man's advancement is effected, it may be, by others, and the stopping him is, it may be, from the efforts of others. But to advance a man or to stop his advance is really beyond the power of other men. My not find. ing in the prince of Loo a ruler who would confide in me, and put my counsels into practice, is from Heaven. How could that scion of the Tsang family cause me not to find the ruler that would suit me?"

BOOK II.

KUNG-SUN CHOW. PART I.

CHAPTER I. 1. Kung-sun Chow asked Mencius, saying, "Master, if you were to obtain the ordering of the government in Ts'e, could you promise yourself to accomplish anew such results as those realized by Kwan Chung and Gan?"

2. Mencius said, "You are indeed a true man of Tse. You know about Kwan Chung and Gan, and nothing

more.

3. "Some one asked Tsang Se, saying, 'Sir, to which do you give the superiority,-to yourself or to Tszeloo?' Tsang Se looked uneasy, and said, 'He was an object of veneration to my grandfather.' 'Then,' pursued the other, 'Do you give the superiority to yourself or to Kwan Chung?' Tsang Se, flushed with anger and displeased, said, 'How dare you compare me with Kwan Chung? Considering how entirely Kwan Chung possessed the confidence of his prince, how long he en

joyed the direction of the government of the kingdom, and how low, after all, was what he accomplished,-how is it that you liken me to him?'

4. "Thus," concluded Mencius, "Tsang Se would not play Kwan Chung, and is it what you desire for me, that I should do so?"

5. Kung-sun Chow said, "Kwan Chung raised his prince to be the leader of all the other princes, and Gan made his prince illustrious, and do you still think it would not be enough for you to do what they did?"

6. Mencius answered, "To raise Ts'e to the Imperial dignity would be as easy as it is to turn round the hand." 7. "So!" returned the other. "The perplexity of your disciple is hereby very much increased. There was king Wan, with all the virtue which belonged to him; and who did not die till he had reached a hundred years: -and still his influence had not penetrated throughout the empire. It required king Woo and the duke of Chow to continue his course, before that influence greatly prevailed. Now you say that the Imperial dignity might be so easily obtained:-is king Wan then not a sufficient object for imitation?"

8. Mencius said, "How can king Wan be matched? From Tang to Woo-ting there had appeared six or seven worthy and sage sovereigns. The empire had been attached to Yin for a long time, and this length of time made a change difficult. Woo-ting had all the princes coming to his court, and possessed the empire as if it had been a thing which he moved round in his palm. Then, Chow was removed from Woo-ting by no great interval of time. There were still remaining some of the ancient families and of the old manners, of the influence also which had emanated from the earlier sovereigns, and of their good government. Moreover, there were the viscount of Wei and his second son, their Royal Highnesses, Pe-kan and the viscount of Ke, and Kaou

kih, all, men of ability and virtue, who gave their joint assistance to Chow in his government. In consequence of these things, it took a long time for him to lose the empire. There was not a foot of ground which he did not possess. There was not one of all the people who was not his subject. So it was on his side, and king Wan made his beginning from a territory of only one hundred square le. On all these accounts, it was diffi-. cult for him immediately to attain the Imperial dignity.

9. "The people of Ts'e have a saying-‘A man may have wisdom and discernment, but that is not like embracing the favourable opportunity. A man may have instruments of husbandry, but that is not like waiting for the farming seasons.' The present time is one in which the Imperial dignity may be easily attained.

10. "In the flourishing periods of the Hea, Yin, and Chow dynasties, the imperial domain did not exceed a thousand le, and Ts'e embraces so much territory. Cocks crow and dogs bark to each other, all the way to the four borders of the state-so Ts'e possesses the people. No change is needed for the enlarging of its territory: no change is needed for the collecting of a population. If its ruler will put in practice a benevolent government, no power will be able to prevent his becoming Emperor.

11. “Moreover, never was there a time farther removed than the present from the appearance of a true sovereign: never was there a time when the sufferings of the people from tyrannical government were more intense than the present. The hungry are easily supplied with food, and the thirsty are easily supplied with drink.

12. "Confucius said, 'The flowing progress of virtue is more rapid than the transmission of imperial orders by stages and couriers.'

13. "At the present time, in a country of ten thou

sand chariots, let benevolent government be put in practice, and the people will be delighted with it, as if they were relieved from hanging by the heels. With half the merit of the ancients, double their achievements is sure to be realized. It is only at this time that such could be the case."

II. 1. Kung-sun Ch'ow asked Mencius, saying, "Master, if you were to be appointed a high noble and the prime minister of Tse, so as to be able to carry your principles into practice, though you should thereupon raise the prince to the headship of all the other princes, or even to the Imperial dignity, it would not be to be wondered at.-In such a position would your mind be perturbed or not?" Mencius replied, "No. At forty, I attained to an unperturbed mind."

2. Ch'ow said, "Since it is so with you, my Master, you are far beyond Mang Pun.” "The mere attainment," said Mencius "is not difficult. The scholar Kaou had attained to an unperturbed mind, at an earlier period of life than I did."

3. Ch'ow asked, Is there any way to an unperturbed mind?" The answer was, "Yes.

4. "Pih-kung Yew had this way of nourishing his valour :-He did not flinch from any strokes at his body. He did not turn his eyes aside from any thrusts at them. He considered that the slighest push from any one was the same as if he were beaten before the crowds in the market-place, and that what he would not receive from a common man in his loose large garments of hair, neither should he receive from a prince of ten thousand chariots. He viewed stabbing a prince of ten thousand chariots just as stabbing a fellow dressed in cloth of hair. He feared not any of all the princes. A bad word addressed to him he always returned.

5. "Mang She-shay had this way of nourishing his valour :—He said, 'I look upon not conquering and con

quering in the same way. To measure the enemy and then advance; to calculate the chances of victory and then engage:—this is to stand in awe of the opposing force. How can I make certain of conquering? I can only rise superior to all fear.'

6. "Mang She-shay resembled the philosopher Tsang Pih-kung Yew resembled Tsze-hea. I do not know to the valour of which of the two the superiority should be ascribed, but yet Mang She-shay attended to what was of the greater importance.

7. "Formerly, the philosopher Tsang said to Tszeseang, 'Do you love valour? I heard an account of great valour from the Master. It speaks thus :—' If, on self-examination, I find that I am not upright, shall I not be in fear even of a poor man in his loose garments of hair cloth? If, on self-examination, I find that I am upright, I will go forward against thousands and tens of thousands.'

8. Yet, what Mang She-shay maintained, being his merely physical energy, was after all inferior to what the philosopher Tsang maintained, which was indeed of the most importance."

9. Kung-sun Ch'ow said, "May I venture to ask an explanation from you, Master, of how you maintain an unperturbed mind, and how the Philosopher Kaou does the same?" Mencius answered, "Kaou says,—' What is not attained in words is not to be sought for in the mind; what produces dissatisfaction in the mind, is not to be helped by passion-effort.' This last,--when there is unrest in the mind, not to seek for relief from passioneffort, may be conceded. But not to seek in the mind for what is not attained in words cannot be conceded. The will is the leader of the passion-nature. The pas sion-nature pervades and animates the body. The will is first and chief, and the passion-nature is subordinate to it. Therefore I say,--Maintain firm the will, and do no violence to the passion-nature.