these remarks, the spirit which the superior man nour ishes may be known."

VIII. 1. Tae Ying-che said to Mencius, "I am not able at present and immediately to do with the levying of a tithe only, and abolishing the duties charged at the passes and in the markets. With your leave I will lighten, however, both the tax and the duties, until next year, and will then make an end of them. What do you think of such a course?"

2. Mencius said, "Here is a man, who every day ap propriates some of his neighbour's strayed fowls. Some one says to him, 'Such is not the way of a good man;' and he replies, With your leave I will diminish my appropriations, and will take only one fowl a month, until next year, when I will make an end of the practice.

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3. "If you know that the thing is unrighteous, then use all dispatch in putting an end to it: why wait till next year?

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IX. 1. The disciple Kung-too said to Mencius, "Mas ter, the people beyond our school all speak of you as being fond of disputing. I venture to ask whether it be so." Mencius replied, "Indeed, I am not fond of disputing, but I am compelled to do it.

2. "A long time has elapsed since this world of men received its being, and there has been along its history now a period of good order, and now a period of confusion.

3. In the time of Yaou, the waters, flowing out of their channels, inundated the Middle kingdom. Snakes and dragons occupied it, and the people had no place where they could settle themselves. In the low grounds they made nests for themselves, and in the high grounds they made caves. It is said in the Book of History,

'The waters in their wild course warned me.' Those 'waters in their wild course' were the waters of the great inundation.

On this,

4. "Shun employed Yu to reduce the waters to order. Yu dug open their obstructed channels, and conducted them to the sea. He drove away the snakes and dragons, and forced them into the grassy marshes. the waters pursued their course through the country, even the waters of the Keang, the Hwae, the Ho, and the Han, and the dangers and obstructions which they had occasioned were removed. The birds and beasts which had injured the people also disappeared, and after this men found the plains available for them, and occupied them.

5. "After the death of Yaou and Shun, the principles that mark sages fell into decay. Oppressive sovereigns arose one after another, who pulled down houses to make ponds and lakes, so that the people knew not where they could rest in quiet, and threw fields out of cultivation to form gardens and parks, so that the people could not get clothes and food. Afterwards, corrupt speakings and oppressive deeds became more rife; gardens and parks, ponds and lakes, thickets and marshes, became more numerous, and birds and beasts swarmed. By the time of Chow, the empire was again in a state of great confusion.

6. "Chow-kung assisted king Woo, and destroyed Chow. He smote Yen, and after three years put its sovereign to death. He drove Fei-leen to a corner by the sea, and slew him. The States which he extinguished amounted to fifty. He drove far away also the tigers, leopards, rhinoceroses, and elephants;—and the empire was greatly delighted. It is said in the Book of History, Great and splendid were the plans of king Wan! Greatly were they carried out by the energy of king Woo! They are for the assistance and instruction of us who are of an after day. They are all in principle correct, and deficient in nothing.'

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7. "Again the world fell into decay, and principles

faded away. Perverse speakings and oppressive deeds waxed rife again. There were instances of ministers who murdered their sovereigns, and of sons who murdered their fathers.

8. "Confucius was afraid, and made the 'Spring and Autumn.' What the 'Spring and Autumn' contains are matters proper to the emperor. On this account Confucius said, 'Yes! It is the Spring and Autunn which will make men know me, and it is the Spring and Autumn which will make men condemn me.'

9. "Once more, sage emperors cease to arise, and the princes of the States give the reins to their lusts. Unemployed scholars indulge in unreasonable discussions. The words of Yang Choo and Mih Teih fill the empire. If you listen to people's discourses throughout it, you will find that they have adopted the views either of Yang or of Mih. Now, Yang's principle is- each one for himself,' which does not acknowledge the claims of the sovereign. Mih's principle is—to love all equally,' which does not acknowledge the peculiar affection due to a father. But to acknowledge neither king nor father is to be in the state of a beast. Kung-ming E said, 'In their kitchens, there is fat meat. In their stables, there are fat horses. But their people have the look of hunger, and on the wilds there are those who have died of famine. This is leading on beasts to devour men.' If the principles of Yang and Mih are not stopped, and the principles of Confucius not set forth, then those perverse speakings will delude the people, and stop up the path of benevolence and righteousness. When benevolence and righteousness are stopped up, beasts will be led on to devour men, and men will devour one another.

10. "I am alarmed by these things, and address myself to the defence of the doctrines of the former sages and to oppose Yang and Mih. I drive away their li

centious expressions, so that such perverse speakers may not be able to show themselves. Their delusions spring up in men's minds, and do injury to their practice of affairs. Shown in their practice of affairs, they are pernicious to their government. When sages shall rise up again, they will not change my words.

11. "In former times, Yu repressed the vast waters of the inundation, and the empire was reduced to order. Chow-kung's achievements extended even to the barbarous tribes of the west and north, and he drove away all ferocious animals, and the people enjoyed repose. Confucius completed the 'Spring and Autumn,' and rebellious ministers and villainous sons were struck with terror.

12. "It is said in the Book of Poetry,

'He smote the barbarians of the west and north;
He punished King and Seu;

And no one dared to resist us.'

These father-deniers and king-deniers would have been smitten by Chow-kung.

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13. "I also wish to rectify men's hearts, and to put an end to those perverse doctrines, to oppose their onesided actions and banish away their licentious expressions;—and thus to carry on the work of the three sages. Do I do so because I am fond of disputing? I am compelled to do it.

14. "Whoever is able to oppose Yang and Mih is a disciple of the sages."

X. 1. K'wang Chang said to Mencius, "Is not Ch'an Chung a man of true self-denying purity? He was living in Woo-ling, and for three days was without food, till he could neither hear nor see. Over a well there grew a plum tree, the fruit of which had been more than half-eaten by worms. He crawled to it, and tried to eat some of the fruit, when, after swallowing three mouthfuls, he recovered his sight and hearing.”

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2. Mencius replied, "Among the scholars of Ts'e, 1 must regard Chung as the thumb among the fingers. But still, where is the self-denying purity he pretends to? To carry out the principles which he holds, one must become an earth-worm, for so only can it be done.

3. "Now, an earthworm eats the dry mould above, and drinks the yellow spring below. Was the house in which Chung dwells built by a Pih-e? or was it built by a robber like Chih? Was the millet which he eats planted by a Pih-e? or was it planted by a robber like Chih? These are things which cannot be known."

4. "But," said Chang, "what does that matter? He himself weaves sandals of hemp, and his wife twists hempen threads, to barter them."

5. Mencius rejoined, "Chung belongs to an ancient and noble family of Ts'e. His elder brother Tae received from Ko a revenue of 10,000 chung, but he considered his brother's emolument to be unrighteous, and would not eat of it, and in the same way he considered his brother's house to be unrighteous, and would not dwell in it. Avoiding his brother and leaving his mother, he went and dwelt in Woo-ling. One day afterwards, he returned to their house, when it happened that some one sent his brother a present of a live goose. He, knitting his eye-brows, said, 'What are you going to use that cackling thing for?' By-and-by his mother killed the goose, and gave him some of it to eat. Just then his brother came into the house, and said, 'It's the flesh of that cackling thing,' upon which he went out and vomited it.

6. “Thus, what his mother gave him he would not eat, but what his wife gives him he eats. He will not dwell in his brother's house, but he dwells in Woo-ling. How can he in such circumstances complete the style of life which he professes? With such principles as Chung holds, a man must be an earth-worm, and then he can carry them out."