Ching, who was then a minister of Chow, the prince of Ch'in.

4. "I have heard that the characters of ministers about court may be discerned from those whom they entertain, and those of stranger officers, from those with whom they lodge. If Confucius had lodged with the ulcer-doctor, and with the attendant Tseih Hwan, how could he have been Confucius?"

IX. 1. Wan Chang asked Mencius, "Some say that Pih-le He sold himself to a cattle-keeper of Ts'in, for the skins of five sheep, and fed his oxen, in order to find an introduction to the duke Muh of Ts'in ;—is this the case?" Mencius said, "No; it was not so. This story was invented by men fond of strange things.

2. "Pih-le He was a man of Yu. The people of Tsin, by the inducement of a gem of Chuy-keih, and four horses of the Keue breed, borrowed a passage through Yu to attack Kih. On that occasion, Kung Chi-k'e remonstrated against granting their request, and Pih-le He did not remonstrate.

3. "When he knew that the duke of Yu was not to be remonstrated with, and, leaving that State, went to Tsin, he had reached the age of seventy. If by that time he did not know that it would be a mean thing to seek an introduction to the duke Muh of Ts'in by feeding oxen, could he be called wise? But not remonstrating where it was of no use to remonstrate, could he be said not to be wise? Knowing that the duke of Yu would be ruined, and leaving him before that event, he cannot be said not to have been wise. Being then advanced in Ts'in, he knew that the duke of Muh was one with whom he would enjoy a field for action, and became minister to him ;-could he, acting thus, be said not to be wise? Having become chief minister of Ts'in, he made his prince distinguished throughout the empire, and worthy of being handed down to future

ages;-could he have done this, if he had not been a man of talents and virtue? As to selling himself in order to accomplish all the aims of his prince, even a villager who had a regard for himself would not do such a thing, and shall we say that a man of talents and virtue did it?"

BOOK V.

WAN CHANG. PART II.

CHAPTER I. 1. Mencius said, "Pih-e would not allow his eyes to look on a bad sight, nor his ears to listen to a bad sound. He would not serve a prince whom he did not approve, nor command a people whom he did not esteem. In a time of good government he took office, and on the occurrence of confusion he retired. He could not bear to dwell either in a court from which a lawless government emanated, or among lawless people. He considered his being in the same place with a villager, as if he were to sit amid mud and coals with his court robes and court cap. In the time of Chow he dwelt on the shores of the North sea, waiting the purification of the empire. Therefore when men now hear the character of Pih-e, the corrupt become pure, and the weak acquire determination.

2. "E Yin said, 'Whom may I not serve? My serving him makes him my sovereign. What people may I not command? My commanding them makes them

my people.' In a time of good government he took office, and when confusion prevailed, he also took office. He said, 'Heaven's plan in the production of mankind is this: that they who are first informed should instruct those who are later in being informed, and they who first apprehend principles should instruct those who are slower in doing so. I am the one of Heaven's people who has first apprehended;-I will take these principles and instruct the people in them.' He thought that among all the people of the empire, even the common men and women, if there were any who did not share in the enjoyment of such benefits as Yaou and Shun conferred, it was as if he himself pushed them into a ditch; for he took upon himself the heavy charge of the empire.

3. "Hwuy of Lew-hea was not ashamed to serve an impure prince, nor did he think it low to be an inferior officer. When advanced to employment, he did not conceal his virtue, but made it a point to carry out his principles. When dismissed and left without office, he yet did not murmur. When straightened by poverty, he yet did not grieve. When thrown into the company of village people, he was quite at ease and could not bear to leave them. He had a saying, 'You are you, and I am I. Although you stand by my side with breast and arms bare, or with your body naked, how can you defile me?' Therefore when men now hear the character of Hwuy of Lew-hea, the mean become generous, and the niggardly become liberal.

4. "When Confucius was leaving Ts'e, he strained off with his hand the water in which his rice was being rinsed, took the rice, and went away. When he left Loo, he said, 'I will set out by and by:'-it was right he should leave the country of his parents in this way. When it was proper to go away quickly, he did so; when it was proper to delay, he did so; when it

was proper to keep in retirement, he did so; when it was proper to go into office, he did so :-this was Confucius."

5. Mencius said, "Pih-e among the sages was the pure one; E Yin was the one most inclined to take of fice; Hwuy of Lew-hea was the accommodating one; and Confucius was the timeous one.

6. "In Confucius we have what is called a complete concert. A complete concert is when the large bell proclaims the commencement of the music, and the ringing stone proclaims its close. The metal sound commences the blended harmony of all the instruments, and the winding up with the stone terminates that blended harmony. The commencing that harmony is the work of wisdom. The terminating it is the work of sageness.

7. "As a comparison for wisdom, we may liken it to skill, and as a comparison for sageness, we may liken it to strength;-as in the case of shooting at a mark a hundred paces distant. That you reach it is owing to your strength, but that you hit the mark is not owing to your strength."

II. 1. Pih-kung E asked Mencius, saying, "What was the arrangement of dignities and emoluments determined by the house of Chow?"

2. Mencius replied, "The particulars of that arrangement cannot be learned, for the princes, disliking them as injurious to themselves, have all made away with the records of them. Still I have learned the general outline of them.

3. "The EMPEROR constituted one dignity; the KUNG one; the How one; the PIH one; and the TSZE and the NAN each one of equal rank:-altogether making five degrees of dignity. The SOVEREIGN again constituted one dignity; the CHIEF MINISTER one; the GREAT OFFICERS one; the SCHOLARS OF THE FIRST CLASS one; THOSE OF THE

MIDDLE CLASS one; and THOSE OF THE LOWEST CLASS one :altogether making six degrees of dignity.

4. "To the emperor there was allotted a territory of a thousand le square. A Kung and a How had each a hundred le square. A Pih had seventy le, and a Tsze and a Nan had each fifty le. The assignments altogether were of four amounts. Where the territory did not amount to fifty le, the chief could not have access himself to the emperor. His land was attached to some How-ship, and was called a FOO-YUNG.

5. "The chief ministers of the emperor received an amount of territory equal to that of a How; a great officer received as much as a Pih; and a scholar of the first class as much as a Tsze or a Nan.

6. "In a great State, where the territory was a hundred le square, the sovereign had ten times as much income as the chief ministers; a chief minister four times as much as a great officer; a great officer twice as much as scholar of the first class; a scholar of the first class twice as much as one of the middle; a scholar of the middle class twice as much as one of the lowest; the scholars of the lowest class, and such of the common people as were employed about the government offices, had the same emolument ;-as much, namely as was equal to what they would have made by tilling the fields.

7. "In a State of the next order, where the territory was seventy le square, the sovereign had ten times as much revenue as the chief minister; a chief minister three times as much as a great officer; a great officer twice as much as a scholar of the first class; a scholar of the first class twice as much as one of the middle; a scholar of the middle class twice as much as one of the lowest; the scholars of the lowest class, and such of the common people as were employed about the government offices, had the same emolument;-as much,