24. Ch'ow said, "Then, did they have any points of agreement with him?" The reply was,-"Yes. If they had been sovereigns over a hundred le of territory, they would, all of them, have brought all the princes to attend in their court, and have obtained the empire. And none of them, in order to obtain the empire, would have committed one act of unrighteousness, or put to death one innocent person. In those things they agreed with him,"

25. Ch'ow said, "I venture to ask wherein he differed from them." Mencius replied, "Tsae Go, Tsze-kung, and Yew Jo had wisdom sufficient to know the sage. Even had they been ranking themselves low, they would not have demeaned themselves to flatter their favourite. 26. "Now, Tsae Go said, 'According to my view of our Master, he is far superior to Yaou and Shun.'

27. "Tsze-kung said, 'By viewing the ceremonial ordinances of a prince, we know the character of his government. By hearing his music, we know the character of his virtue. From the distance of a hundred ages after, I can arrange, according to their merits, the kings of a hundred ages;-not one of them can escape me. From the birth of mankind till now, there has never been another like our Master.'

28. Yew Jo said, 'Is it only among men that it is so? There is the K'e-lin among quadrupeds; the Funghwang among birds, the Tae mountain among mounds and ant-hills, and rivers and seas among rain-pools. Though different in degree, they are the same in kind. So the sages among mankind are also the same in kind. But they stand out from their fellows, and rise above the level, and from the birth of mankind till now, there never has been one so complete as Confucius."

III. 1. Mencius said, "He who, using force, makes a pretence to benevolence, is the leader of the princes. A leader of the princes requires a large kingdom. He

who, using virtue, practises benevolence-is the sovereign of the empire. To become the sovereign of the empire, a prince need not wait for a large kingdom. T'ang did it with only seventy le, and king Wan with only a hundred.

2. When one by force subdues men, they do not submit to him in heart. They submit, because their strength is not adequate to resist. When one subdues men by virtue, in their hearts' core they are pleased, and sincerely submit, as was the case with the seventy disciples in their submission to Confucius. What is said in the

Book of Poetry,

From the west, from the east,
From the south, from the north,

There was not one who thought of refusing sub-
mission,'

is an illustration of this."

IV. 1. Mencius said, "Benevolence brings glory to a prince, and the opposite of it brings disgrace. For the princes of the present day to hate disgrace and yet live complacently doing what is not benevolent, is like hating moisture and yet living in a low situation.

2. "If a prince hates disgrace, the best course for him to pursue, is to esteem virtue and honour virtuous scholars, giving the worthiest among them places of dignity, and the able offices of trust. When throughout his kingdom there is leisure and rest from external troubles, taking advantage of such a season, let him clearly digest the principles of his government with its legal sanctions, and then even great kingdoms will be constrained to stand in awe of him.

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

'Before the heavens were dark with rain,

I gathered the bark from the roots of the mulberry trees,

And wove it closely to form the window and door of my nest;

Now, I thought, ye people below,

Perhaps ye will not dare to insult me.'

Confucius said, Did not he who made this ode understand the way of governing?' If a prince is able rightly to govern his kingdom, who will dare to insult him?

4. "But now the princes take advantage of the time when throughout their kingdoms there is leisure and rest from external troubles, to abandon themselves to pleasure and indolent indifference;-they in fact seek for calamities for themselves.

5. "Calamity and happiness in all cases are men's own seeking.

6. "This is illustrated by what is said in the Book of Poetry,

Be always studious to be in harmony with the
ordinances of God,

So you
will certainly get for yourself much hap-
piness ;'

and by the passage of the Tafe Kea,- When Heaven sends down calamities, it is still possible to escape from them; when we occasion the calamities ourselves, it is not possible any longer to live.'"

V. Mencius said, “If a ruler give honour to men of talents and virtue and employ the able, so that offices shall all be filled by individuals of distinction and mark; -then all the scholars of the empire will be pleased, and wish to stand in his court.

2. "If, in the market-place of his capital, he levy a ground rent on the shops but do not tax the goods, or enforce the proper regulations without levying a ground rent; then all the traders of the empire will be pleased, and wish to store their goods in his market-place.

3. "If, at his frontier-passes, there be an inspection of persons, but no taxes charged on goods or other articles, then all the travellers of the empire will be pleased, and wish to make their tours on his roads.

4. "If he require that the husbandmen give their

mutual aid to cultivate the public field, and exact no other taxes from them;-then all the husbandmen of the empire will be pleased, and wish to plough in his fields.

5. "If from the occupiers of the shops in his marketplace he do not exact the fine of the individual idler, or of the hamlet's quota of cloth, then all the people of the empire will be pleased, and wish to come and be his people.

6. "If a ruler can truly practise these five things, then the people in the neighbouring kingdoms will look up to him as a parent. From the first birth of mankind till now, never has any one led children to attack their parent, and succeeded in his design. Thus, such a ruler will not have an enemy in all the empire, and he who has no enemy in the empire is the minister of Heaven. Never has there been a ruler in such a case who did not attain to the imperial dignity."

VI. 1. Mencius said, "All men have a mind which cannot bear to see the sufferings of others.

2. "The ancient kings had this commiserating mind, and they, as a matter of course, had likewise a commiserating government. When with a commiserating mind was practised a commiserating government, the government of the empire was as easy a matter as the making anything go round in the palm.

3. "When I say that all men have a mind which cannot bear to see the sufferings of others, my meaning may be illustrated thus:-even now-a-days, if men suddenly see a child about to fall into a well, they will without exception experience a feeling of alarm and distress. They will feel so, not as a ground on which they may gain the favour of the child's parents, nor as a ground on which they may seek the praise of their neighbours and friends, nor from a dislike to the reputation of having been unmoved by such a thing.

4. "From this case we may perceive that the feeling of commiseration is essential to man, that the feeling of shame and dislike is essential to man, that the feeling of modesty and complaisance is essential to man, and that the feeling of approving and disapproving is essential to man.

5. "The feeling of commiseration is the principle of benevolence. The feeling of shame and dislike is the principle of righteousness. The feeling of modesty and complaisance is the principle of propriety. The feeling of approving and disapproving is the principle of knowledge.

6. "Men have these four principles just as they have their four limbs. When men, having these four principles, yet say of themselves that they cannot develope them, they play the thief with themselves, and he who says of his prince that he cannot develope them, plays the thief with his prince.

7. "Since all men have these four principles in themselves, let them know to give them all their development and completion, and the issue will be like that of fire which has begun to burn, or that of a spring which has begun to find vent. Let them have their complete development, and they will suffice to love and protect all within the four seas. Let them be denied that development, and they will not suffice for a man to serve his parents with."

VII. 1. Mencius said, "Is the arrow-maker less benevolent than the maker of armour of defence? And yet, the arrow-maker's only fear is lest men should not be hurt, and the armour-maker's only fear is lest men should be hurt. So it is with the priest and the coffinmaker. The choice of a profession, therefore, is a thing in which great caution is required.

2. "Confucius said, 'It is virtuous manners which constitute the excellence of a neighbourhood. If a man,