low silks, saying-From henceforth we shall serve the sovereign of our dynasty of Chow, that we may be made happy by him.' So they joined themselves, as subjects, to the great city of Chow. Thus, the men of station of Shang took baskets full of black and yellow silks to meet the men of station of Chow, and the lower classes of the one met those of the other, with baskets of rice and vessels of congee. Woo saved the people from the midst of fire and water, seizing only their oppressors, and destroying them."

6. "In the Great Declaration it is said, 'My power shall be put forth, and invading the territories of Shang, I will seize the oppressor. I will put him to death to punish him—so shall the greatness of my work appear, more glorious than that of T'ang.'

7. "Sung is not, as you say, practising true royal government, and so forth. If it were practising royal government, all within the four seas would be lifting up their heads, and looking for its prince, wishing to have him for their sovereign. Great as Ts'e and Ts'oo are, what would there be to fear from them?"

VI. 1. Mencius said to Tae Puh-shing, "I see that you are desiring your king to be virtuous, and I will plainly tell you how he may be made so. Suppose that there is a great officer of Ts'oo here, who wishes his son to learn the speech of Ts'e. Will he in that case employ a man of Ts'e as his tutor, or a man of Ts'oo?" "He will employ a man of Ts'e to teach him," said Puhshing. Mencius went on, "If but one man of Tse be teaching him, and there be a multitude of men of Ts'oo continually shouting out about him, although his father beat him every day, wishing him to learn the speech of Ts'e, it will be impossible for him to do so. But in the same way, if he were to be taken and placed for several years in Chwang or Yoh, though his father should beat him, wishing him to speak the language of Tsoo, it would be impossible for him to do so.

2. "You supposed that See Keu-chow was a scholar of virtue, and you have got him placed in attendance on the king. Suppose that all in attendance on the king, old and young, high and low, were See Keu-chows, whom would the king have to do evil with? And suppose that all in attendance on the king, old and young, high and low, are not See Keu-chows, whom will the king have to do good with? What can one See Keuchow do alone for the king of Sung?"

VII. 1. Kung-sun Chow asked Mencius, saying, "What is the point of righteousness involved in your not going to see the princes?" Mencius replied, Among the ancients, if one had not been a minister in a State, he did not go to see the sovereign.

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2. "Twan Kan-muh leaped over his wall to avoid the prince. See Lew shut his door, and would not admit the prince. These two, however, carried their scrupulosity to excess. When a prince is urgent, it is not improper to see him.

3. "Yang Ho wished to get Confucius to go to see him, but disliked doing so by any want of propriety. As it is the rule, therefore, that when a great officer sends a gift to a scholar, if the latter be not at home to receive it, he must go to the officer's to pay his respects, Yang Ho watched when Confucius was out, and sent him a roasted pig. Confucius, in his turn, watched when Ho was out, and went to pay his respects to him. At that time, Yang Ho had taken the initiative;—how could Confucius decline going to see him?

4. "The philosopher Tsang said, 'They who shrug up their shoulders, and laugh in a flattering way, toil harder than the summer labourer in the fields.' Tszeloo said, 'There are those who talk with people with whom they have no great community of feeling. If you look at their countenances, they are full of blushes. I do not desire to know such persons.' By considering

these remarks, the spirit which the superior man nourishes 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 appropriates 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?"

IX. 1. The disciple Kung-too said to Mencius, "Master, 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.

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. On this, 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 Autumn 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