Book IV, Part I: Li Lau
Chapter I.
There is an art of government, as well as a wish to govern well, to be learned from the example and principles of the ancient kings, and which requires to be studied and practised by rulers and their ministers.
1. Mencius said, 'The power of vision of Lî Lâu, and skill of hand of Kung-shû, without the compass and square, could not form squares and circles. The acute ear of the music-master K'wang, without the pitch-tubes, could not determine correctly the five notes. The principles of Yâo and Shun, without a benevolent government, could not secure the tranquil order of the kingdom.
2. 'There are now princes who have benevolent hearts and a reputation for benevolence, while yet the people do not receive any benefits from them, nor will they leave any example to future ages;-- all because they do not put into practice the ways of the ancient kings.
3. 'Hence we have the saying:-- "Virtue alone is not sufficient for the exercise of government; laws alone cannot carry themselves into practice."
4. It is said in the Book of Poetry,
"Without transgression, without forgetfulness, Following the ancient statutes."
Never has any one fallen into error, who followed the laws of the ancient kings.
5. 'When the sages had used the vigour of their eyes, they called in to their aid the compass, the square, the level, and the line, to make things square, round, level, and straight:-- the use of the instruments is inexhaustible. When they had used their power of hearing to the utmost, they called in the pitch-tubes to their aid to determine the five notes:-- the use of those tubes is inexhaustible. When they had exerted to the utmost the thoughts of their hearts, they called in to their aid a government that could not endure to witness the sufferings of men:-- and their benevolence overspread the kingdom.
6. 'Hence we have the saying:-- "To raise a thing high, we must begin from the top of a mound or a hill; to dig to a great depth, we must commence in the low ground of a stream or a marsh." Can he be pronounced wise, who, in the exercise of government, does not proceed according to the ways of the former kings?
7. 'Therefore only the benevolent ought to be in high stations. When a man destitute of benevolence is in a high station, he thereby disseminates his wickedness among all below him.
8. 'When the prince has no principles by which he examines his administration, and his ministers have no laws by which they keep themselves in the discharge of their duties, then in the court obedience is not paid to principle, and in the office obedience is not paid to rule. Superiors violate the laws of righteousness, and inferiors violate the penal laws. It is only by a fortunate chance that a State in such a case is preserved.
9. 'Therefore it is said, "It is not the exterior and interior walls being incomplete, and the supply of weapons offensive and defensive not being large, which constitutes the calamity of a kingdom. It is not the cultivable area not being extended, and stores and wealth not being accumulated, which occasions the ruin of a State." When superiors do not observe the rules of propriety, and inferiors do not learn, then seditious people spring up, and that State will perish in no time.
10. 'It is said in the Book of Poetry,
"When such an overthrow of Châu is being produced by Heaven, Be not ye so much at your ease!"
11. '" At your ease;"-- that is, dilatory.
12. 'And so dilatory may those officers be deemed, who serve their prince without righteousness, who take office and retire from it without regard to propriety, and who in their words disown the ways of the ancient kings.
13. 'Therefore it is said, "To urge one's sovereign to difficult achievements may be called showing respect for him. To set before him what is good and repress his perversities may be called showing reverence for him. He who does not do these things, saying to himself,-- My sovereign is incompetent to this, may be said to play the thief with him."'
Chapter II.
A continuation of the last chapter;-- that Yâo and Shun are the perfect models of sovereigns and ministers, and the consequences of not imitating them.
1. Mencius said, 'The compass and square produce perfect circles and squares. By the sages, the human relations are perfectly exhibited.
2. 'He who as a sovereign would perfectly discharge the duties of a sovereign, and he who as a minister would perfectly discharge the duties of a minister, have only to imitate-- the one Yâo, and the other Shun. He who does not serve his sovereign as Shun served Yâo, does not respect his sovereign; and he who does not rule his people as Yâo ruled his, injures his people.
3. 'Confucius said, "There are but two courses, which can be pursued, that of virtue and its opposite."
4. 'A ruler who carries the oppression of his people to the highest pitch, will himself be slain, and his kingdom will perish. If one stop short of the highest pitch, his life will notwithstanding be in danger, and his kingdom will be weakened. He will be styled "The Dark," or "The Cruel," and though he may have filial sons and affectionate grandsons, they will not be able in a hundred generations to change the designation.
5. 'This is what is intended in the words of the Book of Poetry,
"The beacon of Yin is not remote, It is in the time of the (last) sovereign of Hsiâ."'
Chapter III.
The importance to all, and specifically to rulers, of exercizing benevolence.
1. Mencius said, 'It was by benevolence that the three dynasties gained the throne, and by not being benevolent that they lost it.
2. 'It is by the same means that the decaying and flourishing, the preservation and perishing, of States are determined.
3. 'If the sovereign be not benevolent, be cannot preserve the throne from passing from him. If the Head of a State be not benevolent, he cannot preserve his rule. If a high noble or great officer be not benevolent, he cannot preserve his ancestral temple. If a scholar or common man be not benevolent, be cannot preserve his four limbs.
4. 'Now they hate death and ruin, and yet delight in being not benevolent;-- this is like hating to be drunk, and yet being strong to drink wine!
Chapter IV.
With what measure a man metes it will be measured to him again, and consequently before a man deals with others, expecting them to be affected by him, he should first deal with himself.
1. Mencius said, 'If a man love others, and no responsive attachment is shown to him, let him turn inwards and examine his own benevolence. If he is trying to rule others, and his government is unsuccessful, let him turn inwards and examine his wisdom. If he treats others politely, and they do not return his politeness, let him turn inwards and examine his own feeling of respect.
2. 'When we do not, by what we do, realise what we desire, we must turn inwards, and examine ourselves in every point. When a man's person is correct, the whole kingdom will turn to him with recognition and submission.
3. 'It is said in the Book of Poetry,
"Be always studious to be in harmony with the ordinances of God, And you will obtain much happiness."'
Chapter V.
Personal character is necessary to all good influence.
Mencius said, 'People have this common saying,-- "The kingdom, the State, the family." The root of the kingdom is in the State. The root of the State is in the family. The root of the family is in the person of its Head.'
Chapter VI.
The importance to a ruler of securing the esteem and submission of the great houses.
Mencius said, 'The administration of government is not difficult;-- it lies in not offending the great families. He whom the great families affect, will be affected by the whole State; and he whom any one State affects, will be affected by the whole kingdom. When this is the case, such an one's virtue and teachings will spread over all within the four seas like the rush of water.'
Chapter VII.
How the subjection of one State to another is determined at different times. A prince's only security for safety and prosperity is in being benevolent.
1. Mencius said, 'When right government prevails in the kingdom, princes of little virtue are submissive to those of great, and those of little worth to those of great. When bad government prevails in the kingdom, princes of small power are submissive to those of great, and the weak to the strong. Both these cases are the rule of Heaven. They who accord with Heaven are preserved, and they who rebel against Heaven perish.
2. 'The duke Ching of Ch'î said, "Not to be able to command others, and at the same time to refuse to receive their commands, is to cut one's self off from all intercourse with others." His tears flowed forth while he gave his daughter to be married to the prince of Wû.
3. 'Now the small States imitate the large, and yet are ashamed to receive their commands. This is like a scholar's being ashamed to receive the commands of his master.
4. 'For a plince who is ashamed of this, the best plan is to imitate king Wan. Let one imitate king Wan, and in five years, if his State be large, or in seven years, if it be small, he will be sure to give laws to the kingdom.
5. 'It is said in the Book of Poetry,
"The descendants of the sovereigns of the Shang dynasty, Are in number more than hundreds of thousands, But, God having passed His decree, They are all submissive to Châu. They are submissive to Châu, Because the decree of Heaven is not unchanging. The officers of Yin, admirable and alert, Pour out the libations, and assist in the capital of Châu."
Confucius said, "As against so benevolent a sovereign, they could not be deemed a multitude." Thus, if the prince of a state love benevolence, he will have no opponent in all the kingdom.
6. 'Now they wish to have no opponent in all the kingdom, but they do not seek to attain this by being benevolent. This is like a man laying hold of a heated substance, and not having first dipped it in water. It is said in the Book of Poetry,
"Who can take up a heated substance, Without first dipping it (in water)?"'
Chapter VIII.
That a prince is the agent of his own ruin by his vicious ways and refusing to be counselled.
1. Mencius said, 'How is it possible to speak with those princes who are not benevolent ? Their perils they count safety, their calamities they count profitable, and they have pleasure in the things by which they perish. If it were possible to talk with them who so violate benevolence, how could we have such destruction of States and ruin of Families?
2. 'There was a boy singing,
"When the water of the Ts'ang-lang is clear, It does to wash the strings of my cap; When the water of the Ts'ang-lang is muddy, It does to wash my feet."
3. 'Confucius said, "Hear what he sings, my children. When clear, then he will wash his cap-strings; and when muddy, he will wash his feet with it. This different application is brought by the water on itself."
4. 'A man must first despise himself, and then others will despise him. A family must first destroy itself, and then others will destroy it. A State must first smite itself, and then others will smite it.
5. 'This is illustrated in the passage of the T'âi Chiâ, "When Heaven sends down calamities, it is still possible to escape them. When we occasion the calamities ourselves, it is not possible any longer to live."'
Chapter IX.
Only by being benevolent can a prince raise himself to be sovereign, or even avoid ruin.
1. Mencius said, 'Chieh and Châu's losing the throne, arose from their losing the people, and to lose the people means to lose their hearts. There is a way to get the kingdom:-- get the people, and the kingdom is got. There is a way to get the people:-- get their hearts, and the people are got. There is a way to get their hearts:-- it is simply to collect for them what they like, and not to lay on them what they dislike.
2. 'The people turn to a benevolent rule as water flows downwards, and as wild beasts fly to the wilderness.
3. 'Accordingly, as the otter aids the deep waters, driving the fish into them, and the hawk aids the thickets, driving the little birds to them, so Chieh and Châu aided T'ang and Wû, driving the people to them.
4. 'If among the present rulers of the kingdom, there were one who loved benevolence, all the other princes would aid him, by driving the people to him. Although he wished not to become sovereign, he could not avoid becoming so.
5. 'The case of one of the present princes wishing to become sovereign is like the having to seek for mugwort three years old, to cure a seven years' sickness. If it have not been kept in store, the patient may all his life not get it. If the princes do not set their wills on benevolence, all their days will be in sorrow and disgrace, and they will be involved in death and ruin.
6. 'This is illustrated by what is said in the Book of Poetry,
"How otherwise can you improve the kingdom? You will only with it go to ruin."'
Chapter X.
A warning to the violently evil, and the weakly evil.
1. Mencius said, 'With those who do violence to themselves, it is impossible to speak. With those who throw themselves away, it is impossible to do anything. To disown in his conversation propriety and righteousness, is what we mean by doing violence to one's self. To say-- "I am not able to dwell in benevolence or pursue the path of righteousness," is what we mean by throwing one's self away.
2. 'Benevolence is the tranquil habitation of man, and righteousness is his straight path.
3. 'Alas for them, who leave the tranquil dwelling empty and do not reside in it, and who abandon the right path and do not pursue it?'
Chapter XI.
The tranquil prosperity of the kingdom depends on the discharge of the common relations of life.
Mencius said, 'The path of duty lies in what is near, and men seek for it in what is remote. The work of duty lies in what is easy, and men seek for it in what is difficult. If each man would love his parents and show the due respect to his elders, the whole land would enjoy tranquillity.'
Chapter XII.
The great work of men should be to strive to attain perfect sincerity.
1. Mencius said, 'When those occupying inferior situations do not obtain the confidence of the sovereign, they cannot succeed in governing the people. There is a way to obtain the confidence of the sovereign:-- if one is not trusted by his friends, he will not obtain the confidence of his sovereign. There is a way of being trusted by one's friends:-- if one do not serve his parents so as to make them pleased, he will not be trusted by his friends. There is a way to make one's parents pleased:-- if one, on turning his thoughts inwards, finds a want of sincerity, he will not give pleasure to his parents. There is a way to the attainment of sincerity in one's self:-- if a man do not understand what is good, he will not attain sincerity in himself.
2. 'Therefore, sincerity is the way of Heaven. To think how to be sincere is the way of man.
3. Never has there been one possessed of complete sincerity, who did not move others. Never has there been one who had not sincerity who was able to move others.'
Chapter XIII.
The influence of government like that of king Wan.
1. Mencius said, 'Po-Î, that he might avoid Châ'u, was dwelling on the coast of the northern sea. When he heard of the rise of king Wan, he roused himself, and said, "Why should I not go and follow him? I have heard that the chief of the West knows well how to nourish the old." T'âi-kung, that he might avoid Châu, was dwelling on the coast of the eastern sea. When he heard of the rise of king Wan, he roused himself, and said, "Why should I not go and follow him? I have heard that the chief of the West knows well how to nourish the old."
2. 'Those two old men were the greatest old men of the kingdom. When they came to follow king Wan, it was the fathers of the kingdom coming to follow him. When the fathers of the kingdom joined him, how could the sons go to any other?
3. 'Were any of the princes to practise the government of king Wan, within seven years he would be sure to be giving laws to the kingdom.'
Chapter XIV.
Against the ministers of his time, who pursued their warlike and other schemes, regardless of the happiness of the people.
1. Mencius said, 'Ch'iû acted as chief officer to the head of the Chî family, whose evil ways he was unable to change, while he exacted from the people double the grain formerly paid. Confucius said, "He is no disciple of mine. Little children, beat the drum and assail him."
2. 'Looking at the subject from this case, we perceive that when a prince was not practising benevolent government, all his ministers who enriched him were rejected by Confucius:-- how much more would he have rejected those who are vehement to fight for their prince! When contentions about territory are the ground on which they fight, they slaughter men till the fields are filled with them. When some struggle for a city is the ground on which they fight, they slaughter men till the city is filled with them. This is what is called "leading on the land to devour human flesh." Death is not enough for such a crime.
3. 'Therefore, those who are skilful to fight should suffer the highest punishment. Next to them should be punished those who unite some princes in leagues against others; and next to them, those who take in grassy commons, imposing the cultivation of the ground on the people.'
Chapter XV.
The pupil of the eye the index of the heart.
1. Mencius said, 'Of all the parts of a man's body there is none more excellent than the pupil of the eye. The pupil cannot be used to hide a man's wickedness. If within the breast all be correct, the pupil is bright. If within the breast all be not correct, the pupil is dull.
2. 'Listen to a man's words and look at the pupil of his eye. How can a man conceal his character?'
Chapter XVI.
Deeds, not words or manners, necessary to prove mental qualities.
Mencius said, 'The respectful do not despise others. The economical do not plunder others. The prince who treats men with despite and plunders them, is only afraid that they may not prove obedient to him:-- how can he be regarded as respectful or economical? How can respectfulness and economy be made out of tones of the voice, and a smiling manner?'
Chapter XVII.
Help-- effectual help-- can be given to the world only in harmony with right and propriety.
1. Shun-yü K'wan said, 'Is it the rule that males and females shall not allow their hands to touch in giving or receiving anything?' Mencius replied, 'It is the rule.' K'wan asked, 'If a man's sister-in-law be drowning, shall he rescue her with his hand?' Mencius said, 'He who would not so rescue the drowning woman is a wolf. For males and females not to allow their hands to touch in giving and receiving is the general rule; when a sister-in-law is drowning, to rescue her with the hand is a peculiar exigency.'
2. K'wan said, 'The whole kingdom is drowning. How strange it is that you will not rescue it!'
3. Mencius answered, 'A drowning kingdom must be rescued with right principles, as a drowning sister-in-law has to be rescued with the hand. Do you wish me to rescue the kingdom with my hand?'
Chapter XVIII.
How a father may not himself teach his son.
1. Kung-sun Ch'âu said, 'Why is it that the superior man does not himself teach his son?'
2. Mencius replied, 'The circumstances of the case forbid its being done. The teacher must inculcate what is correct. When he inculcates what is correct, and his lessons are not practised, he follows them up with being angry. When he follows them up with being angry, then, contrary to what should be, he is offended with his son. At the same time, the pupil says, 'My master inculcates on me what is correct, and he himself does not proceed in a correct path." The result of this is, that father and son are offended with each other. When father and son come to be offended with each other, the case is evil.
3. 'The ancients exchanged sons, and one taught the son of another.
4. 'Between father and son, there should be no reproving admonitions to what is good. Such reproofs lead to alienation, and than alienation there is nothing more inauspicious.'
Chapter XIX.
The right manner of serving parents, and the importance of watching over one's self, in order to do so.
1. Mencius said, 'Of services, which is the greatest? The service of parents is the greatest. Of charges, which is the greatest ? The charge of one's self is the greatest. That those who do not fail to keep themselves are able to serve their parents is what I have heard. But I have never heard of any, who, having failed to keep themselves, were able notwithstanding to serve their parents.
2. 'There are many services, but the service of parents is the root of all others. There are many charges, but the charge of one's self is the root of all others.
3. 'The philosopher Tsang, in nourishing Tsang Hsî, was always sure to have wine and flesh provided. And when they were being removed, he would ask respectfully to whom he should give what was left. If his father asked whether there was anything left, he was sure to say, "There is." After the death of Tsing Hsî, when Tsang Yüan came to nourish Tsing-tsze, he was always sure to have wine and flesh provided. But when the things were being removed, he did not ask to whom he should give what was left, and if his father asked whether there was anything left, he would answer "No;"-- intending to bring them in again. This was what is called-- "nourishing the mouth and body." We may call Tsang-tsze's practice-- "nourishing the will."
4. 'To serve one's parents as Tsang-tsze served his, may be accepted as flial piety.'
Chapter XX.
A truly great minister will be seen in his directing his efforts, not to correction of matters in detail, but of the sovereign's character.
Mencius said, 'It is not enough to remonstrate with a sovereign on account of the mal-employment of ministers, nor to blame errors of government. It is only the great man who can rectify what is wrong in the sovereign's mind. Let the prince be benevolent, and all his acts will be benevolent. Let the prince be righteous, and all his acts will be righteous. Let the prince be correct, and everything will be correct. Once rectify the ruler, and the kingdom will be firmly settled.'
Chapter XXI.
Praise and blame are not always according to desert.
Mencius said, 'There are cases of praise which could not be expected, and of reproach when the parties have been seeking to be perfect.'
Chapter XXII.
The benefit of reproof.
Mencius said, 'Men's being ready with their tongues arises simply from their not having been reproved.'
Chapter XXIII.
Be not many masters.
Mencius said, 'The evil of men is that they like to be teachers of others.'
Chapter XXIV.
How Mencius reproved Yo-chang for associating with an unworthy person, and being remiss in waiting on himself.
1. The disciple Yo-chang went in the train of Tsze-âo to Ch'î.
2. He came to see Mencius, who said to him, 'Are you also come to see me?' Yo-chang replied, 'Master, why do you speak such words?' 'How many days have you been here?' asked Mencius. 'I came yesterday.' 'Yesterday! Is it not with reason then that I thus speak?' 'My lodging-house was not arranged.' 'Have you heard that a scholar's lodging-house must be arranged before he visit his elder?'
3. Yo-chang said, 'I have done wrong.'
Chapter XXV.
A further and more direct reproof of Yo-chang.
Mencius, addressing the disciple Yo-chang, said to him, 'Your coming here in the train of Tsze-âo was only because of the food and the drink. I could not have thought that you, having learned the doctrine of the ancients, would have acted with a view to eating and drinking.'
Chapter XXVI.
Shun's extraordinary way of contracting marriage justified by the motive.
1. Mencius said, 'There are three things which are unfilial, and to have no posterity is the greatest of them.
2. 'Shun married without informing his parents because of this,-- lest he should have no posterity. Superior men consider that his doing so was the same as if he had informed them.'
Chapter XXVII.
Filial piety and fraternal obedience in their relation to benevolence, righteousness, wisdom, propriety, and music.
1. Mencius said, 'The richest fruit of benevolence is this,-- the service of one's parents. The richest fruit of righteousness is this,-- the obeying one's elder brothers.
2. 'The richest fruit of wisdom is this,-- the knowing those two things, and not departing from them. The richest fruit of propriety is this,-- the ordering and adorning those two things. The richest fruit of music is this,-- the rejoicing in those two things. When they are rejoiced in, they grow. Growing, how can they be repressed? When they come to this state that they cannot be repressed, then unconsciously the feet begin to dance and the hands to move.'
Chapter XXVIII.
How Shun valued and exemplified filial piety.
1. Mencius said, 'Suppose the case of the whole kingdom turning in great delight to an individual to submit to him.-- To regard the whole kingdom thus turning to him in great delight but as a bundle of grass;-- only Shun was capable of this. He considered that if one could not get the hearts of his parents he could not be considered a man, and that if he could not get to an entire accord with his parents, he could not be considered a son.
2. 'By Shun's completely fulfilling everything by which a parent could be served, Kû-sâu was brought to find delight in what was good. When Kû-sâu was brought to find that delight, the whole kingdom was transformed. When Kû-sâu was brought to find that delight, all fathers and sons in the kingdom were established in their respective duties. This is called great filial piety.'
Book IV, Part II: Li Lau
Chapter I.
The agreement of sages not affected by place or time.
1. Mencius said, 'Shun was born in Chû-fang, removed to Fû-hsiâ, and died in Ming-t'iâo;-- a man near the wild tribes on the east.
2. 'King Wan was born in Châu by mount Ch'î, and died in Pî-ying;-- a man near the wild tribes on the west.
3. 'Those regions were distant from one another more than a thousand lî, and the age of the one sage was posterior to that of the other more than a thousand years. But when they got their wish, and carried their principles into practice throughout the Middle Kingdom, it was like uniting the two halves of a seal.
4. 'When we examine those sages, both the earlier and the later, their principles are found to be the same.'
Chapter II.
Good government lies in equal measures for the general good, not in acts of favour to individuals.
1. When Tsze-ch'an was chief minister of the State of Chang, he would convey people across the Chan and Wei in his own carriage.
2. Mencius said, 'It was kind, but showed that he did not understand the practice of government.
3. 'When in the eleventh month of the year the foot-bridges are completed, and the carriage-bridges in the twelfth month, the people have not the trouble of wading.
4. 'Let a governor conduct his rule on principles of equal justice, and, when he goes abroad, he may cause people to be removed out of his path. But how can he convey everybody across the rivers?
5. 'It follows that if a governor will try to please everybody, he will find the days not sufficient for his work.'
Chapter III.
What treatment sovereigns give to their ministers will be returned to them by a corresponding behavior.
1. Mencius said to the king Hsüan of Ch'î, 'When the prince regards his ministers as his hands and feet, his ministers regard their prince as their belly and heart; when he regards them as his dogs and horses, they regard him as another man; when he regards them as the ground or as grass, they regard him as a robber and an enemy.'
2. The king said, 'According to the rules of propriety, a minister wears mourning when he has left the service of a prince. How must a prince behave that his old ministers may thus go into mourning?'
3. Mencius replied,'The admonitions of a minister having been followed, and his advice listened to, so that blessings have descended on the people, if for some cause he leaves the country, the prince sends an escort to conduct him beyond the boundaries. He also anticipates with recommendatory intimations his arrival in the country to which he is proceeding. When he has been gone three years and does not return, only then at length does he take back his fields and residence. This treatment is what is called a "thrice-repeated display of consideration." When a prince acts thus, mourning will be worn on leaving his service.
4. 'Now-a-days, the remonstrances of a minister are not followed, and his advice is not listened to, so that no blessings descend on the people. When for any cause he leaves the country, the prince tries to seize him and hold him a prisoner. He also pushes him to extremity in the country to which he has gone, and on the very day of his departure, takes back his fields and residence. This treatment shows him to be what we call "a robber and an enemy." What mourning can be worn for a robber and an enemy?'
Chapter IV.
Prompt action is necessary at the right time.
Mencius said, 'When scholars are put to death without any crime, the great officers may leave the country. When the people are slaughtered without any crime, the scholars may remove.'
Chapter V.
The influence of the ruler's example.
Mencius said, 'If the sovereign be benevolent, all will be benevolent. If the sovereign be righteous, all will be righteous.'
Chapter VI.
The great man makes no mistakes in matters of propriety and righteousness.
Mencius said, 'Acts of propriety which are not really proper, and acts of righteousness which are not really righteous, the great man does not do.'
Chapter VII.
What duties are due from, and must be renedered by, the virtuous and talented.
Mencius said, 'Those who keep the Mean, train up those who do not, and those who have abilities, train up those who have not, and hence men rejoice in having fathers and elder brothers who are possessed of virtue and talent. If they who keep the Mean spurn those who do not, and they who have abilities spurn those who have not, then the space between them-- those so gifted and the ungifted-- will not admit an inch.'
Chapter VIII.
Clear discrimination of what is wrong and right must precede vigorous right-doing.
Mencius said, 'Men must be decided on what they will NOT do, and then they are able to act with vigour in what they ought to do.'
Chapter IX.
Evil speaking is sure to bring with it evil consequences.
Mencius said, 'What future misery have they and ought they to endure, who talk of what is not good in others!'
Chapter X.
That Confucius kept the mean.
Mencius said, 'Chung-nî did not do extraordinary things.'
Chapter XI.
What is right is the supreme pursuit of the great man.
Mencius said,'The great man does not think beforehand of his words that they may be sincere, nor of his actions that they may be resolute;-- he simply speaks and does what is right.'
Chapter XII.
A man is great because he is childlike.
Mencius said, 'The great man is he who does not lose his child's-heart.'
Chapter XIII.
Filial piety seen in the obsequies of parents.
Mencius said, 'The nourishment of parents when living is not sufficient to be accounted the great thing. It is only in the performing their obsequies when dead that we have what can be considered the great thing.'
Chapter XIV.
The value of learning thoroughly in-wrought into the mind.
Mencius said, 'The superior man makes his advances in what he is learning with deep earnestness and by the proper course, wishing to get hold of it as in himself. Having got hold of it in himself, he abides in it calmly and firmly. Abiding in it calmly and firmly, he reposes a deep reliance on it. Reposing a deep reliance on it, he seizes it on the left and right, meeting everywhere with it as a fountain from which things flow. It is on this account that the superior man wishes to get hold of what he is learning as in himself.'
Chapter XV.
[A continuation of the last chapter.]
Mencius said, 'In learning extensively and discussing minutely what is learned, the object of the superior man is that he may be able to go back and set forth in brief what is essential.'
Chapter XVI.
[The necessity of the heart in rulers.]
Mencius said, 'Never has he who would by his excellence subdue men been able to subdue them. Let a prince seek by his excellence to nourish men, and he will be able to subdue the whole kingdom. It is impossible that any one should become ruler of the people to whom they have not yielded the subjection of the heart.'
Chapter XVII.
[Mencius's explanation of inaupicious words.]
Mencius said, 'Words which are not true are inauspicious, and the words which are most truly obnoxious to the name of inauspicious, are those which throw into the shade men of talents and virtue.'
Chapter XVIII.
How Mencius explained Confucius's praise of water.
1. The disciple Hsü said, 'Chung-nî often praised water, saying, "0 water! 0 water!" What did he find in water to praise?'
2. Mencius replied, 'There is a spring of water; how it gushes out! It rests not day nor night. It fills up every hole, and then advances, flowing onto the four seas. Such is water having a spring! It was this which he found in it to praise.
3. 'But suppose that the water has no spring.-- In the seventh and eighth when the rain falls abundantly, the channels in the fields are all filled, but their being dried up again may be expected in a short time. So a superior man is ashamed of a reputation beyond his merits.'
Chapter XIX.
Whereby sages are distinguished from other men;-- illustrated in Shun.
1. Mencius said, 'That whereby man differs from the lower animals is but small. The mass of people cast it away, while superior men preserve it.
2. 'Shun clearly understood the multitude of things, and closely observed the relations of humanity. He walked along the path of benevolence and righteousness; he did not need to pursue benevolence and righteousness.'
Chapter XX.
The same subject;-- illustrated in Yü, T'ang, Wan, Wû, and Châu-kung.
1. Mencius said, 'Yü hated the pleasant wine, and loved good words.
2. 'T'ang held fast the Mean, and employed men of talents and virtue without regard to where they came from.
3. 'King Wan looked on the people as he would on a man who was wounded, and he looked towards the right path as if he could not see it.
4. King Wû did not slight the near, and did not forget the distant.
5. 'The duke of Châu desired to unite in himself the virtues of those kings, those founders of the three dynasties, that he might display in his practice the four things which they did. If he saw any thing in them not suited to his time, he looked up and thought about it, from daytime into the night, and when he was fortunate enough to master the difficulty, he sat waiting for the morning.'
Chapter XXI.
The same subject;-- illustrated in Confucius.
1. Mencius said, 'The traces of sovereign rule were extinguished, and the royal odes ceased to be made. When those odes ceased to be made, then the Ch'un Ch'iû was produced.
2. 'The Shang of Tsin, the Tâo-wû of Ch'û, and the Ch'un Ch'iû of Lû were books of the same character.
3. 'The subject of the Ch'un Ch'iû was the affairs of Hwan of Chî and Wan of Tsin, and its style was the historical. Confucius said, "Its righteous decisions I ventured to make."'
Chapter XXII.
The same subject;-- illustrated in Mencius himself.
1. Mencius said, 'The influence of a sovereign sage terminates in the fifth generation. The influence of a mere sage does the same.
2. 'Although I could not be a disciple of Confucius himself, I have endeavoured to cultivate my virtue by means of others who were.'
Chapter XXIII.
First judgments are not always correct. Impulses must be weighed in the balance of reason, and what reason dictates must be followed.
Mencius said, 'When it appears proper to take a thing, and afterwards not proper, to take it is contrary to moderation. When it appears proper to give a thing and afterwards not proper, to give it is contrary to kindness. When it appears proper to sacrifice one's life, and afterwards not proper, to sacrifice it is contrary to bravery.'
Chapter XXIV.
The importance of being careful of whom we make friends.
1. P'ang Mang learned archery of Î. When he had acquired completely all the science of Î, he thought that in all the kingdom only Î was superior to himself, and so he slew him. Mencius said, 'In this case Î also was to blame. Kung-ming Î indeed said, "It would appear as if he were not to be blamed," but he thereby only meant that his blame was slight. How can he be held without any blame?'
2. 'The people of Chang sent Tsze-cho Yü to make a stealthy attack on Wei, which sent Yü-kung Sze to pursue him. Tsze-cho Yü said, "To-day I feel unwell, so that I cannot hold my bow. I am a dead man!" At the same time he asked his driver, "Who is it that is pursuing me?" The driver said, "It is Yü-kung Sze," on which, he exclaimed, "I shall live." The driver said, "Yü-kung Sze is the best archer of Wei, what do you mean by saying 'I shall live?'" Yü replied, "Yü-kung Sze learned archery from Yin-kung T'o, who again learned it from me. Now, Yin-kung T'o is an upright man, and the friends of his selection must be upright also." When Yü-kung Sze came up, he said, "Master, why are you not holding your bow?" Yü answered him, "To-day I am feeling unwell, and cannot hold my bow." On this Sze said, "I learned archery from Yin-kung T'o, who again learned it from you. I cannot bear to injure you with your own science. The business of to-day, however, is the prince's business, which I dare not neglect." He then took his arrows, knocked off their steel points against the carriage-wheel, discharged four of them, and returned.
Chapter XXV.
It is only moral beauty that is truly excellent and acceptable.
1. Mencius said, 'If the lady Hsî had been covered with a filthy head-dress, all people would have stopped their noses in passing her.
2. 'Though a man may be wicked, yet if he adjust his thoughts, fast, and bathe, he may sacrifice to God.'
Chapter XXVI.
How knowledge ought to be pursued by the careful study of phenomena.
1. Mencius said, 'All who speak about the natures of things, have in fact only their phenomena to reason from, and the value of a phenomenon is in its being natural.
2. 'What I dislike in your wise men is their boring out their conclusions. If those wise men would only act as Yü did when he conveyed away the waters, there would be nothing to dislike in their wisdom. The manner in which Yü conveyed away the waters was by doing what gave him no trouble. If your wise men would also do that which gave them no trouble, their knowledge would also be great.
3. 'There is heaven so high; there are the stars so distant. If we have investigated their phenomena, we may, while sitting in our places, go back to the solstice of a thousand years ago.'
Chapter XXVII.
How Mencius would not imitate others in paying court to a favourite.
1. The officer Kung-hang having on hand the funeral of one of his sons, the Master of the Right went to condole with him. When this noble entered the door, some called him to them and spoke with him, and some went to his place and spoke with him.
2. Mencius did not speak with him, so that he was displeased, and said, 'All the gentlemen have spoken with me. There is only Mencius who does not speak to me, thereby slighting me.'
3. Mencius having heard of this remark, said, 'According to the prescribed rules, in the court, individuals may not change their places to speak with one another, nor may they pass from their ranks to bow to one another. I was wishing to observe this rule, and Tsze-âo understands it that I was slighting him:-- is not this strange?'
Chapter XXVIII.
How the superior man is distinguished by the cultivation of moral excellence, and is placed thereby beyond the reach of calamity.
1. Mencius said, 'That whereby the superior man is distinguished from other men is what he preserves in his heart;-- namely, benevolence and propriety.
2. 'The benevolent man loves others. The man of propriety shows respect to others.
3. 'He who loves others is constantly loved by them. He who respects others is constantly respected by them.
4. 'Here is a man, who treats me in a perverse and unreasonable manner. The superior man in such a case will turn round upon himself-- "I must have been wanting in benevolence; I must have been wanting in propriety;-- how should this have happened to me?"
5. He examines himself, and is specially benevolent. He turns round upon himself, and is specially observant of propriety. The perversity and unreasonableness of the other, however, are still the same. The superior man will again turn round on himself-- "I must have been failing to do my utmost."
6. 'He turns round upon himself, and proceeds to do his utmost, but still the perversity and unreasonableness of the other are repeated. On this the superior man says, "This is a man utterly lost indeed! Since he conducts himself so, what is there to choose between him and a brute? Why should I go to contend with a brute?"
7. 'Thus it is that the superior man has a life-long anxiety and not one morning's calamity. As to what is matter of anxiety to him, that indeed be has.-- He says, "Shun was a man, and I also am a man. But Shun became an example to all the kingdom, and his conduct was worthy to be handed down to after ages, while I am nothing better than a villager." This indeed is the proper matter of anxiety to him. And in what way is he anxious about it? Just that he maybe like Shun:-- then only will he stop. As to what the superior man would feel to be a calamity, there is no such thing. He does nothing which is not according to propriety. If there should befall him one morning's calamity, the superior man does not account it a calamity.'
Chapter XXIX.
A reconciling principle will be found to underlie the outwardly different conduct of great and good men;-- in honour of Yen Hûi, with a reference to Mencius himself.
1. Yü and Chî, in an age when the world was being brought back to order, thrice passed their doors without entering them. Confucius praised them.
2. The disciple Yen, in an age of disorder, dwelt in a mean narrow lane, having his single bamboo-cup of rice, and his single gourd-dish of water; other men could not have endured the distress, but he did not allow his joy to be affected by it. Confucius praised him.
3. Mencius said, 'Yü, Chî, and Yen Hûi agreed in the principle of their conduct.
4. 'Yü thought that if any one in the kingdom were drowned, it was as if he drowned him. Chî thought that if any one in the kingdom suffered hunger, it was as if he famished him. It was on this account that they were so earnest.
5. If Yü and Chî, and Yen-tsze, had exchanged places, each would have done what the other did.
6. 'Here now in the same apartment with you are people fighting:-- you ought to part them. Though you part them with your cap simply tied over your unbound hair, your conduct will be allowable.
7. 'If the fighting be only in the village or neighbourhood, if you go to put an end to it with your cap tied over your hair unbound, you will be in error. Although you should shut your door in such a case, your conduct would be allowable.'
Chapter XXX.
How Mencius explained his friendly intercourse with a man charged with being unfilial.
1. The disciple Kung-tû said, 'Throughout the whole kingdom everybody pronounces K'wang Chang unfilial. But you, Master, keep company with him, and moreover treat him with politeness. I venture to ask why you do so.'
2. Mencius replied, 'There are five things which are pronounced in the common usage of the age to be unfilial. The first is laziness in the use of one's four limbs, without attending to the nourishment of his parents. The second is gambling and chess-playiDg, and being fond of wine, without attending to the nourishment of his parents. The third is being fond of goods and money, and selfishly attached to his wife and children, without attending to the nourishment of his parents. The fourth is following the desires of one's ears and eyes, so as to bring his parents to disgrace. The fifth is being fond of bravery, fighting and quarrelling so as to endanger his parents. Is Chang guilty of any one of these things?
3. 'Now between Chang and his father there arose disagreement, he, the son, reproving his father, to urge him to what was good.
4. 'To urge one another to what is good by reproofs is the way of friends. But such urging between father and son is the greatest injury to the kindness, which should prevail between them.
5. 'Moreover, did not Chang wish to have in his family the relationships of husband and wife, child and mother? But because he had offended his father, and was not permitted to approach him, he sent away his wife, and drove forth his son, and all his life receives no cherishing attention from them. He settled it in his mind that if he did not act in this way, his would be one of the greatest of crimes.-- Such and nothing more is the case of Chang.'
Chapter XXXI.
How Mencius explained the different conduct of Tsang-tsze and of Tsze-sze in similar circumstances.
1. When the philosopher Tsang dwelt in Wû-ch'ang, there came a band from Yüeh to plunder it. Someone said to him, 'The plunderers are coming:-- why not leave this?' Tsang on this left the city, saying to the man in charge of the house, 'Do not lodge any persons in my house, lest they break and injure the plants and trees.' When the plunderers withdrew, he sent word to him, saying, 'Repair the walls of my house. I am about to return.' When the plunderers retired, the philosopher Tsang returned accordingly. His disciples said, 'Since our master was treated with so much sincerity and respect, for him to be the first to go away on the arrival of the plunderers, so as to be observed by the people, and then to return on their retiring, appears to us to be improper.' Ch'an-yû Hsing said, 'You do not understand this matter. Formerly, when Ch'an-yû was exposed to the outbreak of the grass-carriers, there were seventy disciples in our master's following, and none of them took part in the matter.'
2. When Tsze-sze was living in Wei, there came a band from Ch'î to plunder. Some one said to him, 'The plunderers are coming;-- why not leave this?' Tsze-sze said, 'If I go away, whom will the prince have to guard the State with?'
3. Mencius said, 'The philosophers Tsang and Tsze-sze agreed in the principle of their conduct. Tsang was a teacher;-- in the place of a father or elder brother. Tsze-sze was a minister;-- in a meaner place. If the philosophers Tsang and Tsze-sze had exchanged places the one would have done what the other did.'
Chapter XXXII.
Sages are just like other men.
The officer Ch'û said to Mencius, 'Master, the king sent persons to spy out whether you were really different from other men.' Mencius said, 'How should I be different from other men? Yâo and Shun were just the same as other men.'
Chapter XXXIII.
The disgraceful means which some men take to seek for their living, and for wealth.
1. A man of Ch'î had a wife and a concubine, and lived together with them in his house. When their husband went out, he would get himself well filled with wine and flesh, and then return, and, on his wife's asking him with whom he ate and drank, they were sure to be all wealthy and honourable people. The wife informed the concubine, saying, 'When our good man goes out, he is sure to come back having partaken plentifully of wine and flesh. I asked with whom he ate and drank, and they are all, it seems, wealthy and honourable people. And yet no people of distinction ever come here. I will spy out where our good man goes.' Accordingly, she got up early in the morning, and privately followed wherever her husband went. Throughout the whole city, there was no one who stood or talked with him. At last, he came to those who were sacrificing among the tombs beyond the outer wall on the east, and begged what they had over. Not being satisfied, he looked about, and went to another party;-- and this was the way in which he got himself satiated. His wife returned, and informed the concubine, saying, 'It was to our husband that we looked up in hopeful contemplation, with whom our lot is cast for life;-- and now these are his ways!' On this, along with the concubine she reviled their husband, and they wept together in the middle hall. In the meantime the husband, knowing nothing of all this, came in with a jaunty air, carrying himself proudly to his wife and concubine.
2. In the view of a superior man, as to the ways by which men seek for riches, honours, gain, and advancement, there are few of their wives and concubines who would not be ashamed and weep together on account of them.
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