tioned him on the way, saying, "Master, you look like one who carries an air of dissatisfaction in his countenance. [But] formerly I heard you say that the superior man does not murmur against Heaven, nor cherish a grudge against men."

2. [Mencius] said, "That was one time, and this is another.

3. "It is a rule that a true sovereign should arise in the course of five hundred years, and that during that time there should be men illustrious in their generation.

4. "From the commencement of the Chow dynasty till now, more than seven hundred years have elapsed. Judging numerically, the date is passed. Considering the matter from the [character of the present] time, we might expect [a true king to arise].

5. "But Heaven does not yet wish that tranquillity and good order should prevail all under the sky. this, who is there besides me to bring it about? I be otherwise than dissatisfied?"

If it wished
How should

XIV. 1. When Mencius left Ts'e, he dwelt in Hew.

which he here attributes to his master used by Confucius of himself in Ana. XIV. xxxvii. 2.

Par. 3. "Five hundred years; "-this is speaking in round and loose numbers, even if we judge of the sentiment from the history of China prior to Mencius. "During that time" would seem to mean that, in addition to the true king, all along the centuries there would be men of distinguished ability and virtue; but Mencius is generally understood as referring to the men who should arise at the same time with the true sovereign, and assist him by their counsels.

Par. 4. Nearly 800 years must have elapsed from the rise of the Chow dynasty, when Mencius thus spoke. He seems for the time to have been oblivious of Confucius; but he was merely a sage, and had not the power to carry out his principles on a grand scale. What had been wanting in Lis time, and was wanting still, was a true king.

Par. 5. It cannot be said that Mencius had not a sufficiently high opinion of himself. Compare with this paragraph the sentiments of Confucius in Ana. IX. v.

CH. XIV. THE REASON OF MENCIUS' HOLDING MERELY AN HONORARY OFFICE IN TS'E, WITHOUT RECEIVING SALARY, WAS BECAUSE FROM THE FIRST HE HAD LITTLE CONFIDENCE IN THE KING, AND WISHED TO BE FREE IN HIS MOVEMENTS.

Par. 1. Hew was in the present district of T'ăng, in the department of Yen-chow. Kung-sun Ch'ow's inquiry, as appears from the style in the Chinese of Mencius' reply, was simply for information.

[There] Kung-sun Ch'ow asked him, "Was it the way of the ancients to hold office without receiving salary ?"

2. [Mencius] said, "No. When I first saw the king in Ts'ung, it was my intention, on retiring from the interview, to go away. Because I did not wish to change this intention, I would not receive [any salary].

3. "Immediately after, orders were issued for [the collection of] troops, when it would have been improper for me to beg [permission to leave]. [But] to remain long in Ts'e was not my purpose."

Par. 2. Ts'ung was the name of a city in Ts'e, the situation of which cannot now be more exactly determined. There Mencius first met with king Seuen, and received an unfavourable impression of him.

Par. 3. Perhaps "the collection of troops was connected with Tse's relations with Yen. See the conversation of king Seuen with Mencius in I. Pt II. xi.; at such a time Mencius could not well ask leave to quit the State. Another interpretation of the phrase has been proposed, making it refer to the proposal to retain him in Ts'e, which is mentioned in ch. x.; but this is quite unreasonable.

CHAPTER I. 1. When duke Wăn of T'ang was heir-son, being on a journey to Ts'oo he passed by [the capital of] Sung, and had an interview with Mencius.

2. Mencius discoursed to him how the nature of man is good, and, in speaking, made laudatory appeal to Yaou and Shun.

3. When the heir-son was returning from Ts'oo, he again saw Mencius, when the latter said to him, "Prince, do you doubt my words? The path is one, and only one.

The TITLE OF THE BOOK is taken from duke Wẵn of Tăng, who is prominent in the first three chapters of it. Wăn of course is the honorary or sacrificial title which he received after his death. We have already met with him in confidential intercourse with Mencius, in chapters xiii. to xv. of Book I. Part II., the date of which must be subsequent to that of the chapters in this Book. Chaou K'e compares the title of this Book with that of the 15th Book of the Analects.

CH. I. THAT ALL MEN BY DEVELOPING THEIR NATURAL GOODNESS MAY BECOME EQUAL TO THE ANCIENT SAGES. ADDRESSED BY MENCIUS TO THE HEIR-SON OF T'ANG.

Par. 1. "Heir-son," and "eldest son were applied indifferently to the eldest sons, or the declared successors, of the kings and feudal princes during the Chow dynasty. Since the Han dynasty, "heir-son" has been discontinued as a denomination of the eldest son of the emperor, the crown prince. Mencius at this time was in the State of Sung, and some have tried to fix the date of the chapter to B.C. 317. Ts'oo had so far extended its territories to the north, that it was there conterminous with Tăng; but as the Irince would be going to its capital it would not take him much out of his way to go through Sung. Possibly that route was the most convenient for him to take, though the language of the text would seem to be intended to give us the idea that he took it in order that he might see Mencius.

Par. 2. For the full exposition of Mencius' doctrine of the goodness of human nature, see Book VI.

Par. 3. We must suppose that Mencius had been told that the prince doubted the correctness of what he had said at their former interview; or it may be, the remark here preserved occurred in the course of a conversation, of the previous part of which we have no record. "The way is one and only one" probably means the way of human duty, the course to which Mencius felt that he ought to call all who wished to learn of him.

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Ch'ing Kan said to duke King of Ts'e, They were men, [and] I am a man ;-why should I stand in awe of them?' Yeu Yuen said, 'What kind of man was Shun? What kind of man am I? He who exerts himself will also become such as he was.' Kung-ming E said, 'King Wăn is my teacher and model;-how should the duke of Chow deceive me [by these words]?'

5. "Now Tăng, taking its length with its breadth, will amount to about fifty square le. [Though small,] it may still be made a good kingdom. It is said in the Book of History, 'If medicine do not distress the patient, it will not cure his sickness.””

II. 1. When duke Ting of Tăng died, the heir-son said to Jen Yew, "Formerly, Mencius spoke with me in Sung, and I have never forgotten his words. Now, alas! this great affair [of the death of my father] has happened, and I wish to send you, Sir, to ask Mencius, and then to proceed to the services [connected with it]."

2. Jen Yew [accordingly] proceeded to Tsow, and consulted Mencius. Mencius said, "Is not this good? The mourning rites for parents are what men feel constrained to do their utmost in. The philosopher Tsing said, 'When parents are alive, they should be served according to [the

Par. 4. Mencius here fortifies himself with the opinions of other worthies. Of Ch'ing Kan we know nothing but what we read here. Whom he intended by "they we cannot well say. Yen Yuen was the favourite disciple of Confucius. Kung-ming E was a great officer of Loo, a disciple, first, of Tsze-chang, and afterwards of Tsång-tsze. The remark about king Wan's being his model and teacher would seem to have been made by the duke of Chow.

Par. 5. "A good kingdom" is such an one as is described in ch. iii. For the quotation from the Book of History, see the Shoo, IV. viii. Pt I. 8. Mencius would seem to say that his lesson was all the more likely to be beneficial, because it had perplexed and disturbed the prince.

CH. II. HOW MENCIUS ADVISED THE PRINCE OF TĂNG TO CONDUCT THE MOURNING FOR HIS FATHER WITH EVERY DEMONSTRATION OF GRIEF. Par. 1. Duke Ting was the father of duke Wăn, the heir-son of last chapter. Ting was his honorary epithet. Jen Yew had been the prince's

tutor.

Par. 2. On children's feeling constrained to do their utmost in the mourning rites for their parents, -see Ana. XIX. xvii.

The remarks here attributed to Tsăng-tsze were at first addressed by Confucius to another disciple. Tsång may have appropriated them, so that

rules of] propriety; when dead, they should be buried, and they should be sacrificed to, according to the same :—this may be called filial piety.' I have not learned [for myself] the ceremonies to be observed by the feudal princes, but nevertheless I have heard these points :-Three years' mourning, with the wearing the garment of coarse cloth with its lower edge even, and the eating of thin congee, have been equally prescribed by the three dynasties, and are binding on all, from the son of Heaven to the common people."

3. Jen Yew reported the execution of his commission, and [the prince] determined that the three years' mourning should be observed. His uncles and elder cousins, and the body of the officers, did not wish it, and said, "The former rulers of Loo, the State which we honour, have, none of them, observed this mourning, nor have any of our own former rulers observed it. For you to change their practice is improper; and moreover, the History says, 'In mourning and sacrifice ancestors are to be followed,' meaning that we have received those things from a [proper] source.

4. [The prince again] said to Jen Yew, "Hitherto I have not given myself to the pursuit of learning, but have found my pleasure in driving my horses and in sword-exercise. Now my uncles and elder cousins and the body of officers

they came to be regarded as his own; or Mencius here makes a slip of memory. I suppose that Mencius means to say that he could not speak of the mourning rites of the princes from personal observation; but he could speak of the observances which were common to prince and peasant. "The three years' mourning,' -see Ana. XVII. xxi. "The garment of coarse cloth with the lower edge even was that appropriate to the mourning for a mother, and less intense than that used in mourning for a father, 'when the lower edge was all frayed, as if chopped with a hatchet. It would appear, however, that either of the phrases might be used to denote mourning of the deepest kind ;-see Ana. IX. ix.

Par. 3. The lords of Tång were descended from Shuh-sëw, one of the sons of king Wăn, but by an inferior wife, while the duke of Chow, the ancestor of Loo, was in the true royal line; and hence all the other States ruled by descendants of king Wan were supposed to look up to Loo. But we are not to suppose that the early princes of Loo and of Tăng had not observed the mourning for three years. The remonstrants were wrong in attributing to them the neglect of later rulers. What " History or Record" they refer to we cannot tell. The last clause of the paragraph is not by any means clear. Chaou K'e mentions a view of it, which I have felt strongly inclined to adopt :- [The prince] said, 'I have received my view from a [proper] source.'"

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Par. 4. In the quotations from Confucius, Mencius has blended different