Puslapio vaizdai
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Now, righteousness is the way, and propriety is the door, but it is

only the superior man who can follow this way, and go out and in

by this door. It is said in the Book of Poetry,

“The way to Châu is level like a whetstone,

And straight as an arrow.

The officers tread it,

And the lower people see it."

9. Wan Chang said, When Confucius received the prince's message calling him, he went without waiting for his carriage. Doing so, did Confucius do wrong ?' Mencius replied, Confucius was in office, and had to observe its appropriate duties. And moreover, he was summoned on the business of his office.'

CHAP. VIII. 1. Mencius said to Wan Chang, 'The scholar whose virtue is most distinguished in a village shall make friends of all the virtuous scholars in the village. The scholar whose virtue is most distinguished throughout a State shall make friends of all the virtuous scholars of that State. The scholar whose virtue is most distinguished throughout the kingdom shall make friends of all the virtuous scholars of the kingdom.

eastern States, mourning over the oppressive | TAGES OF FRIENDSHIP, AND THAT IT IS DEPENDENT and exhausting labours which were required ON ONE'S SELF. 1. "The virtuous scholar of one from the people. The 'royal highway' presents village,-he shall make friends of the virtuous itself to him, formerly crowded by officers scholars of (that) one village:'-the first hastening to and from the capital, and the

people hurrying to their labours, but now is in the superlative degree, and

is not

toiled alowly and painfully along. g. See Ana- only to be friends with,' but also ‘to realize lects, X. xiii. 4. the uses of friendship.' The eminence attained 8. THE REALIZATION OF THE GREATEST ADVAN-| by the individual attracts all the others to him,

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易大王同之齊

論讀 讀未 之

則有卿不卿

有問

王則請貴

王也不

勃諫問 王問

然反貴之曰卿

變覆戚卿卿孟 友

乎之之有不子也可人之

色而卿異同白

日不曰姓乎。王

王聽君之曰何

乎頌善

是其士

以詩篇

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2. 'When a scholar feels that his friendship with all the virtuous scholars of the kingdom is not sufficient to satisfy him, he proceeds to ascend to consider the men of antiquity. He repeats their poems, and reads their books, and as he does not know what they were as men, to ascertain this, he considers their history. This is to ascend and make friends of the men of antiquity.'

6

CHAP. IX. 1. The king Hsüan of Ch'i asked about the office of high ministers. Mencius said, 'Which high ministers is your Majesty asking about ?’' Are there differences among them ?' inquired the king. 'There are,' was the reply. There are the high ministers who are noble and relatives of the prince, and there are those who are of a different surname.' The king said, 'I beg to ask about the high ministers who are noble and relatives of the prince.' Mencius answered, 'If the prince have great faults, they ought to remonstrate with him, and if he do not listen to them after they have done so again and again, they ought to dethrone him.'

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2. The king on this looked moved, and changed countenance.

and he has thus the opportunity of learning | their age.-We are hardly to understand the from them, which no inflation because of his poetry and books here generally. Mencius own general superiority prevents him from seems to have had in his eye the Book of

doing. 2. 尙-上又尙he proceeds Poetry, and the Book of History.

9. THE DUTIES OF THE DIFFERENT CLASSES Or

and ascends.’頌-誦, to repeat,''oroon | HIGH MINISTERS. I.

over: 可乎可否‘proper or not?”

君有大過一

ministers will overlook small faults. To anim.

其世, (their age, ie. what they were in advert on them would be inconsistent with

則之則曰異然對敢問勿 去而諫君姓後王不臣異 不反有之請色 臣也

聽過卿。問定正

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3. Mencius said, 'Let not your Majesty be offended. You asked

me, and I dare not answer but according to truth.'

4. The king's countenance became composed, and he then begged to ask about high ministers who were of a different surname from the prince. Mencius said, 'When the prince has faults, they ought to remonstrate with him; and if he do not listen to them after they have done this again and again, they ought to leave the State

their consanguinity. No distinction is made effects. Chû Hsi notices that the able and vir

of faults, as great or small, when the other tuous relatives of the tyrant Chau (村)

class of ministers is spoken of. ‘Great faults'

were

are such as endanger the safety of the State. not able to do their duty as here laid down,

3. 勿異,‘don't think it strange, but = 'don't while Ho Kwang, a minister of another sur be offended.'-We may not wonder that duke name, was able to do it in the case of the king Hetian should have been moved and surprised of Ch'ang-yi (昌邑王), whom he placed by the doctrines of Mencius as announced in this in B. c. 74, though not the proper heir, on the chapter. It is true that the members of the throne in succession to the emperor Chao. family of which the ruler is the Head have the nearest interest in his ruling well, but to teach His nominee, however, proved unequal to his them that it belongs to them, in case of his not position. See the Memoir of Ho Kwang in the taking their advice, to proceed to dethrone Thirty-eighth Book of the Biographies of the him, is likely to produce the most disastrous first Han dynasty.

BOOK VI.

KÀO TSZE. PART I.

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而乎性子為仁棬木
後將而能桮義也柳
以戕以順棬猶以也子
為賊為杞孟以人義。
栝杷栝柳子杞性 性猶

棬柳棬之曰柳為桮猶.

告子章句上

CHAPTER I. 1. The philosopher Kâo said, 'Man's nature is like the ch't-willow, and righteousness is like a cup or a bowl. The fashioning benevolence and righteousness out of man's nature is

like the making cups and bowls from the ch't-willow.'

2. Mencius replied, ‘Can you, leaving untouched the nature of the willow, make with it cups and bowls? You must do violence and injury to the willow, before you can make cups and bowls with Kão, from whom this Book is named, is the the view of the philosopher Heün () that name was Po-hai (不害) · speculatist of | human nature is evil (性惡) This is Mencius's day, who is said to have given him. putting the case too strongly. It is an induoself equally to the study of the orthodox doc- tion from his words, which Kao would probably trines and those of the heresiarch Mo (Bk. III. have disallowed. Hsün (see the prolegomena, and

same who is referred to in Bk. II. Pt. I. ii. His

a

PHI.v; Pt. II.ix). See the 四書拓餘 Morrison under the character 子 accounted

on Mencius. Vol. L. Art. xxix. He appears from this Book to have been much perplexed respecting the real character of human nature in its relations to good and evil. This is the

Confucian school, appears to have maintained
by many the most distinguished scholar of the

positively that all good was foreign to the nature
of man ;-
一人之性惡,其善者僞

principal subject discussed in this Book. For 也,‘man's nature is bad; his good is arti.

his views of human nature as here developed,

Mencius is mainly indebted for his place among ficial.' 1. The and the are taken by the Sages of his country. In the first Part,' some as two trees, but it is better to take them

eye the 四書味根錄, ‘he treats first together, the fint character giving the opeofes

of the nature, then of the heart, and then of of the other. It is described as 'growing by instruction, the whole being analogous to the the water-side, like a common willow, the leaf lessons in the Doctrine of the Mean. The coarse and white, with the veins small and second Part continues to treat of the same reddish.' 2. 順 ‘according with,' 'follow. subject, and a resemblance will generally be

found between the views of the parties there ing, i.e. leaving untouched,' 'doing no violence combated, and those of the scholar Kão." to.戕賊人一人一人性,(mans

1. THAT BENEVOLENCE AND RIGHTEOUSNESS ARE nature,' humanity. Kao had said that man's NO UNNATURAL PRODUCTS OF HUMAN NATURE. There nature could be made into benevolence and underlies the words of Kao here, says Chû Hsi, righteousness, and Mencius exposes the error

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諸東方則東流決諸西方

雪军古子 日性猶湍水也決

流力

猶人

無無

乎無分分 人分 r於於

性於東善方

者與則
必率亦戕
子天將賊

之下戕

之賊柳 人人

禍為篇

it. If you must do violence and injury to the willow in order to make cups and bowls with it, on your principles you must in the same way do violence and injury to humanity in order to fashion from it benevolence and righteousness! Your words, alas! would certainly lead all men on to reckon benevolence and righteousness to be calamities.’

CHAP. II. 1. The philosopher Kao said, ' Man's nature is like water whirling round in a corner. Open a passage for it to the east, and it will flow to the east; open a passage for it to the west, and it will flow to the west. Man's nature is indifferent to good and evil, just as the water is indifferent to the east and west.'

2. Mencius replied, Water indeed will flow indifferently to the east or west, but will it flow indifferently up or down? The by here substituting for in doing era (B.c. 53-A.D. 18). We have the following which he is justified by the nature of the action sentence from him:-'In the nature of man that has to be put forth on the wood of the good in it makes a good man; the cultivation of good and evil are mixed. The cultivation of the willow. 禍仁義,‘calamitize benevolence the evil makes a bad man. The passion-nature and righteousness." I take the meaning to be in its movements may be called the horse of good as in the translation. If their nature must be or evil'(十子全書揚子修身 hecked and bent to bring those virtues from 篇)人無有不善 in the sum of the

it, men would certainly account them to be calamities.

2. MAN'S NATURE IS NOT INDIFFERENT TO GOOD AND EVIL. ITS PROPER TENDENCY IS TO GOOD. That man is indifferent to good and evil, or that the

chapter on Mencius'spart. Hisopponent's views were wrong, but did he himself have the whole

truth? 1. 湍水 as explained in the dictionary, 'water flowing rapidly,' and 'water

tendencies to these are both blended in his rippling over the sand. Chão Ch'i, followed by Chu Hst, explains it as in the translation, which

nature, was the doctrine of Yang Hsiung (is certainly better adapted to the passage. 雄 , * philosopher about the beginning of our 信s an adverb, truly:' 人性之善

a

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