper, let loose, cannot be again brought under restraint."

9. "The living man who does not learn, is dark, dark, like one walking in the night."

IO. "He who brings up a son, but neglects to instruct him, loves him not. He who instructs his son, but without due strictness, also loves him not.”

II.

Wisdom

A mirror displays the countenance. sheds light on the heart. If the mirror be bright, dust cannot stain it. If wisdom be clear, that which is evil and lascivious will not be produced."

12.

He who is without education in youth, will be without knowledge in old age."

13. "A good prince is generous to his people, without extravagance; employs them in labor, and they murmur not. He desires without covetousness; is dignified without pride; displays majesty without sternness."

14. "Young persons and servants ought not in any affair, whether small or great, to act of themselves; they ought always to ask of the elder branches of the family."

15. "Brothers are like hands and feet. A wife is like one's clothes. When clothes are worn out, we can sub

stitute those that are new. When hands and feet are cut off, it is difficult to obtain substitutes for them.”

16. "The benevolent man loves others. The polite man respects others. He who loves others, others will always love him. He who respects others, others will always respect him."

17. "He who is ready with promises, will rarely fulfill them. He who flatters one in his presence, will commonly be found to speak evil of him behind his back."

18. "The mouth is the door of human misery; and the tongue, the axe which exterminates the body."

19. "To hold intercourse with a good man, resembles the scent of the lánhwui flower. One man plants it, and all inhale the fragrance. To associate with a bad man, is like one climbing a wall with an infant in his If he slip his foot, both fall and suffer."

arms.

20. "There are four things in women which deserve praise a woman's virtue, her countenance, her words, her labors. A woman's virtue requires no extraordinary talent above that possessed by others. Her countenance requires not the exquisite charms of superlative beauty. Her words require not fluent lips or the talent of discussion. Her labors require not a higher degree of skill and dexterity, than that commonly possessed by others. Let her be chaste, innocent, sober, and economical; mind her duty; be neat; in walking and resting, preserve modesty; in her actions, observe a rule: these constitute female virtue. Let her wash and dust well; keep her clothes neat and clean; bathe at proper times; and preserve her person from filth: these constitute female beauty. Let her choose her words; avoid unbecoming conversation; speak at proper times; thus she