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."'
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."'
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!
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."'
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.'
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.'
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)?"'
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."'
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."'
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?' |