to hold your napkin and comb, and to arrange your coverlet and mat, for eleven years. Yet I have not neglected to send men all about to Leang and Ching, to search for beautiful ladies to present to you as companions. There are ten of the same rank as myself, and two who are more worthy than I. It was not that I did not wish to monopolize your favour; but I did not dare with a selfish desire to keep other beauties in the background, and I wished that you should have many of them about you and be happy. Now Shin has been chief minister of Ts'oo for several years, and I have not yet heard of his advancing any man of worth, or dismissing any of a different character;-how should he be regarded as loyal and worthy ?' Next morning the king related her words to the chief minister, who immediately left his place, and brought forward Sun Shuh-gaou. Shuh-gaou had the administration of Ts'oo for only three years, when that State obtained the presidency of all the others. The historiographer of it took his pencil, and wrote on his tablets that the presidency of Ts'oo was due to Fan Ke. The words of the ode (I. iv. X. 4), 'The hundred plans you think of Are not equal to the course which I take,' might have been used of Fan Ke. 6. Măng Shang-kënn asked to become a pupil of Min-tsze, and sent a carriage to meet [and bring him to his house]. Min-tsze, however, said, 'In the Le, men are required to come to learn (Le Ke, I. i.12). If one get a teacher to go and teach him, he will not be able to learn. According to the Le, if I go to teach you, I shall not be able to influence you. You may say that, [if I do not go], you cannot learn; but I say that, [if I do go], I cannot teach with effect. Upon this Măng Shangkeun said, 'I respectfully receive your orders.' Next day he went without his robes and begged to receive instruction. The ode (IV. i. [iii.] III.) says: 'Let there be daily progress and monthly advance.' 7. Although a sword be sharp, without [the frequent use of] the grindstone, it will not cut; though a man's natural abilities be excellent, without learning, he will 也姬日妾得於王尙湯沐執巾振衽席十有一年 然妾未嘗不遣人之梁鄭之間,求美人而進之於主 也與妾同列者十人賢於妾者二人,豈不欲擅 寵哉不敢私願薇衆美欲王之多見則娛今沈合 楚數年未嘗見進賢而退不得也,又焉得為忠賢乎, 莊王旦朝以樊姬之言告沈尹令尹避席而進孫叔 敖叔敖治楚三年而楚國霸楚史筆而書之於策日 楚之霸樊姬之力也詩曰百爾所思不如我所之樊 姬之謂也 孟嘗君請學於閔子使車往迎閔子閔子曰禮有來 學往教致師而學不能禮往教則不能化君也君所 謂不能學者也臣所謂不能化者也,於是孟嘗君曰敬 命矣明日衣請受業詩日日就月將 7. 劍雖利不厲不斷材雖美不學不高雖有酒嘉 not rise high. The spirits may be good and the viands admirable, but, till you taste them, you do not know their flavour; principles may be good, but until you have learned them, you do not know their value. Hence it is by learning that a man knows his deficiencies, and by teaching that he knows his want of thoroughness. Let him be ashamed of his deficiencies and exert himself; let him use all helps to enlarge his knowledge till he is thorough in it. Looking at the thing in this way, we see that teaching and learning help, one the other, to distinction. Tsze-hëa having asked about one of the odes, when he was told one thing, he knew a second fron it, on which Confucius said, 'It is Shang who can bring out my meaning. Now I can begin to talk about the odes with him (Ana. III. viii.).' Confucius distinguished that heroic disciple, and his sagely virtue was complete. The scholar enjoys the light of the master and his virtue is displayed. The ode says: 'Let there be daily progress and monthly advance.' 8. Confucius was looking about in the ancestral temple of Chow, when he came upon a vessel [which was hanging] unevenly [in a frame]. He asked the keeper of the temple what it was, and was told that it was the vessel of the festive board. ‘I have heard,' said he, 'that this vessel topples over when full, hangs unevenly when empty, and is perfectly straight when half full; is it so ?? 'It is so,' replied the keeper; and Confucius then made Tsze-loo bring water to try it. When filled, it toppled over; when half-filled, it hung straight; when emptied, it fell to one side. Confucius looked surprised, and sighed. 'Ah!' said he, 'when was there anything or anyone full that did not topple over?' Tsze-loo asked whether there was any way to deal with such fulness, and Confucius said, 'The way to deal with fulness is to repress and diminish it.’ ‘And is there any way to diminish it ?? asked the other. Confucius said, 'When one's virtue is superabundant, let it be kept with reverence; when one's lands are extensive, let them be kept with economy; when one's place is honourable and his emoluments large, let them be kept with humility; when one's men are numerous and his weapons strong, let them be kept with apprehension; when one's natural abilities are extraordinarily great, let them be kept with stupidity; when one's acquirements are extensive and his memory great, let them be kept 殽 嘗不知其雖有善道不學不達其功故學然 後知不足教然後知不究不足故自愧而勉不究故 盡師而熟由此觀 教學相長也子夏問詩學 二,孔子日起子者也始可與言詩已矣孔子賢 乎英傑而聖德弟子被光景而德彰詩日日就月 將 8. 孔子觀於周廟有欹器焉孔子問於守廟者曰此 謂何器也對曰此蓋爲有座之器孔子曰間有座器 覆虛則敍中則正有之乎對曰然孔子使子路取 滿則覆中則正虛則欹孔子喟然而日嗚呼, 滿而 者哉子路日,敢問持滿有道乎孔子曰 之道抑而損之子路日損之有道乎孔子曰德 著守之以恭土地廣大者守之以儉祿位尊盛 者守之以卑人衆兵强者守之以畏聰明睿智者守之 行 with shallowness. This is what I mean by repressing and diminishing fulness. The ode (IV. iii. III. 3) says: 'T'ang was not slow to descend, And his wisdom and virtue daily advanced.' 9. Köeh made a lake of spirits in which he could sail a boat, while the dregs of the grain formed a mound from which one could see to a distance of ten le, and there were 3,000 men who came and drank like so many oxen. Kwan Lung-fung came to remonstrate with him, saying, 'The ancient sovereigns trod the paths of propriety and righteousness, loved the people and used their wealth with economy; and so the kingdom was tranquil, and they themselves were long-lived. Now you use your wealth as if it were inexhaustible, and you put men to death as if you could not do it fast enough;-if you do not change, the judgment of Heaven is sure to descend, and your ruin must [shortly] arrive. I pray your Majesty to change. With this he stood up, and did not offer the usual homage. Keeh threw him into prison, and then put him to death. When superior men heard of it, they said that it was the decree of Heaven. The ode (II. v. IV. 1) says: 'The terrors of Heaven are very excessive; But indeed I have committed no offence.' 10. The four seasons under the sky, spring, summer, autumn, and winter, wind, rain, hoarfrost, and dew, all convey lessons of instruction. Where there is clear intelligence in the person, the influence and will are like those of a Spirit. When what is desirable is about to come, the indications of it are sure to precede; [as when] heaven is sending down seasonable rain, the hills and streams send forth clouds. The ode (III. iii. V. 1) says: 'Grandly lofty are the mountains, With their large masses reaching to the heavens. From these mountains was sent down a Spirit, Who gave birth to the princes of Foo and Shin. Foo and Shin, Are the support of Chow, Screens to all the States, Diffusing [their influence] over the four quarters of the kingdom.' 以患博聞強記者守之以淺夫是之謂抑而損之詩 日 降不遲聖敬日躋 高酒池可以運舟糟丘足以望十里,而牛飲者 逢進諫日古之人君身行禮義民節財故 身壽今君用財若無窮殺人若恐弗勝君若弗 殃必降而誅必至矣君其革之立而不及朝桀囚 殺之君子聞之曰天之命矣詩曰昊天大憮子慎 無辜 10. 天下四時,春夏秋冬風雨霖露無非教也清明在 躬氣志如神嗜欲將至有開必先天降時雨山川出雲 詩曰嵩高維峻極于天維嶽降神生甫及申維申 及甫維周之翰四國于藩四方于宣此文武之德也 This was the virtue of Wăn and Woo. The elevation of the kings who founded the three dynasties was preceded by their excellent fame. The ode (III. iii. VIII, 6) says: 'Very intelligent is the son of Heaven; He shall display his civil virtues, Till they permeate all quarters of the kingdom.' This was the virtue of king T'ae. 11. King Seuen of Ts'e said to Tëen Kwo, I have heard that the learned enjoin mourning for a parent three years;-which is most important, the ruler or a parent? Kwo replied, 'The ruler, I apprehend, is not so important as a parent ?’‘How then,' asked the king angrily, 'does a man leave his parents to serve his ruler?' ‘If it were not for the ruler's land,' was the reply, he would have nowhere to place his parents; nor without the ruler's pay could he support them; nor without his rank could he honour and distinguish them. All that is received from the ruler is that it may be devoted to our parents' The king looked disquieted, and gave no reply. The ode (II. i. II. 3) says: (The king's business was not to be slackly performed, And I had not leisure to nourish my father." 12. Formerly, when Tsze-han, the minister of Works, was acting as premier in Sung, he said to his ruler, 'The security or danger of a State, and the order or disorder of the people, depend on the doings of the ruler. Now rank, emolument, rewards, and gifts, are what all men love; do you take the management of them. Executions and punishments are what the people hate; let me undertake them.' 'Good,' said the king; 'I shall receive the praise of the one department, and you will incur the odium of the other. I know that I shall not be laughed at by the other princes.' But when it was known in the State that the power of death and punishment was entirely in the hands of Tsze-han, the great officers paid their court to him, and the people stood in awe of him. Before a round year had expired, Tsze-han proceeded to put away his ruler, and monopolize the whole of the government. Therefore 三代之王也必先其命名詩曰明明天子合聞不已矢 其文德洽此四國此大王之德也. The whole of this passage is also found in the Le Ke, XXIX., 8, 9. 11. 齊宣王謂田過日吾聞儒者親喪三年君與孰重 過對日殆不如重王忿然曰曷為士去親而事君對 日非君之土地無以處吾親非君之祿無以養吾親非 君之爵無以尊吾親受之於君致之於親凡事君以 為親也宣王悒然無以應之詩日王事,不遑將必 12. 昔者司城子相宋謂朱君曰夫國家之安危百姓 治亂在君之行夫爵祿賞賜舉人之所好也君自行 殺 戮刑罰民之所惡也臣請當之君曰善寡人當 美 子受其惡寡人自知不為諸侯笑矣國人知殺戮 刑專在子罕也大臣親之百姓畏之居不期年子 之之其之 Laou-tsze said, 'Fish ought not to be taken from the deep; the sharp instruments of a State should not be given to any one.' The ode (II. iv. IX. 5) says: 'Why do you call us to action, Without coming and consulting with us ?' 13. [A part of] mount Lëang having fallen down, the marquis of Tsin summoned the great officer Pih-tsung [to court]. On his way he met a man pushing a barrow along, who insisted on keeping the road fronting his inside horses. Pih-tsung made the spearman on his right get down to use his whip to the man, who said, 'Is it not a long journey on which you are hurrying? Is it right for you to proceed without knowing the business?' Pih-tsung with joy asked him where he was from; and when the man said he was from Keang, he further asked him what news he had. ‘Mount Lëang has fallen, and the course of the Ho is stopped up. For three days its stream has not flowed; and it is on this account that you have been summoned.' 'What is to be done?' asked the officer, and the man replied, 'The hill is Heaven's, and Heaven has made it fall; the Ho is Heaven's, and Heaven has stopt its flow ;what can Pih-tsung do in the case ?' Pih-tsung then privately questioned him, and he said, ‘Let the marquis lead forth all his officers; let them weep over the calamity in mourning garments; and thereafter let him offer a sacrifice, and the river will resume its flow.' The man then declined to tell his surname and name; and when Pih-tsung arrived at the court, and the marquis asked hin [what was to be done], he replied in the man's words. On this the marquis in mourning robes led forth all his officers to weep over the calamity, and then offered a sacrifice, whereupon the river resumed its flow. When the marquis asked Pih-tsung how he knew what was to be done, he did not tell that he had learned it from the man with the barrow, but pretended that he knew it of himself. When Confucius heard of the affair, he said, ‘Pih-tsung, we may believe, will have no posterity, stealing in such a way the credit that was due to another man.' The ode (III. iii. III. 7) says: 'Heaven is sending down death and disorder, And has put an end to our king.' Another ode (IV. [i.] VII.] says :-- 'Revere the majesty of Heaven, And thus preserve its favour.' 罕遂去宋君而專其政故老子曰魚不可脫於淵國之 利器不可以示人詩日胡為我作不卽我謀-Han must have taken the words of the ode here in some peculiar meaning of his own; but I cannot make any translation out of them to suit his illustrative story. 13. 梁山崩晉君召大夫伯宗道輦者,以其輦服據 道伯宗使右下欲鞭之輦者曰君趨道豈不遠矣不知 事而行可乎伯宗喜其居日释人也伯宗日子 有聞乎日,梁山崩壅河顧三日不流是以召子伯 之何日天有山天崩之天有河天壅之伯宗將 之何伯宗私問之曰君其率羣臣素服而哭之既 祠焉河斯流伯宗問其姓名弗告伯宗到君間 宗以其言對於是君素服率羣臣而哭之既而嗣焉河 斯流矣君問伯宗何以知之伯宗不言受輦者詐 |