One thread does not make a rope; a swallow does not make a summer. Domestic foibles must not be exposed. A faithful subject dies without fear, and a virtuous woman meets danger with delight. Between husband and wife there must be all affection; between friends all fidelity. Consider the past and you will know the future. Though the sword be sharp, it will not wound the in nocent. Sensual indulgence is the greatest evil; filial obedience is the highest good. Great effects require great efforts. Not only beauty but talents may infatuate a person. Great humility secures great honor. That which soars not high is not hurt by a fall. When wealth is not rightly obtained, misfortune is sure to follow. While the two contend a third secures the gain. A day of sorrow is longer than a month of joy. The whole world presents no continual feast; no earthly pleasure is permanent. No distance can separate what heaven unites, or unite what heaven separates. The prisoner dreams of freedom; the thirsty of springs of water. It is only the naked who fear the light. A flower is not in bloom a hundred days, nor a man in his prime a thousand. He who is not grateful is unworthy of being called a man. It is not wine that makes a drunkard, the man intoxicates himself. He who shakes the bush rouses the serpent. If the escort proceed a thousand miles, a separation must at length occur. A strife may be properly ended, but not properly begun. If what we see is doubtful, how can we believe what is spoken behind the back. Do not show your cash when you go to the market. Obedience is better than respect. True gold does not fear the fire. Every man to his taste. Wine will both finish and furnish business. Wine discovers the sentiments of the heart. The full moon does not last, and the bright cloud soon vanishes. It is man who is bad, not the law. Happy is he who fights with himself; wretched who contends with others. Night comes alike to the young who wake, and to the old who sleep; both old and young are exposed to death. Blessings come not in pairs; calamities occur not single. MORAL APHORISMS, BY THE DOCTOR HU TSIN-YANG.* If an upright heart be not maintained, interment in a lucky place avails nothing. Without filial duty to parents, sacrifice to the gods avails nothing. If there be discord between brethren, harmony among friends avails nothing. With a disorderly life, pursuit of letters avails nothing. With a proud temper cherished, universal knowledge avails nothing. If folly guides in the transaction of affairs, perspicacity of intellect avails nothing. If the natural constitution be not attended to, to swallow medicine avails nothing. If fate be unpropitious, wild endeavors (to gain the desired end) will avail nothing. With the substance of others unjustly possessed, almsgiving avails nothing. If lustful desires be entertained, piety and devotion avail nothing. * Transactions of Chinese Branch of Royal Asiatic Society, Part III, 1851-2. ANCIENT CHINESE POETRY. THE HARMONIOUS WATER BIRDS.* The harmonious voices of the sacred water-birds This excellent damsel, retiring and mild, When waking and sleeping, our prince was seeking. While seeking, but not having found, His troubled thoughts waking and sleeping exclaimed, How long! Oh how long! He turns him around on his bed, and turns back, He turns him all around and returns, The Hang plant's stalks' uneven stems Are swaying to and fro. He gathers them now; * Ode first, of the Book of three hundred Odes; Chinese Repository, Vol. XVI. This excellent damsel, retiring and mild, With lutes and guitars he welcomes her home. The Hang plant's stalks' uneven stems Are swaying to and fro, they are fit for offering now . This excellent damsel, retiring and mild, With music of bells and of drums, come welcome her home VERSES FROM THE TAI YA. The following verses are extracted from a collection of odes written under the first emperors of the Cheú dynasty. During the time of Lé wáng, B.C. 850, the affairs of the State were in disorder, and a poet uttered the following complaints: Against that wild and hostile gale, The panting traveler's strength must fail. Willingly would the people bring Good words of wisdom to their king; But ah! they are compelled to say, The time to act is far away. It would be better for us now, To seek the fields, and delve, and plough; Resign state service, and instead Toil with the people for our bread. To labor in the fields all day, It is a heavy price to pay; But it were better not to grieve, And earn by toil wherewith to live. *From the "Transactions of the China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society," 1853, Part IV, page 55. |