天節

下謂

之之

謂之中發而皆中

天下之大本也和

喜故見懼慎道須

君乎乎乎也更 子隱其其是離

樂慎莫所所故也 不

之其顯

未 乎聞賭子離

和者 中發也。微莫恐戒非

2. The path may not be left for an instant. If it could be left, it would not be the path. On this account, the superior man does not wait till he sees things, to be cautious, nor till he hears things, to be apprehensive.

3. There is nothing more visible than what is secret, and nothing more manifest than what is minute. Therefore the superior man is watchful over himself, when he is alone.

4. While there are no stirrings of pleasure, anger, sorrow.orjoy, the mind may be said to be in the state of EQUILIBRIUM. When those feelings have been stirred, and they act in their due degree, there ensues what may be called the state of HARMONY. This EQUILIBRIUM is the great root from which grow all the human actings in the world, and this HARMONY is the universal path which they all should pursue.

law to himself. But as he is prone to deviate, ought not to be understood from the path in which, according to his nature, passively, where he is not seen,' (where he is he should go, wise and good men-sages-have not heard.' They are so understood by Ying-tă, appeared, to explain and regulate this, helping and the, ch. vi., is much in favour, by its analogy, of such an interpretation.

all by their instructions to walk in it.

Par. 2. The path indicated by the nature may

never be left, and the superior man- 體道之

du, he who would embody all principles of right to trany-exercises a most sedulous care that he the exact . thereto. 須臾 is a name for a difference of time, of which there are 30 in mentators, and the phrase is commonly used Ch'ing K'ang-shing sn instant.' Kung Ying-tă

be left,

Pur. 3. Choo He says that 隱 is a dark place;' that means ‘small matters ;' and that is the place which other men do not know, and is known only to one's-self." There would thus hardly be here any advance from the last par. It seems to me that the se crecy must be in the recesses of one's own heart, and the minute things, the springs of thought

以其記中和之 what may and stirrings of purpose there. The full deve

is named 中庸, because it red

admissible.,lopment of what is intended here is probably to

of the non-deviating mind andn, away from.’

be found in all the subsequent passages about

Ho takes 庸, in the sense of 用 literally, 誠, or sincerity. See 西河合集中

to employ, which is the first given to ifvhat he

dict., and is found in the Shoo-king, I. p. 9."

ain re

tbe

to the meaning of 中, and 和, see ch. i. p. an This appears to have been the accepted meaning

庸說, in loe.

Par. 4. (This,' says Choo He, ' speaks of the virtue of the nature and passions, to illustrate the meaning of the statement that the path may not be left. It is difficult to translate the par,

欲學者於此反求諸身

終言聖神功化之極蓋

離次言存養省察之要

其實體備於已而不可

太原出於天而不可

之意以立言首明道之

身蓋

述育也

道所焉致

易之傳

5. Let the states of equilibrium and harmony exist in perfection, and a happy order will prevail throughout heaven and earth, and all

things will be nourished and flourish.

In the first chapter which is given above, Tsze-sze states the views which had been handed down to him, as the basis of his discourse. First, it shows clearly how the path of duty is to be traced to its origin in Heaven, and is unchangeable, while the substance of it is provided in ourselves, and may not be departed from. Next, it speaks of the importance of preserving and nourishing this, and. of exercising a watchful self-scrutiny with reference to it. Finally, it speaks of the meritorious achievements and transforming influence of sage and spiritual men in their highest extent. The wish of Tsze-sze was that hereby the learner should direct his thoughts inwards, and by searching in himself, there find these

because it is difficult to understand it.

is different from 之謂 in p. 1. That defines ;

this describes. What is described in the first

clause, seems to be 性 ‘the nature,' capable of all feelings, but unacted on, and in equilibrium. Par. 5. On this Intorcetta and his colleagues observe:-'Quis non videt eo dumtaxat collimasse philosophum, ut hominis naturam, quam ab origine sua rectam, sed deinde lapsam et depravatam passim Sinenses docent, ad primavum innocentiæ statum reducere? Atque ita reliquas res creatas, homini jam rebelles, et in ejusdem ruinam armatas, ad pristinum obsequium veluti revocaret. Hoc f. I. s. I. libri Ta Heo, hoc item hic et alibi non semel indicat. Etsi autem nesciret philosophus nos a prima felicitate

propter peccatum primi parentis excidisse, tamen et tot rerum quæ adversantur et infestæ sunt homini, et ipsius naturæ humanæ ad deteriora tam pronæ, lengo usu et contemplatione didicisse videtur, non posse hoc universum, quod homo vitiatus quodam modo vitiarat, connaturali suæ integritati et ordini restitui, nisi prius ipse homo per victoriam sui ipsius, eam, quam amiserat, integritatem et ordinem recuperaret.' I fancied something of the same kind, before reading their note. Acc. to Choo He, the par. describes the work and influence of sage and spiritual men in their highest issues. The subject is developed in the 4th part of the work, in very extravagant and mystical language. The study of it will modify very much our assent to the views in the above passage. There is in this whole chapter a mixture of sense and

小子反關

小人而無忌憚也

中仲之引是楊之而

庸。尼義 也氏私
子其

也之

仲尼日君子中

中庸庸 庸也 小

也,君人

之下謂

+

章篇

而

自

之私而充其本然之善 自得之以去夫外誘

章思要善誘

truths, so that he might put aside all outward temptations appeal ing to his selfishness, and fill up the measure of the goodness which is natural to him. This chapter is what the writer Yang called it," “ The sum of the whole work." In the ten chapters which follow, Tsze-sze quotes the words of the Master to complete the meaning of this.

CHAPTER II. 1. Chung-ne said, "The superior man embodies the course of the Mean; the mean man acts contrary to the course of the Mean.

2. “The superior man's embodying the course of the Mean is because he is a superior man, and so always maintains the Mean. The mean man's acting contrary to the course of the Mean is because he is a mean man, and has no caution.”

acc. to | substance and the abstract,'=the sum.

mysticism, of what may be grasped, and what | both of him and his brother, E. 體要, the tantalizes and eludes the mind.位 Choo He=安其位,‘will rest in positions.' K'ang-shing explained it by

their

E,

--will be rectified.' 'Heaven and Earth' are here the parent powers of the universe. Thus Ying-tă expounds :- Heaven and Earth will get their correct place, and the processes of production and completion will go on according to their principles, so that all things will be nourished and fostered.'

2. ONLY THE SUPERIOR MAN CAN FOLLOW THE MEAN; THE MEAN IS ALWAYS VIOLATING IT.

1. Why Confucius should here be quoted by his designation, or marriage name, is a moot-point. It is said by some that disciples might in this way refer to their teacher, and a grandson to probable on the strength of this instance, and his grandfather, but such a rule is constituted that in ch. xxx. Others say that it is the honorary designation of the sage, and the

CONCLUDING NOTE. The writer Yang, quoted, which duke Gae used in reference to here, was a distinguished scholar and author in Confucius, in eulogizing him after his death. the reign of 英宗 A. D.1064-1085. He See the Le-ke, II. Pt. I. iii. 43. Some verb was a disciple of Ching Haou, and a friend must be understood between #and #

味不肯之道過

之我

矣

乎子

食 不 賢不愚知 1.民
及 著明者之道鮮中

鮮也過也不

能人之我及知不久

知莫不知也

能庸

行

至

CHAPTER III. The Master said, "Perfect is the virtue which is the according to the Mean! Rare have they long been among people, who could practise it!”

CHAPTER IV. 1. The Master said, "I know how it is that the path of the Mean is not walked in:-The knowing go beyond it, and the stupid do not come up to it. I know how it is that the path of the Mean is not understood:-The men of talents and virtue go beyond it, and the worthless do not come up to it.

2. “There is no body but eats and drinks. But they are few who can distinguish flavours."

曲 with

庸, and I have supposed it to be 體

most of the paraphrasts. Nearly all seem to be agreed that 中庸 here is the same as 中 和, in the last chapter. On the change of terms, Choo He quotes from the scholar Yew to the effect that is said with

the nature and feelings in view, and 中庸, with reference to virtue and conduct. 2. 君 子而時中, is explained by Choo:

'Because he has the virtue of a superior man, and moreover is able always to manage the chung. But I rather think that the keun-tsze

here is specially to be referred to the same as

described in i. 2, and 中=正中.

Wang Suh, the famons scholar of the Wei (魏) dynasty, in the 1st part of the 3d cent., quotes 人之中庸, with 反 before 中, of which Choo He approves. If be not introduced into the text, it must certainly be understood.

4. How IT WAS THAT FEW WERE ABLE TO

PRACTISE THE MEAN. 1. 道 may be referred to the in the first chapter; immediately

following in the last, I translate it here 'the path of the Mean: 知者 and 賢 者

are not to be understood as meaning the

truly wise and the truly worthy, but only those who in the degenerate times of Confucius deemed themselves to be such. The former thought the course of the Mean not worth their study,

and the latter thought it not sufficiently ex

alted for their practice. 背,‘as,' ‘like.' 不

忌憚is the opposite of 戒慎恐懼 in 尙 following 賢, indicates individuals of a diff.

i. 2.--This, and the ten chapters which follow, all quote the words of Confucius with reference to the, to explain the meaning of the

character, not equal to them. 2. We have here not a comparison, but an illustra., which may help to an understanding of the former par., though it does not seem very apt. People don't

CHAPTER V. The Master said, “Alas! How is the path of the Mean untrodden!"

CHAPTER VI. The Master said, "There was Shun:-He indeed was greatly wise! Shun loved to question others, and to study their words, though they might be shallow. He concealed what was bad in them, and displayed what was good. He took hold of their two extremes, determined the Mean, and employed it in his government of the people. It was by this that he was Shun!”

CHAPTER VII. The Master said, "Men all say, 'We are wise;' but being driven forward and taken in a net, a trap, or a pitfall, they know not how to escape. Men all say, 'We are wise;' but happening to choose the course of the Mean, they are not able to keep it for a round month."

know the true flavour of what they eat and drink, but they need not go beyond that to learn it. So, the Mean belongs to all the actions of ordinary life, and might be discerned and

He makes them-'the widest differences in the opinions which he received.' I conceive the meaning to be that he examined the answers which he got, in their entirety, from beginning

practised in them, without looking for it in ex- to end. Comp 相其兩端, Ana. IX. vii.

traordinary things.

5. Choo He says: From not being understood, therefore it is not practised.' Acc. to Kang-shing, the remark is a lament that there was no intelligent sovereign to teach the path. But the two views are reconcileable.

6. How SHUN PURSUED THE COURSE OF THE MEAN. This example of Shun, it seems to me, is adduced in opposition to the knowing of ch. iv. Shun, tho' a sage, invited the opinions of all

men, and found truth of the highest value in their simplest sayings, and was able to deter mine from them the course of the Mean.

His concealing what was bad, and displaying
what was good, was alike to encourage people
to speak freely to him. K'ang-shing makes the
last sentence to turn on the meaning of
= Full, all-accomplished; but Shun was so
when applied as an honorary epithet of the dead,
named when he was alive.

7. THEIR CONTRARY CONDUCT SHOWS MEN'S IGNORANCE OF THE COURSE AND NATURE OF THE

MEAN. The first

with a general reference,

is to be understood

We are wise,' i. e

we can very well take care of ourselves. Yet

其兩端,‘the two extremes' are under- the presumption of such a profession is seen in

stood by K'ang-shing of the two errors of ex

ceeding and coming short of the Mean. Choo

men's not being able to take care of themselves.

The applica. of this illustration is then made to